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1. Without power brakes, will I really see a genuine difference in my braking ability if I do this?
Yes, it will stop sooner even if you used the 73-76 A-body discs without power (you might even kiss the steering wheel if not used to them compared to 9" drums). After some hard in town driving you will also you have no real brake fade either compared to the 9" all around.
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2. The kits specify 4" bolt pattern, which I have, but they are also saying 10" drums. I measure 10" OUTSIDE diameter, which means to me that I must have 9" drums. This is befuddling. Why would this matter if the conversion kit would result in the removal of the drum and would fit on my spindle? Was the 9 and 10 inch drum issue an issue due to their ability to fit in a smaller or bigger rim size?
Measuring drums is the inside diameter where the shoes will cover.
The 9" drum brake spindle is different from the 10" and also the disc brake spindles, so the conversion kit probably uses the specific bearings and races for those spindles which are not interchangeable between each other...on the other hand, there also is the rim issue, 14" rims are necessary on certain upsized brakes (disc especially), so that would also factor in based on the size of the rotor and caliper used (once again going to 10" drums would mean 14" and if you had 13" you would need some new rims...).
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3. Would I be able to just bump up my 9" drums to 10" and see just as good a difference in braking power as doing the disk changeover for the front?
It will be better than what you have, but will not be disc brakes. But this will require changing the spindles/possibly upper control arm/ball joint and the lower ball joint.
In a lighter car (say the 1960-1966) the 10" drums wouldn't be too bad if used with a stock to mild engine build. 1967-1972 10" also is a good upgrade but the car is a little heavier. The other advantage to discs over drums is the bias...drum cars tend to pull in one direction when the stop pedal is tromped hard...
2 cents.
-D.Idiot
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