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    Brake upgrade/wheel interference

    I read Pirate's "Brake Upgrade" post and wanted to upgrade the brakes on my 1984 Grand Marquis to the Police calipers/pads he mentions. I was wondering if the Police calipers will fit behind stock 14" wheels or if I'd have to go with stock replacement calipers.
    Awesome Electronic Cigarettes
    Stable: 2008 Toyota Tundra SR5 5.7 4x4
    1990 Dodge Power Ram W150 4x4
    1984 Grand Marquis Two Door Lowrider
    1983 Crown Victoria Two Door

    #2
    the police capliers external dimensions are excactly the same as a civilian caliper. The only difference is the piston diameter and type. So yes, they will work fine.
    Builder/Owner of Badass Panther Wagons

    Busy maintaining a fleet of Fords

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      #3
      Thanks!
      Awesome Electronic Cigarettes
      Stable: 2008 Toyota Tundra SR5 5.7 4x4
      1990 Dodge Power Ram W150 4x4
      1984 Grand Marquis Two Door Lowrider
      1983 Crown Victoria Two Door

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        #4
        Just make sure you get cop pads too, the tabs and retainers are different because of the difference in the piston.
        Builder/Owner of Badass Panther Wagons

        Busy maintaining a fleet of Fords

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          #5
          You will be impressed with the breaking. My 88 Merc, I had to hit the breaks to slow down way before I got to the Stop sign. My 89 P72 breaks really good. It stops as if you was driving a smaller car.

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            #6
            Are the cop calipers actually an upgrade? Being nearly identical in most essentials, I wouldn't expect so.
            2012 Mazda5 Touring | Finally working on the LTD again!

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              #7
              The police cars also have an 11" rear drum which makes a difference.

              Honestly I also can't see there being a significant improvement with cop calipers vs civi ones but never having compared the two I can't speak from experience. I wonder if a lot of the difference isn't the bigger drum brakes to tell you the truth. Also to give it a totally fair comparison, you'd need two brake systems in optimal working condition. A lot of the time when people go to police calipers its because they needed to replace stuff anyway, so its almost always better just because the worn out junk has been replaced.
              86 Lincoln Town Car (Galactica).
              5.0 HO, CompCams XE258,Scorpion 1.72 roller rockers, 3.55 K code rear, tow package, BHPerformance ported E7 heads, Tmoss Explorer intake, 65mm throttle body, Hedman 1 5/8" headers, 2.5" dual exhaust, ASP underdrive pulley

              91 Lincoln Mark VII LSC grandpa spec white and cranberry

              1984 Lincoln Continental TurboDiesel - rolls coal

              Originally posted by phayzer5
              I drive a Lincoln. I can't be bothered to shift like the peasants and rabble rousers

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                #8
                Originally posted by Brandon View Post
                You will be impressed with the breaking. My 88 Merc, I had to hit the breaks to slow down way before I got to the Stop sign. My 89 P72 breaks really good. It stops as if you was driving a smaller car.

                ford build quality, always breaking

                I think the piston diamter is also larger. I' m pretty sure the civilian caliper is the same as the fox body, in which the Mark7/SVO caliper is an upgrade-adn I'm pretty sure the mark7 caliper is the same as the PI vic
                Builder/Owner of Badass Panther Wagons

                Busy maintaining a fleet of Fords

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                  #9
                  Having owned both a civi and police box, I could never tell much difference in the braking capabilities between the two. Actually, if anything, the Lincoln seemed like it stopped better, but neither one ever seemed inadequate to me.

                  2001 Ford Crown Victoria P71 - "The Fire Engine"
                  1985 Lincoln Town Car Signature Series
                  But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

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                    #10
                    Where are you buying your brake pads from? Before you go through the bother and potentially find zero difference becuase (ie) napa premium pads for the civvie or the cop car use the exact same material, its just the backing plate that is different to fit the caliper.

                    Alex.

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                      #11
                      yep, pads are the same, just the clip on the back is different.
                      86 Lincoln Town Car (Galactica).
                      5.0 HO, CompCams XE258,Scorpion 1.72 roller rockers, 3.55 K code rear, tow package, BHPerformance ported E7 heads, Tmoss Explorer intake, 65mm throttle body, Hedman 1 5/8" headers, 2.5" dual exhaust, ASP underdrive pulley

                      91 Lincoln Mark VII LSC grandpa spec white and cranberry

                      1984 Lincoln Continental TurboDiesel - rolls coal

                      Originally posted by phayzer5
                      I drive a Lincoln. I can't be bothered to shift like the peasants and rabble rousers

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Replace the rear drums with disc brakes, made a big difference on mine.
                        89 CV LX 225/60 x 16 tires, CC819 rear springs, Front & rear sway bar, trans & PS cooler from 90 cop car. KYB shocks, F-150 on rear. Dual Exhaust w/ H pipe. Dark brown door panels, carpet, steering wheel, trim parts from a 87 Mer GM. Power front buckets from 96 Jeep Cherokee. LED'S front & rear. 3G Alt from a 97 Taurus wagon 3.0. Electric fan. Rear axle from a 97 PI 3.27 with disk brakes. Headlight relays.

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                          #13
                          I'll probably grab my parts from NAPA or O'Reilly's. Haven't decided yet, will probably pick everything up this week though. I would like to put disks on the back, but I didn't think I could keep my 14" wheels if I did. Any suggestions?
                          Awesome Electronic Cigarettes
                          Stable: 2008 Toyota Tundra SR5 5.7 4x4
                          1990 Dodge Power Ram W150 4x4
                          1984 Grand Marquis Two Door Lowrider
                          1983 Crown Victoria Two Door

                          Comment


                            #14
                            I just ordered my brake parts and a few other things. Hopefully I'll be able to get them on the car this weekend. Ready to take it for a drive!
                            Awesome Electronic Cigarettes
                            Stable: 2008 Toyota Tundra SR5 5.7 4x4
                            1990 Dodge Power Ram W150 4x4
                            1984 Grand Marquis Two Door Lowrider
                            1983 Crown Victoria Two Door

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Originally posted by mrltd View Post
                              ford build quality, always breaking

                              I think the piston diamter is also larger. I' m pretty sure the civilian caliper is the same as the fox body, in which the Mark7/SVO caliper is an upgrade-adn I'm pretty sure the mark7 caliper is the same as the PI vic

                              no........the 84-92 mk7 and the 84-86 mustang svo and the 83-87 continental use the same pads and calipers as the box panther

                              1986 lincoln towncar signature series. 5.0 HO with thumper performance ported e7 heads, 1.7 roller rockers, warm air intake, 65mm throttle body, 1/2" intake spacer, ported intakes, 3.73 rear with trac lock, 98-02 front brake conversion, 92-97 rear disc conversion, 1" rear swaybar, 1 3/16" front swaybar, 16" wheels and tires, loud ass stereo system, badass cb, best time to date 15.94 at 87 mph. lots of mods in the works 221.8 rwhp 278 rwt
                              2006 Lincoln Town Car Signature. Stock for now
                              1989 Ford F-250 4x4 much much more to come, sefi converted so far.
                              1986 Toyota pickup with LSC wheels and 225/60/16 tires.
                              2008 Hyundai Elantra future Revcon toad
                              1987 TriBurner and 1986 Alaska stokers keeping me warm. (and some pesky oil heat)

                              please be patient, rebuilding an empire!

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