The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop DISC or DRUM?

Hello Wise Ones,
I have my fresh 454 back from the machine shop and was thinking about installing a dual master cylinder and booster (power brakes)with the stock front axle. I will be using a 12 bolt rear from a 70 chevelle 2.73 gears. So I want to convert the front from 6 to 5 lug. I have heard both good and bad about disc brake conversion kits. Can someone tell me what would be better and where I should look to get this stuff. If I stay with drums in front what can I use that will bolt on the stock axle. Thanks

59: I am waiting to save enough for power front brakes, I personally think it is the only way to go. We are running a lot of horses and those old drums were not meant for that. I am using back drums because the rear end has been changed.

I really leaning towards Master Power Brakes I enjoyed talking to the salesman and he offered a lot of help. popcorn The Truth is Out There (Good luck)

Disc brakes are by far the safest brake set-up to run. But, (big BUT here) they must be installed properly. To retrofit disc to a non-disc vehicle, there is alot of room for error. I suggest a complete kit that was engineered to work on your particular application. It will have the proper size rotors and calipers, brake lines and fittings, and the correct proportioning valve not to mention the correct size master to match.
Just food for thought,
Scott

Disc in the front drum in the back is pretty common. (yes, thats all I have to say)

- Shane

Seems like everyone is pro disk except my friend who is helping me do the engine swap. He says big rigs dont use disk brakes cuz they fade more than drums when they get hot. Does anyone here agree that a brake booster with drums will be more reliable? Has anyone done the disc conversion and have bad experience.
Thanks, Bill

Most all new vehicles have at least front disc brakes. Many have 4 wheel disc brakes including pick-up trucks. You will get more surface area for braking with smaller vehicles. the big trucks use drums as the drums are a lot bigger and you can get more braking surface than you can with discs in that application. On big trucks that do a lot of down hill braking, they have water sprayer set-up on the wheels that help to keep the drums cool.
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Check out the info on the disc brakes on this truck
http://www.wcsscience.com/extreme/cat797.html

Just a guess but if you imagine the size the discs would have to be for a large truck application, constant breaking down a hill would bend them from heat like a pretsil. To make a good disc would cost too much per wheel.

[censored]. On a car or light duty truck, drum brakes will fade much more quickly than discs, period. There's nowhere for the heat to go on a drum, it's all trapped inside. A disc brake runs out in the open and any type of disc you'd be using on the front of a pickup truck would be vented, thereby allowing more airflow and cooling.

Big trucks use drum brakes 'cause they have air operated braking systems as opposed to the hydraulically operated systems on cars and light duty trucks. I believe that the reason they don't commonly use disc brakes on the big guys (yet) is because of difficulties designing an air brake application system which will work properly with discs. In some cases, big truck drum brakes are also built without drum backing plates to allow airflow inside the drum to help brake cooling.

There are many places in a project vehicle where you can cut corners on budget-safety isn't one of them and brakes are the biggest safety factor on the vehicle.

I would agree with one of the above posts with reguards to purchasing a complete matched package setup with all pieces together. It will be money well spent for sure. Best of luck with your project.

Regards,
Wannabe

Discs started to appear on large trucks 20 years ago,air operated.Too many problems and really offered no better stopping ability, so they lost interest.But you will find disc fronts on many trucks in the 10,000 lbs gross weight range.
I used to road race motorcycles on drum brakes back when, halfway through the brakes were useless, faded away.The first discs were better, but not by much,but in time they improved.
You could order a big block Camaro or Chevelle with the tiny 9.5 drums,not the best.
Disc brakes also offer greater control over wheel lock up than drums, especially the Bendix self servo drums .