All 1966-1967 V8 front spindles the same?

[cboss70]

I am going through my spares this coming weekend to eventually thin out what I have. I think I have read in the past that the 1966 and the 1967 V8 car front spindles regardless if it was a 66GT Mustang coupe or Shelby 67 GT500- Is that correct?   If not what are the different casting numbers to differentiate them? Thanks!

[68stangcjfb]

According to my Hollander book, 65 and 66 8 cylinder Mustang and 65 Falcon and Comet 8 cylinder spindles are the same. Hollander # 500. All 67, and 68 69 Mustang and Cougar drum brake spindles are the same. They Also fit all 66 and 67, and 68 69 drum brake Falcon, Fairlane, Torino, Comet, Montego and Cyclone. Hollander# 552.

[JessC]

Are 67&68 disc brake spindles different?

[68stangcjfb]

Yes. The 65 through 67 Kelsey Hayes disc brakes use the same spindle as the drum brakes. The 68 & 69 disc spindle is unique & also fits 68 & 69 torino, fairlane, falcon, cougar, comet, Montego, cyclone & 70 Shelby GT 350 & GT 500 .Hollander #553. Also, 69 Boss 302 & Boss 429 used a different spindle.

[Bob Gaines]

Yes. The 65 through 67 Kelsey Hayes disc brakes use the same spindle as the drum brakes. The 68 & 69 disc spindle is unique & also fits 68 & 69 torino, fairlane, falcon, cougar, comet, Montego, cyclone & 70 Shelby GT 350 & GT 500 .Hollander #553. Also, 69 Boss 302 & Boss 429 used a different spindle.

This is a little off track for what the OP was asking but in light of your post I wanted to point out a correction for the 69/70 Shelby spindle you mentioned . The smaller spindle used on 68 and earlier 69 Shelby production was only done so up until approximately late March of 1969.  GT350 or GT500 after approximately end of March 1969 used a different larger suspension spindle that was unique to the Shelby and the 69 Boss 302. Although using the same size tie rods as the 70 regular Mustang the spindle was unique to the Shelby and 69 Boss 302. The unique spindle used a different brake rotor compared to the 68 and early 69 spindle also.

[68stangcjfb]

Okay. Just so we have it right, 69 Shelby built after around late March used Boss 302 spindles and any 70 VIN numbed Shelby built before around late March 69 used the earlier spindle. Correct?

[98SVT - was 06GT]

If I remember there were 2 different inner bearing sizes

[cboss70]

I'm a little confused (which is normal).  One note says "65 and 66 8 cylinder Mustang and 65 Falcon and Comet 8 cylinder spindles" and "All 67, and 68 69 Mustang and Cougar drum brake spindles are the same" and then a later post says "65 through 67 Kelsey Hayes disc brakes use the same spindle as the drum brakes."  The two seem to conflict since one is saying 65-66 are unique and the second post says 65-67 are the same?  Or am I misreading something?  Based on this, is the consensus that 1965 through 1967 V8 (big or small block) Mustang and Shelby's all used the same spindles regardless of disc or drum?

[68stangcjfb]

Sorry. What I meant to say is the Kelsey Hayes brakes will bolt onto the spindles I identified as Hollander 552. But those spindles will not fit a 65 66 Mustang. The geometry is different. The adapter bracket the Kelsey Hayes brakes use will bolt to the Hollander 500 or 552 spindle. I differentiated 67 and 68 spindles because the 67 use the Kelsey Hayes 4 piston caliper (using the drum brake spindle)and the 68 used the Ford single-piston caliper with a unique spindle.I hope this helps.

[Bob Gaines]

Okay. Just so we have it right, 69 Shelby built after around late March used Boss 302 spindles and any 70 VIN numbed Shelby built before around late March 69 used the earlier spindle. Correct?

Yes, a 69 or 70 Shelby (which is a left over 69)built before the change over approximate date would have the smaller suspension and the later built cars the larger.

[cboss70]

Thanks- that's helpful. From that post it basically sounds like for mustang/Shelby that 65-66 V8 spindles are the same (drum or disk),  All big block and small block 1967 spindles are the same but unique to 1967 (drum and disc the same), and that 1968's if they had disk brakes used a dick brake spindle (68 drum spindle wouldn't work).   Now I have to dig out what I have and try to find part numbers to identify!  Thanks again.

[68stangcjfb]

You've just about got it. That 67 spindle fits all the cars I listed for the Hollander# 552 so it's not unique to 67. As far as casting numbers, for the 65 and 66 Mustang and 65 Falcon and Comet,  you should be seeing C5ZZ casting #s, Hollander# 500. On the 67 spindle, you should be seeing C6OZ or C7OZ casting #s on them. Hollander# 552. And if you come across spindles with C3DZ casting#s, those are 63, 4, & 5 Falcon & Comet & 65, 6 Mustang 6 cylinder spindles. Hollander# 444. Pretty much useless.

[98SVT - was 06GT]

You can also use the larger 65-66 Tbird calipers and discs on the Mustang spindles and you'll have to use 15" wheels. The brackets are the hard part to find.

[Bob Gaines]

You can also use the larger 65-66 Tbird calipers and discs on the Mustang spindles and you'll have to use 15" wheels. The brackets are the hard part to find.

You can't do that caliper upgrade without a special adapter . Typically the larger T bird caliper (68-70 TA modification ) is used on a 70 drum brake spindle for extra strength(more meat). The same setup is used to put the big brakes on the 65-67 cars even though that was not used on the cars back in the day on 65-67.

[shelbydoug]

You can also use the larger 65-66 Tbird calipers and discs on the Mustang spindles and you'll have to use 15" wheels. The brackets are the hard part to find.

A few places sell accurate reproductions of the T/A adapter bracket.

I did the swap on my '68 GT350. It works well.