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Topic: help from those of you who have done a TC rear swap. (Read 6749 times) previous topic - next topic

help from those of you who have done a TC rear swap.

I have my TC rear in place and am going to install the TC parking brake cables this weekend.  I have used the tech article about the swap from coolcats and it says to get all the necessary parking brake brackets from the turbo coupe.  I have purchased all new cables and also have the old ones.  The old ones only have two brackets on them.  My question is exactly how many pieces of hardware should I have from the Turbo Coupe and which of my old stuff could I reuse.  I figured I'd get some advice from someone who has done the swap before I tear into it.  (hopefully I explained myself well enough here.) :D
'88 'bird, 10.9:1 306 w/TFS top end, forged rods/pistons, T-5 swap & bunch of other stuff, 1-family owned, had it since ‘98, 5.0tbrd88 on Instagram and YouTube

Re: help from those of you who have done a TC rear swap.

Reply #1
unfortunatly i didnt have mine, so im going to be useing the 2 cables attached to the calipers from a mark 7. thunder306 showed me this, it works well. you just have to attach the cables together with the box clip thing. im betting all you need is the 2 end cables, then attach em. if i do it before you ill post pix, gotta find time to get to the junkyard.

Shady e-brake mod that works

Reply #2
Mark 7 rear cables are 100x's easier to find in my area than the TC rear cables. So I picked up just the rear sections of the cables at a local u-pull-it for about 5 bux  :banana: .

I'll try and describe the mods I did to the cables the best I can.

1. Bend the little bracket thingy off the end of the cable, cause you just need the ball end.

2. Cut the end spring in half and remove it, DON'T SCREW UP THE CABLE, just cut the spring end and take it off.

3. Insert the bare cable with no spring into the caliper bracket mounting hole and than thread the half spring back to the cable. I don't know if this step is really necessary but it helps the caliper spring back quicker when the brake is released.

4. Hook up the ball end to the caliper and attach the little brackets on the bottom that hold the cable away from the wheel.

5. now the passenger side came up short on my car with the adjuster all the way out. So what I did was grind down that huge allen key in your set that you will never use, and make it so you can join two of the little boxes that connect the cables together. This should give you another 3-5 inches to play with

6. Now just adjust the bolt on the adjuster and your done.

All of this was done with my stock 88 tbird LX e-brake setup with Mark 7 rear sections


This is how I made up the 3-5 inches of calbe on the passenger side. I used a allen wrench grinded down for this cause its like hardened steal or something, rather than a nut and bolt that could come undone (best part about it was it's was from my co-workers allen set  :headbang: )

[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]


Re: help from those of you who have done a TC rear swap.

Reply #3
Hey thanks guys.  I'm going to be working on it today as its supposed to rain all day here.  I think I have all the right stuff to do it right.  It'll be nice to get it done.
'88 'bird, 10.9:1 306 w/TFS top end, forged rods/pistons, T-5 swap & bunch of other stuff, 1-family owned, had it since ‘98, 5.0tbrd88 on Instagram and YouTube

Re: help from those of you who have done a TC rear swap.

Reply #4
Ok I'm starting to get frustrated here.  I thought I had all the right brackets for the new TC cables but I guess I was wrong (the yard where I bought the axle would not let me go back into the yard to "supervise" the removal of the axle and I didn't examine it enough to see what all I needed).  Today I decided to just pull out all of my LX cable stuff and put in brand new turbo coupe cables.  I would really appreciate it if someone could explain or even post a pic of the whole setup but mainly of the area where the pedal cable connects with the other two.  Is it the same as in my old setup in which it used a device that had pulleys in it?  The only bracket I really have is one that allows for adjusting the brakes (it has a really long bolt with a nut on the end which goes through it.)  Am I missing a bunch of stuff or what?  Any help or pics would be very very much appreciated.
'88 'bird, 10.9:1 306 w/TFS top end, forged rods/pistons, T-5 swap & bunch of other stuff, 1-family owned, had it since ‘98, 5.0tbrd88 on Instagram and YouTube

Re: help from those of you who have done a TC rear swap.

Reply #5
Anyone?  I'm ready to  :shoothead if I don't figure this out soon!
'88 'bird, 10.9:1 306 w/TFS top end, forged rods/pistons, T-5 swap & bunch of other stuff, 1-family owned, had it since ‘98, 5.0tbrd88 on Instagram and YouTube

Re: help from those of you who have done a TC rear swap.

Reply #6


These are two pictures of the setup on my car.  I used new cables and removed everthing intact from a turbo coupe.  Basically, everything is different, besides the pedal mechanism and the small front bracket.  It helps to take it off of the car so you can study the setup.  Let me know if the pics help at all.  If you go to a Ford dealer, they can give you a whole printout of the e brake setup, even though none of the parts are available.

