Looking for opinions on how to proceed

[1 Wild R/T]

i agree on disk brakes i went with wilwood 4 wheel disk on my charger 4 piston caliper they sure look pretty will be testing them out soon, thanks for the pic that will be one cool car, 4 speed?

Unfortunately no... Console Auto... But the previous/original owner had put a 4 speed & a Dana in it....

Hence the replacement floor, I'm not sure if he used a hatchet or a hand grenade to make the hole for the shifter... I kinda regret not leaving the 4 speed but when I first got it I was wanting to go back stock...

The original owner claimed this was the fastest car in the Fremont area when it was new... I know there were faster cars in the area but I'm willing to bet they wouldn't line up against this car cause the owner just didn't give a ****... He beat & butchered the car.. If you look at the photo where the floor is cut out just behind the cut away area theres metal sticking up.... Thats were the driveshaft tried climbing through the floor...
When he added the four speed he didn't have a tranny mount so he chained it down & went racing...
The Dana was from a 67 GTX & had 4:56 gears in it... The kid who connected me to the car wanted it badly & I didn't so I gave it to him...

Anyway a couple more pictures of the floor..

 

[Don selleck]

wow quite a project, I always joke about my newer challenger and not saving for the next guy, sounds like he had alot fun with that car, keeping it red?, was that the original color?

 

[451Mopar]

A few things to consider on the drum vs. disk argument is the convertibles can get pretty heavy.
My Convertible, with power windows, A/C, extra speakers, sub, etc is around 4,500 pounds.
Next, the pre 1970 11" brakes had to be manually adjusted. When I rebuilt my brakes, I upgraded to the 1970 self adjusters and spring kit.
Also, those 11" drums are very heavy.
In general driving they were OK, but I had some pulling on panic stops, and I would not want to do any performance or track driving with the drum brakes because they can't dissipate the heat.

 

[vintage chromoly]

Still have the manual drums on my 68 coronet RT.
They work just fine.
No need to waste time, effort and money on discs.

One of the most often preformed unnecessary mods in the hobby

 

[NJRR]

Still have the manual drums on my 68 coronet RT.
They work just fine.
No need to waste time, effort and money on discs.

One of the most often preformed unnecessary mods in the hobby

I disagree. Two of the most important things on any car are tires and brakes. Disc brakes perform better than drum brakes, especially in stop and go driving where the drums can't dissipate the heat buildup and you get reduced performance. If you have to stop short when the drums are already heated up, you might not stop in time and rear end the idiot who stopped short in front of you or run over the little kid who darted out from in between parked cars. The difference between 5 ft shorter stopping distance might save a life or a wrecked car. I think it was well worth the conversion to discs on my car, both time and money wise.

 

[vintage chromoly]

You’ll be horrified to learn that my coronet also runs on bias ply tires.

I disagree. Two of the most important things on any car are tires and brakes. Disc brakes perform better than drum brakes, especially in stop and go driving where the drums can't dissipate the heat buildup and you get reduced performance. If you have to stop short when the drums are already heated up, you might not stop in time and rear end the idiot who stopped short in front of you or run over the little kid who darted out from in between parked cars. The difference between 5 ft shorter stopping distance might save a life or a wrecked car. I think it was well worth the conversion to discs on my car, both time and money wise.

 

[NJRR]

You’ll be horrified to learn that my coronet also runs on bias ply tires.

That's your choice.
God bless America !!!!!!

 

[Dennis H]

Go for a ride with me in LA traffic. 11” Drums. We won’t hit anything, no one will die. However, I will navigate insanely as those around me do. It’s the safest course of action.

 

[Don selleck]

all comes down to what you want and how you use it, if its a cruiser drums will be fine if you have a beefed up motor and plan on accelerating and using your brakes repetively and braking hard occasionally, front disc at least. my charger is 550 plus hp disc is a must for me. my old barracuda had a 340 12 to 1. screaming car, very fun to drive, 4 wheel drums all the way around, they worked but when they heated up, not so good. had a few *** clenching moments.

 

[65wgn440]

Someday soon I hope to have something more to show but it's been a stalled project for to long.... I've cleared everything that got in the way & the Coronet is back at the front of the line.... So how about a few teaser pics...


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65wgn440, not to piss ya off to much but I've owned allot of these cars through the years & I like disc brakes.... And Fuel Injection.... Since it's my cars & my $$$ I'll have disc brakes... Now where's that poking yer tongue out emoji....

But I will offer ya a beer...LOL..

