...I think drum brakes often get a bum wrap... In my opinion drum brakes that are properly restored/rebuilt/adjusted (and designed to stop a truck at max gvw)should certainly be capable of safely stopping a lightly loaded truck on the way to a show going 60mph. Of course the suspension/steering needs to be in good condition as well.
Well said.
One complication is a truck is a truck and people tend to use them as such. Making an old truck go faster also requires better brakes to be able to stop a load.
They were built to stop fine with a load from a moderate speed, increase that speed and they will not stop as well as they need to.
Sure it'll probably be OK with the old brakes when empty, but who needs a truck you can't
safely haul stuff with?
Grigg
