I would be afraid of the wood spoke wheels and better brakes. Those wheels were designed for low speeds and little brakes. I would guess the tires are fairly narrow? If thats the case, they will just slide anyway if you lock the brakes.
My uncles Stanley Steamer had very tall narrow tires, in the steam circles, everyone was installing hydraulic brakes thinking they could go faster since they could stop better. Turns out the tread width determines stopping power and distance. If driven at the speeds in which it was designed for, factory brakes and tires will do a perfect job. His steamer only had rear drum brakes about 1.5" wide, it would stop OK when driven as designed, and full loaded with water and fuel weighed in around 4000 lbs.
Joe
