THE BOSS IS BACKA Wilwood Engineering brake upgrade for the Boss Mustang and its subordinates

This Mustang is being updated with theWilwood Engineering part number 140-9110 front disc brake kit that featuresthe rotors, calipers, brake pads, caliperbrackets and the hardware required tocomplete the installation.

This Mustang is being updated with theWilwood Engineering part number140-10158 rear disc brake kit thatfeatures the rotors, calipers, brakepads, caliper brackets and thehardware required to complete theinstallation.

If you look throughout the Mustang’s longhistory, there are a handful of pony cars thatmade history in a big way. All of the ShelbyMustangs were historical in many ways, butthere were several muscle Mustangs that werefast, handled well and just looked bad to thebone. Most Mustang historians will go directlyto the ’69-’70 models because they hadfantastic styling and were powered with enginesthat won NASCAR races, Drag races and TransAm races. Everyone knows about the big Boss429 Mustang that was powered by a twistedhemi engine that gave the Chrysler NASCARteam owners and drivers fits. The Cobra Jetwas another engine that ran better than anyoneexpected and it was the leader in stock classdrag racing. The nastiest looking, best handlingand very impressive accelerating Mustang wasthe Boss 302 that shattered Trans Am racingrecords. The street version of the Boss 302looked mean thanks to the Larry Shinodagraphics, the front and rear spoiler and theMagnum 500 wheels running GoodyearPolyglas tires.

When the designers at Ford wanted an updatedMustang body style they used retro styling thatwas based on the nicest looking Mustang of alltime, the ’69-’70 model. When the first conceptMustang was shown all over the country the

reaction was more than positive, people couldn’twait until the car was a reality. When the firstproduction model was released, the design wasvery reminiscent of the early Mustangs, so much so,that many of the styling tricks used on the early carscould be translated to the new Mustang. In this storywe are working on a 2007 Boss 281 Mustang thatresembles the greatest Mustang of all time rightdown to the stripes, the ’70 Boss 302. This car hasa very powerful engine that runs as good, if notbetter than the original Boss engines. When this caraccelerates it can put you in the seat and keep youthere because it has a long torque curve and powerrange. The acceleration is fantastic, but slowingdown is also important, so the owner of this Bosswanted to make a brake improvement. He is aMustang fan and was aware of WilwoodEngineering’s disc brake kits for ‘60s through ‘90sMustangs and knows how well they work. Hecontacted his Wilwood dealer and they told him thatthere was a brake improvement kit for his newMustang that would increase the Boss’s stoppingpower and the brake would also look impressivebehind the spokes of the large diameter wheels.

This 2007 Mustang is being equipped with Wilwoodpart number 140-9110 front brakes and part number140-10158 rear brakes. It will also be updated withpart number 220-9111 front flex lines and partnumber 220-9248 rear flex lines. Wilwood

recommends that someone experienced andcompetent in the installation and maintenanceof disc brakes should only install the brakeimprovement kits. If you have the necessarymechanical ability and a wide assortment oftools and want to try to install the brakes athome you will need a floor jack and jack stands,an assortment of metric and SAE wrenchesand line wrenches, Loctite 271 (red) threadlocker, a socket wrench with an assortment ofSAE and Metric sockets, an air powered impactgun, a rubber mallet, an inch pound torquewrench and a foot pound torque wrench.

It is recommended that the brake installer shouldinspect the contents of the kits to determine ifeverything is there. Spread out the components anduse the instruction sheet parts list to verify that youhave everything. Make sure you have the correct kitto fit your exact make and model, and that the discbrake lug pattern will work with your wheels. Nowyou can follow along to see how this installation isdone and decide for yourself if you have themechanical ability to perform the installation, or if itwould be better to have a professional do it for you.

The front of the Mustang was raised using the floorjack and then jack stands were placed under the car forsafety. The wheels and tires were removed to accessthe original Mustang brakes. The Ford rotors andcalipers are going to be removed in preparation for thenew brakes.

The original rubber brake lines were removed inpreparation of installing the Wilwood Flexlines. Thebracket by the strut was disconnected and it will bemodified to work with the Wilwood lines.

The original frame bracket, where the steel line matesto the rubber line, was disconnected so that it can bemodified to work with the Wilwood braided steelFlexline.

The hole in the bracket was opened up so that this fittingcould be installed. It will be held in place with a brake lineclip.

Here is the bracket with the steel line and fitting installed,and ready for the braided steel Wilwood Flex line. Hereyou can see the brake line clip that holds the fitting inplace.

Using a socket wrench and the appropriate size socket,the two bolts and washers that fasten the caliper to thebracket were disconnected. This is a heavy cast ironcaliper, so the Wilwood brake kit with aluminum caliperswill lower the weight of the car.

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After the bolts were disconnected, the heavy caliper couldbe lifted off of the bracket assembly.

After the removal of the caliper, the rotor wasdisconnected from the hub assembly to reveal the huband upright. Sometimes you will have to tap the rotor witha rubber mallet to break it loose.

After the rotor was removed, the bolts that secure thedust shield to the spindle were disconnected using asmall socket wrench.