Ha ! I never get pissed off on FBBO ! (FABO maybe !!) Just an opinion, not a directive. Hell, I will probably throw disc's on the front of my car, IF I find a good deal on a set-up, before I pass it down to my oldest son ( 11 sec street car ), but the kid better read up on carb's !! Just don't think it has to be #1 on the to-do list, that's all. Now about that automatic trans.................

 

[1 Wild R/T]

Ha ! I never get pissed off on FBBO ! (FABO maybe !!) Just an opinion, not a directive. Hell, I will probably throw disc's on the front of my car, IF I find a good deal on a set-up, before I pass it down to my oldest son ( 11 sec street car ), but the kid better read up on carb's !! Just don't think it has to be #1 on the to-do list, that's all. Now about that automatic trans.................

LOL... I have never had much luck in scoring 4spd cars, I've owned about 25 Mopar muscle cars through the 70's till now, and a half dozen other brand vehicles.. Out of all those only my Hemi Challenger & my 65 Falcon 2dr Station Wagon had a manual trans... & the Falcon was a three on the tree...

My thing about fuel injection is simply with the absolute **** gas we get here in California the fuel boils so badly sometimes it's very hard to start your vintage carbureted cars.... Stone cold, crank crank crank, crank crank crank.... Hot same thing.... Back in the seventies & eighties my Mopar's started with barely touching the key.... Not anymore...
Changed over to a FiTech system & now I don't care if it's stone cold or hot as hell, I can reach through the window & twist the key... It fires every time & it'll sit there & idle.... Obviously it runs great in the mountains & at the ocean but mostly it starts as it should instead of embarrassing me as I sit in the car grinding away at the starter.....

 

[65wgn440]

That's funny, two of the few auto cars I had were a '70 Challenger R/T and a '63 Falcon wagon !

 

[1 Wild R/T]

Nice! LOL..

 

[threewood]

I say use a rear mounted setup so you can keep your k member. Brakes are easy to swap out back to original and if I was in the market for another car a factory style setup (whether original or put together) would be fine with me. Nice car btw, hope to see it all back together.

 

[1 Wild R/T]

I say use a rear mounted setup so you can keep your k member. Brakes are easy to swap out back to original and if I was in the market for another car a factory style setup (whether original or put together) would be fine with me. Nice car btw, hope to see it all back together.

Well, I have both K members, both sway bars, both style spindles, caliper brackets for the big rotors and on and on....
Lots of powder coated parts waiting to get used....
And lots of black oxide plated parts too....

 

[1967coronet]

Sounds just like an old friend of mine told me at a cruise in one time. He had a 30 Model A Ford and had sent the engine off for a Hot Rod rebuild. He had it installed in this otherwise all original Model A, rusty patina but everything was in outstanding mechanical condition including the mechanical brakes. I asked him, now that this car will run 70-75 mph, how do you stop it with those old mechanical brakes? He told me that everything was adjusted correctly and it stopped straight and all you could do was just slide the tires, so it made no difference if he converted it to hydraulic brakes.

He had a point.

I have nothing again disc brake set ups but without the anti lock tech they still depend on the driver to apply the right amount of pedal to keep from locking them down.
I hear guys go back and forth over rotor size and should you drill or not.
For most of these cars that may see 1000 miles per summer going to donuts and coffee its not really a issue.
Race cars are a whole different story.
For me drum brakes are just fine. My auto adjusters all work and she stops straight on the raybestos linings.
I grew up driving with drum brakes and feel safe with them on the car.
At the same time I can relate to a young driver using drums for the 1st time after they are used to a disc set up.

 

[451Mopar]

I like going for drives through the Colorado mountain roads, and there are many long steep grades, and switchbacks which puts the drums to the test. I think the new Disks will be an upgrade? Just need to finish wiring the car so I can drive it.

 

[1 Wild R/T]

I like going for drives through the Colorado mountain roads, and there are many long steep grades, and switchbacks which puts the drums to the test. I think the new Disks will be an upgrade? Just need to finish wiring the car so I can drive it.

Colorado has some beautiful scenery, the mountains will definitely test your brakes & thats an area where the discs will shine....

 

[theman440]

Museum car - keep the drums.
Are you gonna drive it? - put disks on the front.

. . . easy!

 

[tallhair]

Colorado has some beautiful scenery, the mountains will definitely test your brakes & thats an area where the discs will shine....

My Dads 71 Fury had the big C body 11.75 disc brakes and man that thing would stop!

My plan is to use the same disc-o-tech setup it sounds like you are doing but will probably mount the calipers in back and keep original K frame and antisway bar, mainly cause I think the 68 sway bars look cool. Also plan to eventually do same with the 70 RR which has skidplate A31 suspension.

You are still going to have the original parts so a future owner can undo the changes if they desire and may just appreciate the mods you made.