52_Ton -- Getting your originals relined is about your only option unless you find some good used ones from someone converting to something else. Rel;ining, if you can find someone to do it (which isn't that hard, actually) will be a touch expensive (still way less than going the disc brake conversion route, though). A year or so ago, I paid about $100/shoe to get them relined. Seeing as how the ones I had relined were the ones the factory put on (my truck has less than 60k miles on it), so I figure this set will last a good 70 years or more ...
I've also, in the mean time, have come up with several sets of very usable used shoes and drums. Keep your ear to the rail and you may find what you need.
I'm with Jerry, though, in wondering if the OP understands that he doesn't actually *need* to upgrade to disc brakes. Spending the time, effort and expense to do that because he *wants* to is one thing. Doing it because he thinks he *needs* to is entirely another. It's a unnecessary upgrade (from a "Need" perspective) much like IFS, Power Steering, etc. etc.
I run my '49 3804 routinely at speeds in excess of 55 to 60 mph (with the 4.10 rear axle gearing upgrade and the 261 engine) and I can exceed 70 mph. I've cruised on the Interstate. Yes, panic braking is not without it's concerns, but I would like to think I am a good, defensive driver who tries to see those incidents before they get to that point. And BTW, I *am* a professional driver with a Class A CDL. All that to illustrate that I am not just talking out of my sphincter ... I think I am speaking on this subject with a modicum of authority.
Would discs work better in panic braking situations? Of course. But how often, when driving our antiques, do we find ourselves in those situations? Isn't it better to avoid them in the first place (as best we can)? I drive in traffic, too. I understand the limitations of my vehicle and I am ok with people behind me, people passing me and people cutting me off. I expect all that. If I see a deer on the side of the road, I slow and expect the rest of the herd to leap out at any second. If you can't drive defensively, you probably ought to find a different hobby.
And before the noisy mob of the established "experts" want to shut down my opinion (or Jerry's, for that matter) for questioning the primacy of their view --, just remember a couple of salient facts:
1. We are only asking the question to open the OP's mind to alternatives he might not thought existed -- i.e., that "Need" and "want" are two different things and do not always coexist. Spare tires, for example...
2. Just because my opinion differs from yours doesn't make either of us wrong. Some of you need to have your minds opened.
John
