I never had to provide any additional clearance. If you can move the caliper back and forth with the key in place but it won't when you put the spring in, it should be ok. The spring pressure is sufficient to put enough pressure on the caliper to make it difficult to slide by hand but the forces that apply and retract the caliper are plenty. It only requires a very small amount to allow the disc to freewheel as designed. This design does have a small amount of drag and doesn't cause any abnormal issues. The tension on that spring is strong enough to support the cast iron caliper on road bumps to prevent rattling, it's no suprise you can't move it by hand.
Test fit without the spring makes a lot of sense. Without the spring it seems like there should be clearance of at least the thickness of the spring. Just did the same 2.5 mile loop at 30 MPH with the same result. Must have gotten the alignment pretty close when I reassembled the steering and front suspension. Steering wheel is centered, doesn't pull one way or the other and stops nice and straight. There's an all-Ford show in Wake Forest, 20 miles from me, this weekend. If I get confident in the brakes and get the car cleaned up I'd llke to make it and meet some local Ford guys.
that was awesome! thank you very much! if anyone is thinking about this swap, you need to down load this. just awesome
If u have it assembled and can drive it I don't see how it cud not be right. I think it can only assemble it one way. Like someone mentioned, there shud be a slight drag on the rotor. Those old sys did not freewheel like the later model cars.
Brakes Work Just Fine Brakes work just fine. Haven't tried any panic stops yet -- waiting to put a few miles on it -- but they sure feel good in normal driving. Pedal pressure required for the manual disks is no problem.
