Thank you for your interest in my oversize front brake conversion. I have been researching many options for the last year and have come up with something that works well and is cheaper to maintain than the stock front brakes. The SVT rotor and PBR brake calipers will fit the stock 15” “basket weave” wheels and aftermarket wheels 15” diameter or larger. They will not fit the “flat spoke” 15” wheel without slight modification to the calipers. What it boils down to is with the following parts you can have more rotor swept area, more brake pad area, more brake pad choices, more piston area and less cost than the stock Merkur XR4Ti items. I hope the following information may be of help.

Rotors

The rotors are from a Ford Contour SVT part number F8RZ-1125-CA. They are perfectly hubcentric on the Merkur XR4Ti hub and match the wheel stub pattern. They fit as well as the stock XR rotors. The “hat” offset is not as deep as the stock rotor, but this works out well as the difference in offset allows for the caliper adapter plate. The SVT rotor should measure a nominal 11” diameter. Before you buy them check the diameter. Make sure you get good quality rotors such as Ford OEM, the EBC rotors that BAT (941-355-0005) offers, or the premium rotors from Complete Brake Warehouse (800-581-2339). CBW has both drilled and stock SVT rotors. Drilled rotors, CBW part number AR8156L & AR8256R cost $92.50 and “premium” stock rotors, CBW part number AR8156, are $47.85. White box generic rotors are not available for the SVT. Pricing is subject to change and probably already has!

PBR Brake Calipers

The calipers I used are from a base model 99 Mustang. From time to time very low mileage “pull-off” calipers are available from the XR list. This caliper is a dual piston design and is much lighter than the mid 90’s T-bird and Mustang caliper that will also fit the same brackets. Note that there is a left side and right side caliper with the difference being placement of the bleeder fitting and banjo bolt port.

There has been some confusion on buying rebuilt calipers. Make sure you ask for calipers with brackets. The factory sliding pin caliper bracket is needed and this is what bolts to the adapter brackets I sell. The best way to make sure you get the entire caliper is to ask for rebuilt calipers, loaded, with brackets. This will get the complete caliper assembly with pads.

There are many different pad options available ranging from stockers to carbon metallic. I got some of the pull off calipers with practically new OEM Ford pads.

Brake hoses

You can use the stock Mustang rubber hoses or aftermarket stainless steel brake hoses. I chose the aftermarket hoses since they are much cheaper than the stock hoses, look better, and offer a firmer brake pedal.

To connect the XR hard line to the aftermarket -3 size brake hoses you will need a -3 AN to 10mm x 1.0 metric flare adapter. You can get these from Pegasus Racing (800-688-6946) part number 3265-16 at $7.99 each or Baker Precision http://www.bakerprecision.com/ (800-959-7757) part number 592032 at $3.67 each.

For brake hoses you will need a 14” long -3 size brake hose with a male -3AN flare on one end and a 10mm/3/8 banjo fitting on the other. These are available from Pegasus Racing part number 3-14-S-B at $17.49 each or Baker Precision part number 603011714 at $9.25 each. The hoses from Baker Precision have a -3 female AN on each end so you will need a -3 male AN to 10mm banjo fitting. The part number for this is 997631 at $5.87 each.

BAT offers brake hoses that connect directly to the XR hard line with no adapter fitting. These hose also fit the hole in the cross member and can be retained with the stock retention clip. Call Eric at BAT for pricing.

Banjo bolts

There has been some confusion on the banjo bolt thread. I have read that one caliper is a standard SAE thread and the other caliper is metric. I found that the thread on both calipers is 10mm x 1.5 thread pitch. If you get your calipers from a junkyard make sure you get the banjo bolts also. CBW has the correct banjo bolts listed under part number H9469 at a cost of $6.60 for 4 pieces. Baker Precision has banjo bolts part number 977520 at $3.80 each. You will also need 10mm crush washers. Pegasus part number is 3241-3/8 at $.79 each. Crush washers are also available from CBW.

Caliper brackets

The adapters are CNC machined from 1018 series steel and allow the PBR brake caliper to be bolted to the XR4Ti spindle. Included with the adapters is the hardware required to bolt the calipers to the brackets and the brackets to the spindle. All hardware is metric grade 10.9 or better.

Installation

This is a bolt on installation and the parts install just as easily as the standard XR brakes. All required hardware is included with the caliper brackets.

Remove the stock calipers and rotors. Leave the calipers brake line connected for now as this reduces the mess from the brake fluid. Let the calipers hang down but supported under the car.

The brackets bolt to the spindle where the stock XR caliper goes. Install the brackets with the counter sunk holes facing outward. Insert the supplied bolts and put the nuts on the opposite side. Torque the nuts to 45-ft*lbs.

Pictures 1 & 2:  Caliper Bracket Installed - Caliper and Rotor Installed

Install the rotor than slide the caliper to position. Bolt the caliper to the bracket with the supplied 12mm socket head cap screws. Note that the calipers are handed left and right. The calipers install with the bleed fitting on top. Torque the cap screws to 50-ft*lbs.

Install the brake line to the caliper using the banjo fitting and crush washers. Disconnect the stock flex hose from the hard line and install the fitting adapter and connect the new brake flex hose. Loosen the bleeder fitting until brake fluid comes out. Finish bleeding the brakes and install the wheel. Be sure to check for clearance of the brake line routing against the wheel and suspension at full lock in both directions. I installed a rubber grommet in the frame bracket where the stock brake hose was clipped to and secured the hose with a nylon tie strap.

Pictures 3 & 4:  Adapter Fitting Installed Brake Hose Routing and Banjo Bolt Position

Pictures 5 & 6:  Rear of Spindle Assembly Brake Hose Routing

Required parts

Bracket Kit Contents

CNC Machined Steel Caliper Brackets - QTY. 2

10mm x 1.5 Flat Head Socket Head Cap Screws (Grade 10.9) - QTY. 4

10mm x 1.5 Nuts (Grade 10.9) - QTY. 4

12mm x 1.75 Socket Head Cap Screws (Grade 12.9) - QTY. 4

122 Tessie Drive

Owens Cross Roads, AL 35763

256-716-2775 (W)

256-534-0251 (H)