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The 1975-1980 Ford Granada/Mercury Monarch spindles are a very easy and cost efficient way to add front disc brakes to your classic Mustang. With a little scrounging around the local salvage yards and the right tools, one can easily do this swap on a weekend and without breaking your wallet. This swap assumes one already has a V8 suspension. I-6 suspensions are not as easily converted as they will require a V8 centerlink in addition to V8 inner tie rods and adjusting sleeves increasing the overall cost and labor of the conversion. In addition, I-6 cars came with 4 lug wheels, another issue that must be addressed as V8 cars have a 5 lug pattern (5x4.5" bolt pattern). 1967 and later Mustangs can also be fitted with Granada front disc brakes, in fact they are even easier than the 65-66 as the brake line hoses from the caliper do not need to be modified.
From the donor car you will want the right and left front spindles, calipers (as a core) and possibily the distribution block. A nice upgrade is the Wilwood proporting valve which eliminates the need for the distribution block and allows the brake bias to be adjusted.
One word of caution, Lincoln Versailles spindles visually are identical to the Granada/Monarch with one major exception, the lower ball joint!
The Lincoln Versailles spindles use a larger lower ball joint that is not compatable with the Mustangs lower control arm. Too further complicate the problem, Lincoln ball joints are not available new if you were to try and adapt to the Mustangs lower control arm. There are spacers available to correct this, but I won't vouch for the safety of these. Save yourself a lot of headaches and get the right spindle the first time.
In the interest of safety, we highly recommend that the whole brake system be rebuilt using new or refurbished parts. You're putting on disc brakes to make your car safer, why compromise with questionable parts that have been sitting in a salvage yard for an unknown amount of time. We found Napa and Pep Boys to have everything needed in stock and at very reasonable prices. You will need to pick up a set of outer Granada tie rods, as the Mustang outer tie rods will not work with the Granada spindle. If you are using manual steering, the outer tie rods are the same for the right and left side and can be easily found at any local parts store for around $15 a piece. If you have power steering on a 65-66 it is going to be a little harder to find, as the driver's side outer tie rod requires a special (i.e. custom) tie rod. This is now available from CSRP for $19 (part #TR3) or from Mustangs Plus at a more expensive price.
Fortunately the passenger side tie rod is the same as a manual steering car and can be found at any major parts store.
Those with a performance suspension or those who intend to lower their Mustang may want to look into a Baer Tracker kit and eliminate the Granada outer tie rods. The Baer Tracker kit (Part# 3261003) comes with heavy duty outer tie rods with heim joints, new stronger adjusting sleeves AND the ability to adjust bump steer, a definite plus to anyone who modifies their suspension, especially those who lower the front end. It is important to order the Baer tracker kit for a 70-73 Mustang and not for a 65-66 Mustang as the tie rod taper is larger on the Granada spindle. We have recently upgraded to the Baer tracker kit and have been very pleased with its performance. The adjusting sleeves did have to be shortened approximately 1" to obtain proper toe alignment specs, a simple task with a hacksaw or similar tool.
The Granada Caliper is designed with the rubber brake line hose exiting out toward the front of the car, while the original Mustang drum brake wheel cylinders have the brake line exit toward the rear of the car. What this means is the rubber hose isn't going to be long enough. To further complicate the matter, the Granada rubber hose will not match up with the 65-66 Mustang steel lines on the chassis. This used to be a major hassle with the Granada swap, until now. Mustangs Plus sells an extremely convient steel brake line adaptor (part #05126) that will allow the Granada rubber brake lines to mate with your Mustangs steel lines, and corrects for the longer length needed to reroute the brake line from the caliper. This is a real time saver and is worth every penny! A possible performance and saftety upgrade is eliminating the rubber brake line and upgrading to braided Stainless lines. The upgrade is less than $10 over rubber lines and will help reduce brake fade that rubber lines often experience in performance situations. Available from Mustangs Plus, use the kit for the 67 Mustang (Part #05328).
