disc brake conversion....stock or aftermarket?

[Clover]

I assume the drum brake booster is the same as the disc brake one?

The disc booster is not the same- it is dual-diaphragm, as compared to single-diaphragm for drums, so the disc booster is stronger. However, you can use the drum booster and it works fine but with a bit less assist. I converted my ‘66 300 to front discs from a ‘72 New Yorker, 35 years ago and it still works great. I swapped over everything but the booster.

 

[Ross Wooldridge]

LOL probably gonna piss most of the people off that commented on this thread but I put wilwoods on my 66 SF the beginning of this year and with it being the 2nd vehicle I've installed them on I love them. The other vehicle has had them on for 10 years now and still working great. 6 piston front 4 piston rear with 12.19" rotors and still fit 15 aluminum aftermarket wheels for that retro look I wanted with a wheel/tire combo. Didnt waste money with drilled or slotted rotors since you will never notice a difference unless you are building a hardcore road racing vehicle that your'e constantly getting into the brakes hard. Installed both sets myself easily and can stop the lead sled on a dime now but obviously dont have that OE look. As for the other aftermarket kits I've looked at them and many seem kind of sketchy especially if you opt for the rear disc that uses a parking brake for most non wilwood aftermarket kits.

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It doesn't piss me off if it works well for you. I'm glad when people have success with brake upgrades. It gives us all more options.

 

[Ross Wooldridge]

Okay, looks like my initial feeling about going with the stock setup is the correct one. My '69 Fury III has the original factory 4 piston calipers and the brakes feel like I want this wagon to feel....awesome. Now, to figure out what year cars to look for in the junkyard for the "right stuff".
I assume the drum brake booster is the same as the disc brake one?

The drum booster is definitely NOT the same as the disc booster. Please do NOT use a drum booster on a discs system, whatever you may hear. Even though it will bolt up and work fine for most brake applications of your drum system, it does not provide as much boost as a disc system needs, and will let you down when you need it the most. That could make the difference between killing the kid that rode his bike out in front of you, or stopping that 15' shorter and just swearing at them.

Some people (like @Clover) have no issues using a drum booster on a disc system (perhaps they got a good master cylinder bore that suits the system well), but most complain of weak brakes when doing so. I personally had the weak booster experience, and would not go back to it.

The booster that's on your Fury III is what you need, but is hard to find, but they're out there. However, your wagon could easily use the later model 71-73 single diaphragm disc booster which is still relatively easy to find. Should bolt right up, perhaps with only minor mods at the firewall. It's what that 69-73 body moved to with disc boosters.

 

[fury fan]

EDIT - somehow I missed Ross's post above, but I'll leave this as it has pics in it...

I assume the drum brake booster is the same as the disc brake one?

NO! Drumbrake boosters will seem to work OK, but don't provide enough boost for heavy stops.
When you need your brakes most, they may not provide their max potential.
1970 would use a dual-diaphragm booster (very HTF), but teh bottom one was used in 1971-1973 and would likely fit OK.

 

[Clover]

EDIT - somehow I missed Ross's post above, but I'll leave this as it his pics in it...


NO! Drumbrake boosters will seem to work OK, but don't provide enough boost for heavy stops.
When you need your brakes most, they may not provide their max potential.
1970 would use a dual-diaphragm booster (very HTF), but teh bottom one was used in 1971-1973 and would likely fit OK.




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Ross is absolutely correct that a disc booster is the better choice! Try Murray Park.

 

[SportFuryman]

LOL probably gonna piss most of the people off that commented on this thread but I put wilwoods on my 66 SF the beginning of this year and with it being the 2nd vehicle I've installed them on I love them. The other vehicle has had them on for 10 years now and still working great. 6 piston front 4 piston rear with 12.19" rotors and still fit 15 aluminum aftermarket wheels for that retro look I wanted with a wheel/tire combo. Didnt waste money with drilled or slotted rotors since you will never notice a difference unless you are building a hardcore road racing vehicle that your'e constantly getting into the brakes hard. Installed both sets myself easily and can stop the lead sled on a dime now but obviously dont have that OE look. As for the other aftermarket kits I've looked at them and many seem kind of sketchy especially if you opt for the rear disc that uses a parking brake for most non wilwood aftermarket kits.

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I am looking to put the Wildwood kit on my 66 Sport Fury and couldn’t find much feedback on it. This was what I needed! Thanks for your info!!

 

[HOT FURY]

I am looking to put the Wildwood kit on my 66 Sport Fury and couldn’t find much feedback on it. This was what I needed! Thanks for your info!!

hit me up if you have any questions or issues with install

 

[65 Polara 500]

I just finished the Hot Rod Power Tour in my '70 Plymouth Suburban. We did about 1800 miles in a week, and I have a new appreciation for having confidence in brakes. My unrestored 383 wagon has factory power drums already, and I'm considering discs for the front. I have some B and E bodies that all have factory discs and I'd like the brakes on this wagon to give me the same confidence.
I like to keep things "stock" as much as possible, but considering I'm going to probably drive this car on the Tour regularly, my first inclination is to find all the factory disc brake parts so that it ends up just like it came with power discs.
If I go that way, what year and models of C bodies are the disc brake parts the same as a 1970 would have had? And would going the stock route work as well as an aftermarket kit? For this particular car, I am open to compromising some of the pure stock appearance in the interest of safety.
Really looking for some thoughts on this before next year...thanks.

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I used Scarebird Classic Brakes LLC, and I am extremely happy. Had everything done in just a few hours with no issues at all, and saved a lot of money! My car pushes over 500hp and stops on a dime.

 

[SportFuryman]

hit me up if you have any questions or issues with install

Thanks!! By the way, your car is Gorgeous!!

 

[Ben Herman]

I have an SSBC Conversion. Don't give SSBC your money...

I got the kit with mismatched parts that didn' fit together (soft lines were the wrong thread for the caliper).

The kit was sold as working with the factory booster (maybe if I could apply 600lbs to the pedal).

The pads that came with it seem to have been made of butter. After trying every other possible thing I could think of I installed EBC Yellow pads and made my fist hard stop in 6 years.

The rotors seem to come warped out of the box. I'm still dealing with this. You also pay dearly for their "special" rotors which they say are modified mustang rotors. Dragraceparts.com sells them a good bit cheaper than buying from SSBC directly, but they still come warped out of the box.