10" Drum Vs. Disc Brakes

[rikubot]

Title says it all. I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts as I have drum all the way around on my '69 440 Charger and was wanting to upgrade to a disc setup I found on ebay. The drums seem drivable, but not even close to performance and braking is not an area I want to lack in. Here's the kit :

http://www.ebay.com/itm/330762316708?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

 

[Dennis H]

Sure they are not 11" on a big block car? If so, this is the kit I recommend.

www.musclecarbrakes.com

 

[rikubot]

Sure they are not 11" on a big block car? If so, this is the kit I recommend.

www.musclecarbrakes.com

There's a good chance they are. I'll get under there and measure them and make sure. It was originally a 383 car so I assumed it had all the beefier stuff. I really appreciate the link Dennis!

 

[Car Nut]

That's a good price.

 

[Cranky]

Never ran ceramic shoes but used the best I could get in the 70's and 80's and always had great drum brakes on my cars. Even ran a 10.60 1/4 mile car with 11" drums and it hauled it down damn good without going all the way to the end of the track. So many have had lousy results with drums because someone used bottom of the line parts on them and the factory parts were bottom of the line too so it's no wonder that they got such a bad rep. Even the factory shocks were pretty much 2 dollar shocks and were usually one of the first things that got pulled off and replaced along with carbs, intakes and exhaust.....at least that's what I did on my cars.

 

[Jmrgtx]

Mopar Disc brake setup

I just converted my 70 GTX clone 10" drum to to a similar disc brake setup. To make it a tribute car someday the front disc where a must and the car stops so much better.

GO FOR IT!!

JmrGtx

 

[rikubot]

I just converted my 70 GTX clone 10" drum to to a similar disc brake setup. To make it a tribute car someday the front disc where a must and the car stops so much better.

Thanks Jmr, so you just did disc up front if it's a tribute, correct?

 

[Trashdog67]

If you can get past the shirt, you might consider this information. I converted my front brakes to disc and don't regret it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdGYxhbdvdQ

 

[rikubot]

Trashdog,
Thanks a million for that video. Totally rethinking the disc setup. I do have power brakes on my car already, so that's a plus. What kind of setup are you running on your B-body?

 

[67Satty]

The main thing I noticed going from factory drum brakes to a factory disc setup was not so much a braking power difference but a better braking feel as in with the discs it won't pull to one side when braking. It's harder to keep the drum brakes adjusted just perfectly so, so that it doesn't want to pull to one side when braking hard. I also noticed the front discs don't fade as easily doing a lot of heavy stop and go traffic braking like going up and down the hills we have here in San Diego County.

 

[Richard Cranium]

There's a good chance they are. I'll get under there and measure them and make sure. It was originally a 383 car so I assumed it had all the beefier stuff. I really appreciate the link Dennis!

A 383 car most likely will have 10" brakes.

 

[Car Nut]

A 383 car most likely will have 10" brakes.

My 383 69 Charger originally came with 11" drums B31 all around. :tongueflap:

 

[Richard Cranium]

If you can get past the shirt, you might consider this information. I converted my front brakes to disc and don't regret it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdGYxhbdvdQ

So that's Wayne. Love the shelving!!!!

 

[sundevil64]

Discs beat drums in nearly every way especially in wet environments. I have upagraded from drums to discs on my other cars and I never regretted it.

 

[rikubot]

Thanks, everyone. I'm still on the fence about the upgrade. Mostly because my car is a cruiser, so brake-fade isn't a whole lot of concern. What I want most is a reliable emergency stop power. "Wayne" seems to vouch for drums, but mine seem to work somewhat poorly. Thanks for the personal experiences and I'd love to hear more. In the meantime, I'll keep collecting the parts needed for that disc upgrade. I'm scoring a disc master-cylinder from a buddy through a trade, and I'll probably see if I can get a proportioning valve next.

 

[uwss]

You can have the drums drilled at $50 at Chtopping. I kept mine drums, rebuild everything. flushed the brakes and installed DOT 5; it works great.
You have to spend the time to adjust them properly; not a big deal. If it is a cruiser, I wouldn't spend the money. If you are going to race it, then I would do the front, drill the drums in the rear and call it a day. I do stop light to stop light racing so drums work great for me. Someone on this forum said ceramic shoes were available, I would like to know where ?

Does anyone know where to buy ceramic shoes ? I did research on Internet and didn't see anything.

 

[Moparsmitty]

Not sure if you can get ceramic shoes for this car. I used NAPA Ultra Premium shoes on my Belvedere and they work fine. My experience has been that ceramic shoes don't work any better than semi-metallic shoes but they may be a little quieter and create less brake dust.

 

[Funship32]

Not to jack the thread but was wondering if anyone has used the products from musclecarbrakes what what they thought of them??

Sure they are not 11" on a big block car? If so, this is the kit I recommend.

www.musclecarbrakes.com

 

[Bruzilla]

I think to 67Satty's point, the need for a brake upgrade really depends on how and where you drive your car. If you're out doing a lot of street racing, drag racing, or any situation where you're braking from high speeds in short distances frequently, or you live in a hilly area where you are using your brakes almost continually, then it makes sense to make the modification.

If you're just a normal driver, driving the car on mainly level streets at or near the speed limit, then making the mod is more of a "I want it" thing than a "I need it" thing.

 

[5.7 hemi]

Check firmfeel.com for shoes and pads.