It's not the initial stop that worries me, its that 1/4 mile 45 degree slide I worry about!!!......Dave

yeah pierre its after they get hot that the drums lose their ability to slow the car. Also a radial tire grips the road far better than the old bias ply tires our car came with. This helps slow you with out sliding which in turn heats up the drums.
Although people did drive on bias tires and drum brakes a long time.Discs were thought to be a fad that wasnt needed and would go away back in the day. Of course so was tv
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Rotors don't get hot either? I figure a rotor would warp easier then a drum might and cause more issues that way. I know its easier and takes less foot action to stop a car with discs but unless your running out of foot strength, is it really an issue? As for safety, if a car was going to do a 45 degree 1/4 mile slide that would happen with drum or disc brakes wouldn't it? The only safety issue I can see getting to be a problem with drums is driving in wet weather. If I go through a puddle I may not have brakes for a block or two. Discs would dry out quicker.

FYI GT63, The car didn't slide at all and the rear end didn't even break loose during my brakeing episode. When I finally got to my destination, I noticed my rear seat back was down about 45 degrees. It wasn't engaged in the hooks, it was just pressed fully back against the support but not all the way down.

Now after the above was said, I'm on the hunt for a disc brake setup to make it easier to drive and a bit safer in wet weather. But other then that, I don't think disc brakes live up to the fame that everyone has pushed them to.

Still have the 9 drums on the beast, matter of fact will be redoing the fronts tonight as no use doing the disc conversion when I am still trying to obtain some rims that will clear, BTW have you ever had a premature failure of the pads using raybestos linings? 63GT chews this paticular brand to shreds but not others. Am impressed with the Napa brand set, bonded and is .45 thicker then the others with extra reinforcement tabs on the leading edge. Very nice..Dave

No dont misunderstand. Disc brakes still get hot and very well may warp quicker when that heat is maintained but they cool themselves more effectively. I have had dusters and darts and pickups with both and I dont care much for hype myself but front discs are a worthwhile upgrade. Rear discs?? Well havent tried them on anything other than a daytona. It stopped on a dime but there may not be much more improvement over my 11" inch drums. Ill let you know soon as I get that swap figured out. Imm tryimg to buy mustang stuff right now.

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74.swinger

Stopping on a dime can be done with 9" brakes as long as you apply the appropriate ammount of pressure on the pedal. I can agree with the long term warping being an issue with drums, esp if you keep mashing the pedal

Hmm, maybe some sort of fan mounted near the drum (or disc for that matter)...

Good answer. Bottom line, discs are safer, more effective and stop better than drums overall, and do not fade nearly as badly as drums do. Discs also require more line pressure than drums to stop. That is the why and wherefore to a proportioning valve.

That said, I have no complaints about the stock 9" drums all the way around on my '72 Valiant beater. Stops just fine, just have to know how to modulate that pedal, and know not to try numerous high speed stops. I like the 11" drums I have had on various "B-bodies". Discs are some hype even I can live with, but comparing stock/stock, drums can have their advantages...

A stock drum set-up is lighter than discs, and if you go with a non-self adjusting set-up, you can dial out brake drag, unlike with factory discs. Every little bit of weight or drag reduced helps a car accelerate faster.

"DW"

_________________

If it ain't broke, fix it!

The point is how rapidly you can slow the car without locking up the brakes. With the brakes locked up you can lose control of the car. Which is not a good thing.

Just went non-self adjusting and noticed a immediate improvement in pedal firmness,of course the fresh drums may be of some help...Dave

Shouldn't really make a difference in pedal firmness... Just remember to adjust them up at about every oil change.

"DW"

_________________

If it ain't broke, fix it!

Dennis wrote:
>>A stock drum set-up is lighter than discs, and if you go with a non-self adjusting set-up, you can dial out brake drag, unlike with factory discs. Every little bit of weight or drag reduced helps a car accelerate faster. <<

I LIKE this idea. Where do I go to find a proper manual drum brake adjustment setup for my little 9" drum '65 Dart. Perferably, all for corners of my Dart. I've had way to much crap sold as new adjusters only to find that one wheel quits adjusting about 1/2 through the brake life (or sometimes adjusts to tight).

I can handle manual adjusters just fine, adjust brakes every oil change. Been doing this for years on my aircooled VWs, including the beach buggy I still enjoy.

Thanx,
Paul

At one time, all of the stuff was available from EIS, and probably others. You could just strip off the self adjusting cable and lever, but then the adjuster would be free to turn. What you basically have to do is run a lower shoe spring that interferes with the star wheel a little bit, it's a fairly thick spring. The wheels that look like an "asterisk" are better for this than the rachet toothed wheels, but I imagine either would work.

"DW"

_________________

If it ain't broke, fix it!

Cross drilling!

Joe

I'm sorry, who is "EIS"? See, traditionally I drive the Dodge Dart and hotrod the VWs (not nearly as reliable anyway

Any other potential sources to obtain them? It seems to me to mostly be a matter of a larger toothed star wheel and something to hold it so it won't turn, but I'm not into redesigning braking systems myself. I want to use only tested answers, espcially with single circuit manual drums.

Paul