In the process of rounding up parts, we came across a free 1969 Mustang disc brake master cylinder from a friend. After doing a little research on the Master Cylinder, we noticed that all factory disc brake equipped Mustangs from 1967 and up came with power brakes. We were hesitant to use the master cylinder at this point as we would be using manual brakes instead. Well, it bolted right in and our original pushrod from the brake pedal went right into the back of it no problem, so we figured what the heck. We didn't pay anything for it, and we could always try something else if it didn't work. Well, it works great and pedal feel is excellent. The pedal height also remained unchanged, eliminating the need to purchase an adjustable push rod. Another plus of this master cylinder is the outlets are on the driver's side, making the brake line installation easier and giving a factory look. There are other master cylinders that are known to work well. The 1974 Maverick manual disc brake master cylinder is probably the most popular Master Cylinder of choice.
Once all the parts have been aquired to complete the swap, its time to remove your old spindles. It is possible to remove your front spindles without removing the coil springs, but great care must be taken. In most cases it is easier (and safer) to rent a good spring compressor and remove the coil springs. Once the bolts holding the upper and lower ball joints have been loosened, the old drum spindles can be removed. The Granada/Monarch spindles swap right in, using your old Mustang ball joints off the upper and lower control arms. Bolt up the Granada/Monarch outer tie rods to the spindle (or baer Tracker Kit) and screw the threads into your Mustang's original adjusting sleeves, approximately the same amount as the old outer tie rods. A trip to the alignment shop is needed after the swap is done to get the toe set properly. Now the brake lines are ready to be installed, using the Granada rubber brake line (or upgraded Braided Stainless lines) from the caliper into the handy steel brake line adaptor from Mustangs Plus. Next the steel brake line adaptor then mates to the factory steel brake lines on the body of the car. The underside work is now complete and its time to move on to the engine bay.
 Inside the engine bay, remove your old master cylinder, being very careful not to spill any brake fluid on that nice paint job. Be sure to keep your old pushrod attached to your brake pedal. Your new Ford dual chamber master cylinder bolts right up in place of your old master cylinder and is now waiting for the fun part, bending brake lines. The front chamber of the master cylinder is your rear brakes. The rear chamber is for your front brakes. Because disc brakes are more efficient than drum brakes, you'll need the proportion valve (or Wilwood Adjustable Proporting valve) you picked up at the salvage yard. By now you have cleaned it out using brake fluid and have figured out the best place to mount it. I found the original drum distribution block location best on my car, with a little tweaking. Do be careful bending the original brake lines to the proportion valve, kinks are not good!
There are adjustable proportion valves available, and we used one by Wilwood on my car. We found it very helpful in getting a good pedal feel. It took a few turns of the Wilwood proportion valve to get a solid pedal, even after repeated bleeding of the master cylinder. Once the proportion valve is in place, it's just a matter of bending the 3/16" brake lines from the Master Cylinder to the proportion valve and tightening up everything. It takes a little patience. Don't forget to bleed the brakes and check for leaks before driving!
Our total cost for the swap was about $500. That's about $450 cheaper than any kit offered by the big companies. There are a few issues that must be addressed however. Some 14" rims will not clear the Granada rotor (especially the stock 14" Styled Steel wheels), as the Granada rotor has a very wide snout. This can be turned down by a machine shop if necessary. It's also possible some 14" rims could have clearance problems with the caliper. We consider this a great time to upgrade to larger rims if funds allow. Of course a cheaper alternative would be to grind down the offending area on the caliper or even scouring the salvage yard for used rims. The Cragar rims (15x7, 4¼" backspacing) We're using do not have any problems. As for fender clearance, the tires have never rubbed with a 215 60 R15 tire or the current 225 50 R15 tires on the car now. It should be noted that Granada brakes do not increase your track width, or in layman's terms your wheels will not be moved in or out from the original spindles in relationship to the fender. Some aftermarket brakes like Wilwood do move your wheels out 1" from the original Mustang spindles and can require new rims with an increase in backspacing to prevent rubbing.
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Having a hard time finding a used set of Granada spindles?
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New Granada spindles and all necessary hardware are now available at CSRP.
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Once the holes have been drilled and the suspension has been reassembled the car will need to be realigned again. Starting off with half the original shims that were in place (on the 65-66 cars) should get you close enough to drive the car for an alignment. One word of caution, many shops today do not like to work on older cars, especially ones that have been modified. It took several attempts to find a shop that was willing to align our car. Upgrading to a set of 
Another possible alignment upgrade is adding a
