Hi and welcome to the German Look forums. Please post some pics of your '53.. I have one also and they're getting rare these days
You used to be able to get dropped spindles from CB Performance which went onto a Link Pin front end but then took Ghia disks... not sure if they still do them.
T3 drums... yes they are bigger than stock T1 stuff and certainly a lot bigger than stock 1953 brakes but after having fitted them and experienced the braking... I wasn't that impressed with the results. If I was to do it again, I would use disks at the back also.
You can find out more about improving your brakes at the PG website
http://www.performanceghia.com
Just for your info.. I don't know what the equivalent calipers are to the Talbot Horizon in the US. Someone here may be able to help... you'll know what I mean when you look at the site
Oh... one last piece of info... you could bolt on Porsche 356C front disk brakes... they'll bolt on and give you the Porsche 5 stud (130mm) wheel PCD. The rears will aslo bolt on but there are complications with the shocker mount.
Mike Ghia