Using asbestos pads and shoes will make you think you added a booster. Asbestos friction is all over ebay and well connected brake suppliers can still get it. It is like R-12 refrigerant, illegal to manufacture but legal to buy, sell and own. It has a vastly higher friction coefficient that "organic" friction and is also easy on drums and rotors.
How do I know this. My '36 Chevy pickup was restored in the early 70s when asbestos was all there was. It stops great with an all original brake system except for silicone fluid.
Also I have a street rod, a SBC Chevy powered '32 Ford roadster. It has a Ford 8 inch rear end with stock 10" x 2" drum brakes and GM "Metric" discs in front, non-boosted. With available "organic" friction that thing would not stop. Now, with asbestos friction it stops great!
Asbestos brake linings are illegal in the US. Have been fior over 30 yearsAny asbestos brake linings that you are going to find are going to be chap Chinese junk, and is illegal to import into the US as well.
Bill, I may be wrong, I often am. The way this asbestos clutch and brake issue was explained to me is that what remains of old stock can be used but it is not legal to manufacture any more of the stuff. It's like R-12 refrigerant. That stuff is no longer being made in most countries but it is still "reclaimed" from wrecked vehicles. Anyone with a mobile AC license can buy R-12. I got one of those licenses by taking a 2 hour class where they teach the answers to a test and then they give you the test that you're allowed to take as many times as is required to pass it.
I have a '36 Chevy pickup so I often look on ebay for anything related to my truck. Old stock brake linings are on there all the time and occasionally shoes are there as well. Since the same brake shoes fit 1936-50 I thought that readers of this forum might find it interesting that the highly effective asbestos friction is available.
The asbestos shoes and pads I bought off ebay came in the original very faded boxes so they looked like old stock, not new parts from China. The best thing is how well they work.
