Cool BrakingNot only does my Cobra brake better than ever, Vintage Venom also reports this system's operating temperature is much lower than that of an SN-95 brake system. Using its own '04 Mustang Mach 1 test car, the company realized a 400-degree difference up front and 145-degree difference out back. Remember, the rear brakes remain stock, so not only are the front brakes doing a lot of the work, but they're also remaining cooler than stock. These results were reported after running the same number of laps at Waterford Hills outside of Detroit, Michigan. Waterford Hills is a tight little race course, one that puts brake systems to the test. I would love to race my Cobra around Waterford Hills, but the brakes aren't the only parts slowing it down.
Steered StraightWhen planning this brake install, I knew my Cobra was in desperate need of a new rack and pinion. My car has a lot of miles on it, and the inner tie rods had begun to show their age. The driverside inner tie rod was about to come out, so it was a good time to replace the whole rack. Gene Evans Ford's Joe Charles came to the rescue with a new rack in time for the install. Now my car steers like it's brand new, and I don't have any noise coming from the front end.
If your Mustang has a ton of miles on it, chances are it could benefit from a new rack.
Starting off with simplicity, the install involves adding a spacer and longer studs to the rear axles to make sure the offset from front to rear is the same. For that, the rearend fluid must be drained and the differential cover removed to access the C-clips holding the rear axles in place. Remove the C-clips and take out the axles. If you don't have new outer axle seals to go in the housing, be careful not to damage the existing seals.
Next attention turns to the front brakes. The Cobra's factory calipers, brake hoses, rotors, and hubs all must come off before installing the Vintage Venom/FRPP GT500 brake package. The factory torque spec on the hubs is 258 lb-ft, so two bowls of Wheaties may be in order before removing them. Vintage Venom recommends removing the factory dust shields if track outings are planned, but since my Cobra is a street car, we left them in place.
With the factory parts removed, the brake conversion kit can be installed. The only reinstalled parts are the hubs. However, the factory wheel studs must be removed and the hub face must be cleaned with a non-abrasive wheel before installing the supplied ARP studs and torquing them to 258 lb-ft.
With the ARP studs in place and the exciter rings reinstalled, Jay slides the axles back in. Here you can see the Vintage Venom-supplied spacer, which is necessary to keep the wheels offsets the same front to rear. After reinstalling the rear axles and spacers, all that's left out back is bolting on the new wheels.
With the hub installed, the spacer follows. Before adding the spacer, Vintage Venom recommends applying a thin layer of antiseize to the inner diameter and hub-mounting face to prevent galvanic corrosion. After the spacer is added, the FRPP rotor and caliper can be installed.
Using the provided Vintage Venom-supplied caliper brackets, which are side-specific, the Brembo calipers are bolted in place. The caliper bolts are treated with thread-locking compound and torqued to 80 lb-ft.
I agonized for weeks over wheel choices. I was stuck between a rock and a hard place since I didn't want anything larger than an 18-inch wheel, but most GT500 wheel options are 20s. Plus, with the new wheel offset, I needed a 45mm offset wheel to clear the brakes. Thankfully, Vintage Venom, American Muscle, and I came together and found American Muscle's 18x9 GT4 wheel would fit perfectly. My Cobra runs the 18x9s all the way around right now with Sumitomo treads, but an 18x10 GT4 will be ready soon, and a pair of them will be out back as soon as they're available.
The included Goodridge brake line brackets require modificaiton before installation. The frame bracket needs to be cut and reconfigured in order to work in our application, but it's a relatively easy cut-and-weld procedure. Another bracket holds the brake line close to the strut and away from the wheel and tire. With the brake lines all tightened up, Jay bled the brakes to finish the job.