The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot '60-'66 Trucks Power Brake Booster

Has anyone installed a power brake booster for their truck and what was the result? It seems like a much more affordable option than changing the brakes altogether.

Was a factory option and the difference is marginal. Still 4 wheel drums.

I disagree completely with Jon.
I went with a dual-chamber power booster set-up for my '61 Suburban, with 4-wheel drums.
Made a TON of difference.

It requires a lot less leg pressure to stop the truck, and a lot less pressure to hold it at stop lights, on hills, etc. etc.

As Jon said, you're still running 4-wheel drums, but if you keep them adjusted, they're adequate. I think a lot of the problem with vintage 4-wheel drums is that we don't adjust the brakes regularly, like we're supposed to... you should adjust your brakes every oil change, or more frequently.

I installed self-adjust conversion kits to my drums, and they get the job done. They'll lock up my tires any time I want.

-Brad

yes it is still 4 wheel drum brakes. sometimes 2 much pressure is adverse. you may find in an emergency when you really have to jam on those brakes that you end up with cracked brake drums. when I first got my 64 in 90 it had a hydroboost installed on it with the 4 drums still on it. twice I cracked drums.
2 x 11" drum brakes actually are inadequate for today's driving.
if one is staying off the major highways and travel mostly in a one horse town then no problem
disc on the frt and larger drum setup on the rear sure made it more reassuring that one is going to stop whenever
ron

a booster may take less leg pressure, but doesn't give you any more brake

I agree with brad54, I put a power booster off a 84 chevy on mine and it made all the differace in the world! Been on for over a year now and I drive the hwy all the time , have NO trouble at all.

The first two performance/convenience upgrades we do on most of our personal trucks, are power brakes & power steering...night & day difference, as compared to original equipment, not the modern disk/ABS systems, that most drivers know and use!

Well, I've got 50,000 miles on my '61 Suburban's crate engine, and I did the brake upgrade before that.
I've driven it through 17 states, on road trips that required an oil change before I left and when I got back home.

I've had plenty of "short stops" and yes, I did crack one drum... but it was my fault because it was thinner than specs called for. By a good bit.

Yes, I'd love to put front discs on the truck, and I will one of these days. And I'd also like bigger drums in the back--I'll probably go with 12-inch finned aluminum Buick drums. Both of these will be because I plan on towing a race car on an open trailer... the car weighs about 3,000 pounds, the trailer 1820 empty.

But in the meantime, the last 50,000 miles with the power brake kit sure have made stopping in traffic and daily-driving a whole lot nicer experience.

-Brad

I ran the stock 2 x 11" drum brakes for quite a while albeit with the h/boost. when I upgraded I went with 3/4t axles frt and rear, disc on frt and 3 x 13" on the rear, it did make a big difference. i did tow a trailer with substantial weight is one of the reasons for the larger axle. the orig rear axle was a dana and the rear axle brgs didn't like it and I wanted a full float axle
ron

Power disc brakes and power steering and the trucks are a whole lot more fun to drive and no work to get into parking spots....

I used the CPP kit on my '61 Chevy C20. Performance wasn't "optimum" until I added a vacuum tank. The tank keeps the pressure even--the 235 doesn't generate much vacuum when I'm easing up to a stop sign or light.

I put that same CPP kit on my '61 C10 Suburban, and it worked great... I've got a V8 with a mild cam though, so building vacuum isn't an issue for me.

-Brad