When this Mustang entered...
When this Mustang entered the Smoky Mountain Chassis shop, it already had a highly modified 8.8 rearend. The crew then narrowed the rearend and slid in the custom-length Strange axles.
The world of heads-up "street" car racing is quickly advancing into one of the most popular forms of drag racing, mainly because of the outrageous cars in competition. With thousands of horsepower being applied to small tires, it's a nail-biting experience every time one of these Outlaws stages up. Undoubtedly, the Fox-body Mustang is a great platform to build one of these ultra-quick machines, but there's plenty of room for improvement to go from near stock to quarter-mile or eighth-mile rocket.
In any quick car, it's just as important to stop safely as it is to accelerate. For the turbo guys (or anyone with big boost, for that matter), good braking is just as important on the starting line as it is on the big end. Optimum spool-up is the key for turbocharged cars, and stock brakes just won't hold on the line. That's why racers have started using dual-caliper rear brakes on turbo cars, even though it was originally created for dragsters (which only utilize rear brakes).
The Aerospace Dual Caliper...
The Aerospace Dual Caliper kit is very light, and it looks good, too. Aluminum brackets locate the calipers, and Aerospace makes a bolt-on kit for many rearend housings.
Aerospace Components produces a dual-caliper rear brake kit for street-car applications, making it easy to hold the turbocharged cars on the line as the driver brings the rpm up to the torque converter's point of engagement. The Aerospace kit comes with aluminum hats, lightweight rotors, and four billet-aluminum calipers-all of which combined weighs less than the popular Explorer rear disc-brake swap, and it offers much better braking power, too. Aerospace produces bolt-on kits for all sorts of rearend housings, even if you have four-lug axles. All of the necessary mounting brackets are included, and you get a set of Hawk racing pads, which work great.
The subject at hand is a typical '87-'93 Mustang coupe, being built by Smoky Mountain Chassis. It's being converted from an average street/strip car to an all-out SFI 25.5 drag radial monster, and better braking is part of the process. The engine combination is a small-block Ford with an 88mm turbo, so it's sure to run well, and the Aerospace brakes will certainly help.
With 16 pistons of stopping...
With 16 pistons of stopping power on the rearend, this Mustang is sure to slow down in a hurry and hold steady on the line. If one billet-aluminum, four-piston caliper is good, two must be better.
In this case, the owner opted to keep the 8.8 rearend but had it narrowed by Smoky Mountain Chassis in preparation for a pair of big 325 radials. With the axles in place, the installation began, and it was a matter of just two hours until this Pony had a much improved braking system for the rearend.
It was time and money well spent, as this Mustang is ready for the track with the benefit of less rotating mass out back, and no chance of the car lurching forward on the line.
There are three aluminum mounting...
There are three aluminum mounting brackets for each side. One bracket bolts to the housing end, while the other two brackets bolt to it and mount the calipers horizontally from each other. Allen-head bolts and lock nuts are used to attach the brackets
Before installing anything...
Before installing anything on the car, the aluminum hats and lightweight rotors must first be bolted together. The supplied bolts are given a coat of antiseize before being locked down.
With all three brackets in...
With all three brackets in place, the brake rotor is installed next. Two spacers and lug nuts will be threaded onto the studs to keep the rotor snug against the axle flange. The Aerospace brake hats are universal and use three bolt patterns.
Now it's time to slide the...
Now it's time to slide the calipers into place and see how everything lines up. Sometimes shims are used between the mounting brackets to obtain the correct pad-to-rotor spacing.
With the appropriate shims...
With the appropriate shims in place, the bolts can be tightened. The rotor should spin freely, so it's important to check it out before moving onto the second caliper.
The same method is used for...
The same method is used for lining up the second caliper. Take the time to line it up correctly or pad wear could be inconsistent-this isn't a safety hazard, but it's annoying, nonetheless.
With both calipers mounted,...
With both calipers mounted, the 90-degree fittings can be installed. Then the stainless steel flex-lines can be threaded onto the fittings and tightened before joining both lines with a tee fitting.
There's no doubt this Aerospace...
There's no doubt this Aerospace dual-caliper rear brake system will hold this car on the line better than factory equipment, and it should help on the top end as well. Add to that good looks and less weight, and you have a worthwhile brake job.