The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Should I keep my four wheel drum brakes?

Hello fellow bolters!
I have a 59' Apache and it is mostly original and I was wondering if keeping (and rebuilding) the original style brakes would be worth the extra long stop. I want the truck to ride original but is this a bad idea?

I am a big fan of disc brakes and any other performance upgrades. In other words I am an old hot rodder.I would not consider telling you or anyone else what to do with their truck.Its your truck,and as long as the upgrades or lack of make you happy,thats what its all about. I have two trucks,a 1955 and a 1965 the 55 has a 350 V/8, and the 65 has a 500 cu.in. Caddy V/8.Just the way I like them,however when I go to a show I enjoy looking at the stock trucks too.

These Trucks are heavy metal. And with a bigger engine or a fast driver or freeway driving I would put on a disc kit. You get the good bearings with it too. I like power steering and disc brakes for sure. I recommend you put on the under floor power brake with dual master cyl and booster, the one that uses your stock brake arm. It will look plenty stock with these upgrades, Safer and easier to drive. On more thing: seat belts with shoulder strap. Mid 80's Chevy truck, easy to install. This stuff will be $600-$700 total. Bartamos

ODD_Bolt, I'd go with discs except for the fact that most kits are 5 lug, then you'de have mismatched rims front to back. Also depending on the wheels you are running they may interfere with the caliper.

Thanks for the input! I will do some research on disc convertions. =)

I would be more concerned with a dual master cylinder upgrade. Even 4 drums set up properly will work well. Certainly disc brakes have more stopping power, but most people don't haul the loads their truck has for the previous 30-50 years of its life. I like disc brakes also, but I have no problem with drums either.

I'm with Builder on this one. Drum brakes, properly maintained, are as good as discs for quick stops (I mean, I can make my new radials screech in protest, how much more do I need?) Unless you're planning to haul heavy loads or tow a trailer, drums are perfectly fine. It's true that prolonged use of drums (like braking a heavy load down a long grade) will create heat fade but again, it all depends on how you intend to use the truck and most of us have gearboxes to help with that. Discs are better in the rain also, but not many guys who've done any rust repair are real anxious to drive around in the rain.

Just my .02 cents worth and I'm sure there are those who disagree.

i installed a kit from performanceonlne.com in my 57.
7 inch booster with dual master and 5 lug front disc with newer style roller bearings.
http://www.performanceonline.com/store/customer/home.php?cat=1061
you can also get the 6 lug version.

it bolts directly, (with their supplied mounting bracket), to the original under the floor location, utilizing the original pedal.

although i ran into some install problems, like anything else, when it was done i am 100% happy with the results.
no more 2 foot stopping. LOL.
stops as good as my 2003 s-10.

http://s251.photobucket.com/albums/...00/?action=view&current=DSC01539.jpg

leonard

I agree.

I suppose the real question would be this, What are your plans for the truck? Occasional weekend cruiser/show truck? Daily driver? Working truck? All of these should be taken into account before you jump into any conversion. A cruiser or show truck, especially one that is entered into a stock class could get away with the drums and single master cylinder. A daily driver or work truck would certainly benefit with a dual/dual boosted master, and/or the front disk conversion. Same goes for a non-stock cruiser/show truck. Keep in mind, some disk conversions will not work with the stock wheels, as the caliper hits in the wheel.
Before anyone asks, I kept mine with a stock rebiuld of the brakes. This was namely due to 2 reasons. 1 was cost, as I was on a somewhat tight budget at the time I did the brake rebuild. The second was that at the time, the 6 lug disk conversion was not available, and I did not want mismatched wheels or to swap the rearend. It does stop very well, even with a load, and is used as a daily driver. I do have to plan stops, and I also use compression braking to slow it down. However, if I were to do it over, it would get a dula boosted master cylinder, as well as a 4 wheel disk conversion. I would fab my own however, using late model Silverado parts, which has larger disks and calipers than the aftermarket kits.

As far as I'm concerned this is the first question. The decision regarding what brake choice is best for you really starts with how you plan to use the truck.

shhhh, be quiet. my trucks all have drum brakes and single master cyl. they all haul heavy loads and pull trailers with out any planned stops. please don't let them know they need this $700 upgrade, they were happy with the $2 wheel cyl rebuild kits and $10 master cyl kit. if they read this thread they will be so PO'ed.

Is it necessary to put in a booster on the master for a disk brake system? I've updated to a dual and rebuilt the Huck brakes on my '47 1/2 ton and it stops well. But I'm thinking of one of the disk set ups. I realize I would need a different master and add proportioning and residual valves but I like being able to check the master level through the floor. My truck is lower and it would be very difficult to check the level of the master with the 'finger check' - I would have to jack the truck up at all 4 corners to get under it. A non-power disk system would be better if it works.

A booster is not a neccessity. It merely allows for the driver to use less effort when applying the brakes.

I built my old Ford '27 Roadster Pickup using a newer 'vette master cylinder without a booster, It is running front discs and rear drums.

The following link is to CH Topping Performance Brakes. This guy is an expert on all things brake related and my experience has been that he freely shares information.

http://www.chtopping.com/Home/index.html

John

well put, I think a new master cylinder is in order and four wheel drums all around! haha.

I can't see any reason to regret that choice Odd_Bolt. And you get to save a ton of money while you're at it. Let us know how it goes.

I'll agree to that to a point. With a lighter vehicle, or one with large disks (like a race car) you can get away with it. But given experiences I've had with non-boosted disks in full size trucks, I would strongly reccomend using a booster.