The dust shield was removed from the car and it won’tbe reused. After the upright is removed it would be agood time to clean any dirt from the “hat locator” and lugson the hub.

The rotor and the hat were bolted together using the ¼-20bolts and corresponding washers in the kit. The bolts weretightened to 85 in-lbs and then they were safety wired usingstandard 0.032-inch diameter stainless steel safety wire. Therotor, caliper, caliper brackets and pads were placed on abench prior to installation for easy access.

The Wilwood caliper bracket was bolted to the original calipermounting holes in preparation for getting the proper caliper torotor spacing.

After the Wilwood caliper bracket was secured, the E-coatedrotor was attached to the hub and spindle assembly.

A couple of lug nuts were used to secure the rotor to the hubassembly so that the rotor to caliper centering could bestudied. Since this is a top mounted caliper, the centeringcan be adjusted by placing shims between the caliperbracket and Ford bracket.

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The caliper was connected to the bracket to see if it wascentered properly. Using the shims in the kit, the centeringwas adjusted and that number of shims and washers wereused when the bracket was bolted on for the final time.

The rotor and caliper were removed so that the caliperbracket bolts could be accessed. Here the bolts werecoated with Loctite 271 and were tightened with a torquewrench to 47 ft-lbs.

The caliper bracket studs were coated with oil and thenthey were loaded with the appropriate washers andspacers before the caliper was installed.

The pads were installed in the caliper and they weresecured with the bridge bolts. This kit is using the BP-10Smart Pads. Here you can also notice the brake linefitting in the caliper body that was installed with PTFEthread tape wrapped around the threads.

The caliper was placed on the bracket so that the rotorcentering can be checked one more time. The curve of thebrake pads should also line up with the curved edge of therotor, and as you can see here, they are perfectly lined up.

After it was determined that the caliper was positionedcorrectly, the mounting nuts were tightened to 35 ft-lbs. Thewheels and tires were reinstalled and the front of the carwas lowered.

The Wilwood braided steel Flexline was routed betweenthe bracket on the frame and the fitting on the caliper,making sure that it doesn’t interfere with any moving parts.

The wheels were reinstalled and the front of the car waslowered. After the front of the car was on the ground, therear of the car was raised and jack stands were installedunder the differential. The wheels and tires were removedto reveal the rear brakes.

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The rear rotors, caliper and caliper brackets were placedon a bench prior to installing the parts on the car. Therotors were assembled by connecting the hat to the rotorusing the ¼-20 bolts in the kit. The bolts were coated withLoctite 271 and then they were tightened in an alternatingsequence to 103 in-lbs. After the bolts are tight they weresafety wired using standard 0.032-inch diameter stainlesssteel safety wire.

Disassembly of the rear brakes was started bydisconnecting the steel line from the rubber line as seenhere. After the lines were disconnected, the bracket wasremoved from the inner fender well.

Similar to the way the front bracket was modified, thisone was opened up so that it would accept the fittingshown here. After that was finished the bracket wasbolted back into the original location with one side of thefitting connected to the steel line.

Using a ratchet wrench and the appropriate size socket,the caliper bolts and washers were removed.

After the caliper bolts were removed, the heavy cast ironcaliper was lifted up and was removed away from the car.

The rotor was removed from the rear axle flange as seenhere. Some light tapping with a rubber mallet will helploosen the connection.

Using a small ratchet wrench and the appropriate sizesocket, the dust shield bolts were removed.

After all of the bolts were disconnected, the dust shieldwas removed and it will not be reused.

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After all of the bolts were disconnected, the dust shieldwas removed and it will not be reused.

This original caliper bracket bolt was removed because itwill be used to connect the Wilwood intermediate caliperbracket.

The intermediate caliper bracket was installed first asseen here.

After the intermediate caliper bracket was installed, themain caliper bracket was bolted to the intermediatebracket.

The rotor was installed and it was secured with two lugnuts. This was done to check the rotor to caliper centering.

The rotor to caliper centering was checked to make sure itwas lined up properly. The shims included in the kit can beused to make small adjustments.

The correct amount of shims and washers were installedto get the caliper centered over the rotor. Here the calipermounting nuts were coated with Loctite 271 and weretightened to 30 ft-lbs.

Here is the finished disc brake installation that mounted thecaliper on the backside of the rotor. The brakes should workterrific and they will also be an attractive addition to theappearance of this Mustang.

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This CPB caliper is a combination unit that useshydraulics for the brake pressure and an internalmechanical lock for the parking brakes. The parkingbrake cable was connected to the lever on the side.

The parking brakes for the Mustang were connectedusing the Wilwood Parking Brake Cable Kit. This systemwill use a combination of original parts in conjunction withthe Wilwood part number 330-9371 universal kit.

Wilwood Disc Brakes4700 Calle BoleroCamarillo, CA 93012

805/388-1188www.wilwood.com

Copyright © 2010 Wilwood Engineering, Inc. -All Rights Reserved

Here is the Boss after all of the brakes have beeninstalled. The brakes will need bleeding followed bybedding in the pads. Information on both processes canbe found in the instruction sheet.

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