jrhslick
New Member
I am in a quandry whether to convert to disc brakes or leave stock. All are working well at this point but how easy is to fine replacements for the stock drums, shoes, etc.?
TIA
John H
TIA
John H
1966 Sport Fury - convert to disc brakes or leave stock?
- Thread starter jrhslick
- Start date
Nice looking car! You too have excellent taste. I have owned mine for 20 years now and that conversion has always been in the back of my mind. But I am in the same position... If it ain't broke, why fix it? My cousin did the conversion on a 66 Valiant and said it was not overly complicated if you have some mechanical experience.
But something I am going to address this winter is, I am replacing the single pot with a double pot. That was always going to be part of the conversion above, but of course, never got there..... it also looks to be a fairly simple conversion and one I should have done 19 years ago.
But something I am going to address this winter is, I am replacing the single pot with a double pot. That was always going to be part of the conversion above, but of course, never got there..... it also looks to be a fairly simple conversion and one I should have done 19 years ago.
I know that Chrysler sized their power drum brake car's brakes appropriately for the intended use, as to engines and trailer towing, etc. Meaning that a 318 car got the smaller sizes and a 440 and trrailer tow/genuine police cars got the 11x3s all the way around. BTAIM
I have always liked OEM-spec parts due to their obvious robustness of design and durability. As things have progressed, the availability of the "consumables"/wear items has dwindled from what it was when the cars were just "used cars", especially brake drums.
I would always trust an OEM design over an aftermarket design, no matter what, BUT for the uses we are using the cars for these days, such robustness can be over-kill, by observation. YET the future parts availability issues can be the winning orientation to follow. Which would usually lead to Wilwood. There ARE a few other companies which supply the disc brake kits, too. AAG and others listed in prior threads in here on that subject.
Doing the dual-reservoir master cyl is an easy bolt-on upgrade. Just need the related lines (usually in repro) and the 1967-1970 power drum brake master cyl.
So, to me . . . the conversion is more about future parts availability than safety or whatever. Which can mean "As long as it works well and meets your needs, no real reason to mess with it". YOUR judgment call.
Take care,
CBODY67
I have always liked OEM-spec parts due to their obvious robustness of design and durability. As things have progressed, the availability of the "consumables"/wear items has dwindled from what it was when the cars were just "used cars", especially brake drums.
I would always trust an OEM design over an aftermarket design, no matter what, BUT for the uses we are using the cars for these days, such robustness can be over-kill, by observation. YET the future parts availability issues can be the winning orientation to follow. Which would usually lead to Wilwood. There ARE a few other companies which supply the disc brake kits, too. AAG and others listed in prior threads in here on that subject.
Doing the dual-reservoir master cyl is an easy bolt-on upgrade. Just need the related lines (usually in repro) and the 1967-1970 power drum brake master cyl.
So, to me . . . the conversion is more about future parts availability than safety or whatever. Which can mean "As long as it works well and meets your needs, no real reason to mess with it". YOUR judgment call.
Take care,
CBODY67
I'd leave them alone if it were me. I have two drum brake cars and they stop just fine.
That said, if you do decide to change, gather up the OEM pieces from a later car rather than an aftermarket kit. From my observations, the Leeds kit seems to be the most troublesome and uses undersize components and Scarebird's kit is exactly that, scary.
I put wilwoods all the way around on mine but required some work to get everything set up specifically in the rear. Leave stock unless you can get some OE front disc setup or spend the money to go with a good kit like wilwood.
customsportsman
Member
Hello,
I wrote this over a year ago. First-hand experience. Sections A, B and C will pertain particularly to you. hope it helps...
A Wrapup of Goodbye and Good Riddance
I wrote this over a year ago. First-hand experience. Sections A, B and C will pertain particularly to you. hope it helps...
A Wrapup of Goodbye and Good Riddance
volksworld
Well-Known Member
it all depends on where you live and how others around you drive...the traffic on Long Island N Y where I'm originally from was awful...if you left an adequate stopping distance somebody dove into the hole and locked up their ABS...going anywhere was a white knuckle experience...upgrading to discs helped that situation immensely...where I live in NC now I'd probably still be fine with drums....plus, when I upgraded 25 yrs ago the factory conversion stuff was a dime a dozen in any junkyard and readily available at any parts house
Personnally, I've never felt the need to convert to discs on my 65 NYer or my 67 Newport. Or my 63 Rivera, for that matter. I don't drive like a maniac, and the drums do a perfectly good job, in my experience.
The biggest problems with drum brakes now is the quality of the replacement linings. The reformulation to remove asbestos was pretty sketchy for low volume older applications and they just dont perform as well. I also was unhapply with the small 2" brakes on my heavy 65 Chrysler convertible with A/C; it never made me feel good.
I used the 73 C-body disc upgrade and it stops great! Since the aftermarket supplies rotors in one piece now you can also use used 69 -72 spindles and caliper brackets, all else is new aftermarket and reasonably available. The only limit is finding a dual diaphram booster for 66 to 68 cars - an Imperial or disc car unit are your options. Soemwhat difficult to find.
It's OEM so it works! I even found that the disc proportioning valve bolted up to the same hole in the frame as the drum line splitter.
Mark
I used the 73 C-body disc upgrade and it stops great! Since the aftermarket supplies rotors in one piece now you can also use used 69 -72 spindles and caliper brackets, all else is new aftermarket and reasonably available. The only limit is finding a dual diaphram booster for 66 to 68 cars - an Imperial or disc car unit are your options. Soemwhat difficult to find.
It's OEM so it works! I even found that the disc proportioning valve bolted up to the same hole in the frame as the drum line splitter.
Mark
Similar threads
