Just like the title reads,are the 9 inch finned drum brakes on a 72 Valiant adequate for "normal" driving(as in to school and back and running errands and some interstate driving at posted legal speed limits)?
These would be rebuilt with new front drums and and all new hardware including shoes and lines if needed and new wheel cylinders.
I know that alot of people are going to say just to switch to disks but late abody disks are non-existant around here and have already bought new wheels to suit the small bolt pattern,also dont want change the rear as it is in good shape.
This is my Daughters car and she will be using it mostly in a small town atmosphere and wont be pushing the car to its limits or driving on extended mountain roads.
If no one thinks these brakes are good enough,I will probably use the Scarebird conversion or try to find a small bolt disk(I am currently running small bolt K-H disks on my 63 Dart and it does get pushed and the brakes have always performed flawlessly).
Is any body on the site using the Scarebird conversion?If so ,how do you like it?
Thanks for all and any opinions
and suggestions.
HyperValiant

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1960 Hyper-Pac Valiant(rolling test-bed)
1963 Valiant V2OO(Son's summer project,- he just turned 15 )
1972 Valiant 4dr(Daughter Kelly's repair in progress)
1974 Valiant (v8) daughter Kelly's work in progress

Go take a look at the front end of your '72 Valiant. Is it all crushed and crumpled, stove in from where it ran into another car? No? Then I guess the brakes must be adequate! Seriously, bigger drums or discs are better, but 9" drums in good repair and proper adjustment are adequate for safe, careful, thoughtful driving in modern traffic.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

I find that the lighter bodies are 'easier' to manage with the 9" drum brakes as long as you are 'defensive driving'... although I must admit, when I climb back behind the wheel of my '76 with disk brakes, it takes a bit to get used to a tap of the pedal to get the thing stopped vs. some moderate pressure to the pedal in the drum setup... (I can't imagine a 9" setup under a 73-76 A-body.....)

-D.idiot

Nice one Dan ,so I wont be a bad father by rebuilding the stockers to proper working order.
HyperValiant

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1960 Hyper-Pac Valiant(rolling test-bed)
1963 Valiant V2OO(Son's summer project,- he just turned 15 )
1972 Valiant 4dr(Daughter Kelly's repair in progress)
1974 Valiant (v8) daughter Kelly's work in progress

Can you lock up the brakes?

It's repeated stops (downhill) where the 9" brakes start to give problems...


I would also get shoes from the same manufacturer so that you don't have a front/rear shoe material mismatch.......

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Ed
64 Valiant 225 / 904 / 42:1 manual steering / 9" drum brakes

Are the adequate? I would say yes, BUT barely, WITH a skilled and experienced driver. They were when the car was new, but then they were as good as most other cars on the road at that time. On todays roads most cars can stop MUCH better. What are the chances of that Camry in front of her not paying attention and panic stopping? What are the chances of a dog running out in front of that Caravan she is following? What are her chances of stopping in either situation, even following the "2 second" rule?

Would I drive a 9" drum car? Yes, until I could scrape up the parts to convert it. I did drive my 63 that way for a while. The difference with disks is night and day. With drums it was a constant chore and exercise in defensive driving. With disks it is a pleasure to drive.

Would I let my loved one out on the road with drums, absolutely not. My wife has been waiting about a year to drive her 67 Coronet wagon, because after 1 trip around the block with drums I parked it until disk parts could be gathered up.


Just my opinions

TopHat

I drove my beloved 69 Dart for years with 9"drums.

Many of those miles were on winter roads with a carload of kids and snowboards. In winter...with snow tires it doesnt matter drums/discs because locked up is locked up. Who uses brakes?

In the summer on mountain roads with big modern radials the car was a menace.....not because it could not stop but because it could not do it twice.

A 9"car is by necessity a much slower car than a disc car.

You might enact the 6 Second Rule...

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Yeah....Im the one who destroyed this rare, vintage automobile.....

I got rid of the 9" brakes on the front of my red car when it topped 90 in the quarter. After that it was just plain spooky trying to make the first turn-off at Clay City. I actually couldn't. I upgraded it to 10" drums and it is much better.

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Official Cookie and Mater Tormentor.

I put my beloved father in a '62 Lancer with 9" brakes in late 1990. he drove it that way every day in frenetic Denver traffic, without incident, until we put discs in a decade later, just before he died...of cancer. So did the disc brakes improve his safety? No.

As a newly-licenced driver, I drove my '65 Canadian Valiant (111" wheelbase) with the same 9" brakes in the same traffic. Discs went on the '65 about five years after I got it, but I still managed to avoid crashing while keeping up with traffic...including several trips up I-70 to go skiing (and, more to the point, back down I-70 to come home from skiing!). Likewise, dad made numerous trips up (and back down) the mountains in '90s traffic.

9" brakes are adequate. Bigger drums or discs are better than adequate. Sending your daughter out in a 9" drum car, in the driving conditions you describe, is not signing a death warrant or anything remotely close to doing so. It's not a bad thing that she should be forced to learn to think and look ahead as a part of her early driving experience.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

Pravda!

Also: "Never drive faster than your guardian angel can fly."

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

I've driven my '68 Dart for 2 years with 9" drums.
I am converting it to discs in the spring, as soon as the snow comes off the parts car I have lined up!

I always try to put several carlengths between me and the person in front of me. However, even at that, I've been surprised once in a while and came close to wiping out the car in front of me.

Dan's right, they are adequate (just)... but I agree with others who note that the decreased distance for panic stops with new cars creates a new set of dangers for the drum brake crowd.

-Mac

I had nothing but 9" drums on my Darts until 1999 when I put discs on the 64. I had not seen major problems with the 9" drums under normal circumstances (barring multiple stops or really high speeds) and never had a wreck except for a minor fender bender in 1989.

However, I was brought up on these brakes and was used to them. Once I switched over to discs, I found I didn't want to drive my 68 with the drums anymore!

So, the 9" are fine, BUT only if the driver is well trained and knows their limitations.

Note that my only semi serious accident was with my 64 Dart with 4whl discs and big tires - driving style and attentiveness are more important than brake type!!

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

I second that.

I would go so far as saying that the reason a 9 inch drum car is "less safe" on the road today has more to do with today's "drivers" (more like passengers that just so happen to be sitting in the driver's seat) then all the lighter / "better" disc brake equipped new cars out on the road today.

Teach your young driver(s) how to operate and the limits of an older vehicle. Also educate them on the most "fallible" part of the car... that would be the driver. I always teach young drivers to look more at the driver inside the cars around them, instead of just looking at the outside of the cars. One quick look at a driver tells me a lot about what the car may / will do.
DD

Yup. Driving a 4 wheel drum equipped car like were talking about, should,
like driving a manual trans, ought to be included in Drivers ED these days; not to say that every kid out there will want an older car or one with a stick shift but its like starting out their Auto Shop ignition chapter with understanding points and condenser then building off of that. It falls under the "You might never have to, but just in case, at least you ve seen/experienced it" category.

I drove a long ways with the 9-by-skinny drums. They do work, but your margin for error is not good.
Imagine the condition of the brakes after a trip down Lookout Mountain in Tennessee.
It's not just the way you drive, it's also the way the other folks drive around you, and the way things jump/run/bounce into your path.
If it's not much trouble for you, upgrade your brakes, tires, and suspension.

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"When you find a big kettle of crazy, it's best not to stir it." - Pointy-haired Boss

1964 Valiant V200, 225/Pushbutton 904
BBD, CAI, HEI, LBP, AC, AM/FM/USB, EIEIO