The bracket you see in the top pic all the way in the front of the car is original, and all cars have it.  The bracket  closest to the camera which is toward the rear of the car had to be removed from a TC.  It is riveted in, and is a pain to remove.
1988 Thunderbird
5.0 HO, t5, TC rear, TC brakes, etc. - Gone

Re: help from those of you who have done a TC rear swap.

Reply #7
Man you have no idea how much this helps.  Looks like I need to do a little fabrication but I have most of the stuff shown in the pics.  I would not have thought that everything was so different!  Thanks a ton!  :bowdown:

Now I just have to get the pedal to junction cable out.  Its a royal pain in the butt.  It seems like there is no way to get to the darn thing under the dash.
'88 'bird, 10.9:1 306 w/TFS top end, forged rods/pistons, T-5 swap & bunch of other stuff, 1-family owned, had it since ‘98, 5.0tbrd88 on Instagram and YouTube

Re: help from those of you who have done a TC rear swap.

Reply #8
Hey 88lx50 I have a few more questions!  The bracket shown in the second pic closest to the picture which you mention came only from the turbo coupe.  How did you install it on your car?  I have the bracket but since it was riveted in the previous car I'm wondering how I'm gonna go about stickin it up under mine.  Another question for you, How in the heck do you get the cable loose from the pedal inside the car?  Do you have to take the pedal assembly completely out?  I hate working on anything inside the car, especially under the dash and I'm starting to lose my patience!  I really appreciate the help from you or anyone else.
'88 'bird, 10.9:1 306 w/TFS top end, forged rods/pistons, T-5 swap & bunch of other stuff, 1-family owned, had it since ‘98, 5.0tbrd88 on Instagram and YouTube

Re: help from those of you who have done a TC rear swap.

Reply #9
I used rivets to put the bracket in.  You have to drill a couple of pilot holes and it does not need a big rivet.

It has been awhile since I put the cable in.  I think I had to loosen up the assembly to slip the cable in.  The old cables are a pain to take out because of the bracket that snaps in place.  They have to be broken off.
1988 Thunderbird
5.0 HO, t5, TC rear, TC brakes, etc. - Gone

Re: help from those of you who have done a TC rear swap.

Reply #10
Well I just got the bracket riveted in.  I was thinking about welding it opr something because I did not want to drill holes, but I guess thats the way it was done from the factory so it should be about the best way to go.  (I'll probably go back and seal the gaps with sealant to keep corrosive materials out).  The only real problem I have now is that the cables rub on the rear tires.  I need to find out what retains the cables on the back half on the car as they come from the brakes and head toward the middle section.  It looks like they should fasten on the rear control arm somewhere.  Hopefully I'm not missing anymore brackets or hardware I'm not aware of. :dunno: Anyway thanks for the help.  The parking brakes do work...now I just need to iron a few things out and get the proportioning valve in so I can test out my new turbo coupe rearend and disc brakes!  (should be a big difference going from 2.73's to 3.73's!)
'88 'bird, 10.9:1 306 w/TFS top end, forged rods/pistons, T-5 swap & bunch of other stuff, 1-family owned, had it since ‘98, 5.0tbrd88 on Instagram and YouTube

Re: help from those of you who have done a TC rear swap.

Reply #11
To keep the cables from rubbing I just got a small bracket out of the junk drawer and put a self tapping screw in to hold the cable. And yeah going from 273 to 355/373 is a big difference!! don't forget to order the speedo gear though. I'm actually thinking of putting a prop valve in myself. It's fix everything up month around here so I figure I'll put one in, Hell I went like 8 years on a TC rear without one lol
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]


Re: help from those of you who have done a TC rear swap.

Reply #12
Yeah I can't wait to see how much the gearing difference wakes up my 5.0.  So where is a good place to get the new speedo gear?  I am guessing a Ford dealership would be the best place to get the proper one.  As far as my rubbing cables go I will probably do something similar to what you did thunder306.  Good lookin 'bird btw.  I'll post pics of mine when I get the front springs in and all four wheels/tires on it.  It should change the look of it a lot! :banana:
'88 'bird, 10.9:1 306 w/TFS top end, forged rods/pistons, T-5 swap & bunch of other stuff, 1-family owned, had it since ‘98, 5.0tbrd88 on Instagram and YouTube

Re: help from those of you who have done a TC rear swap.

Reply #13
Quote
I'll post pics of mine when I get the front springs in and all four wheels/tires on it. It should change the look of it a lot!


Thats what I'm starting tonight, front springs, 11" brake upgrade, and MM c/c plates.. cant wait till its done  :banana:  :banana:  :banana:  :banana:  :banana:  :banana:  :banana:  :banana:  :banana:  :banana:
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]


Re: help from those of you who have done a TC rear swap.

Reply #14
Just FYI...there are factory e-brake cable holders for the rear control arms that you can use. Look on any rear-disc equipped SN95 Mustang and you'll see them. They bolt right on using one of the sway bar bolts...pretty slick. They should work on most aftermarket lowers too; mine are working fine with Saleen Racecraft lowers.