How many still drive with drum/drum?

[one9six9]

I was getting ready to do the conversion to disc/drum when I started pricing everything out. Wow!! I wasn't ready to pay that much for the conversion. I have already purchased the crossmember and rearend from a 72, but the rest is still going to cost a bundle. I don't have power brakes now and was planning on installing them with the conversion. That is were most of the cost comes from.
My question is this: How many of you guys still drive with your drum/drum setup? I know it would be cheaper to just upgrade the master cylinder and booster for power brakes. Is this a wise choice? Is it a safety issue? Will I really miss the disc/drum setup once I install the power booster?


Thanks,
Keith

[GMCBubba]

i still have drums. mine is NOT a daily driver. actually isn't really a driver at all at the moment. but i have heard plenty people who drive regularly and will even tow with drums. rumor has it that the best thing to do for drums is add the power booster (one from a 3/4 ton has dual diaphragm). the biggest problem with drums is their inability to cool well and develop brake fade in constant stop and go or with performance driving.

i plan on keeping my drums for a while.

[WorkinLonghorn]

I'm quessing that you have a 1/2 ton right? I have a 3/4 with vac-assist drums and I can say that they are MORE than adequate for the very heavy loads I haul around. The only reason I would EVER consider Disc conversion would be if I wanted to pull a large trailer through the mountains on a regular basis. Now,I don't know about the 1/2 ton drums but I suspect that conversion to pb would be good enough and you could still go to disc later if you wanted.

[charlie diaz]

I have the power drum/drum setup on my daily driver, and it works fine for just going back and forth to work. I've been driving it like that for 3 years now. BUT, I've towed a 16ft. car hauler before, once with a 99 S-10 loaded on it, and once with an 85 thunderbird on it, and both times stopping SUCKED!!!! The front drums were fresh, and the rears were in good shape, and I still would have to almost double foot mash the brake pedal. I hear ya about how much it is to do the conversion. I've been researching all of the different options myself for a few months now. What I've found out is, that if you want to keep the stock height, then piecing parts together yourself is the cheapest way to go. (i.e.-scavaging spindles and a-arms from a newer donor truck and then buying the rest of the parts from the part store.) But if you want to do drop spindles, it's actually just as cheap to buy a pre-assembled kit from GMC Pauls, and just a little more from ECE. It's all in what you want. I hope this helps!

[rlm316]

My '70 3/4t was poweer drum/drum and it would stop on a dime with a load sand or mulch in it. I did the conversion more for the ease and reliability of disc brakes for my son when he gets the truck. I also have a '65 Pontiac LeMans with a modified engine that still has the manual drum/drum set-up on it. That stops just fine also even when you have your foot in it. If you know what you have then you know how it acts and how to deal with it.

[Lated]

Originally Posted by rlm316

If you know what you have then you know how it acts and how to deal with it.

I agree but unfortunately all the idiots on the roads (some have the nerve to call themselves drivers) around here don't care. I like to leave at minimum 75-100 feet between me and the car I'm following but that doesn't do me any good when I get cutoff and then can't see anything but brake lights. Theres nothin like the feeling of needing to stomp on the oh sh1t peddle and then realizing you already have one foot on it and the other won't help very much. I have power drum/drum but as soon as I have the time I'm swaping with my parts truck for 5-lug disc/drum.

[1LoC10]

I still have drums, they dont bother me at all... even though four wheel disc are on my list of things to do

[OLDIRON69]

Drum/drum for now, I already swapped the rear over to 5 lug (just swapped axles) and buying up the parts to do the front end rebuild, along with the front disc. I eventually want 4 wheel disc because I haul alot of firewood on a 16' trailer in the winter and summer and need any extra braking I can get. Replacing the rear drums with brand new ones help 110% over the 6 lug drums that I thought were in good shape.

[Yeller68]

Drum/Drum/No power here. Not a daily driver, but it does get driven some. No plans to upgrade.

[gkolmatycki]

I had manual drum/drum brakes on my '69. Been driving it for 3 summers now. Just recently I converted to power drum/drum.....WOW!!! Big difference. Costed me about $300 CAD for the booster & master cylinder. Plus, I bought new brakes shoes for all 4 tires. Don't get me wrong nothing beats the stopping power or look of discs, but drums work just fine too.

[Dingfodgy]

I have the Power drum/drum setup on my '67 daily driver....no complaints here! Then again I'm not hauling a monster RV or quads, or firewood either. The only upgrade I'm planning is to go to hydro-boost so I can run a phat, lumpy cam in my 383 and still have good brakes.

[dave2953]

I've run my manual drum/drum setup for over 3 years now w/ no problems. I put a booster on that setup and it was like night and day, when it worked anyway.(leaking diaphragm) I'm in the process of swapping to discs since I do a lot of interstate driving to and from school.

[redhot67]

I'm running power drum/drum and had 3 others with drum/drum, no power. Never had any problems. However, changing to front discs is next on my list. I plan to shell out the money for a kit to avoid (hopefully) headaches. Part of the reason I'm changing is to go lower, but I also like the idea of better braking without so much pulling to one side, fade, etc.

[Imacarguytoo]

I am manuel drum/drum. Pulling a loaded car trailer isnt fun at all. Ive got almost everything to do the disk swap. I cant wait to get it done.

[Jim_PA]

Keep them manual, and swap out the front to disc. That's what I did anyway.

[pimperout]

mine has drum/drum and its my one and only everyday driver. brakes seem to work fine i have no problems with drums

[Longhorn Man]

manual drum/drum one ton fleet here. I don't mind it so much, and if I was able to get drums or shoes, I'd probably keep them, but since I can't, disks are on the list.
The disks on a 1/2 ton are too small INO... yet, I never had issues on my last truck.... drum/drum manual/ 69 1/2 ton GMC.

[NONHOG]

My truck is drum / drum no power its o.k. for me to drive but I don't let my
teenage daughter drive it !
got some real good idea's from the user's on this board try searching
"Drum brake FUN " for some good idea's lots of post's on this topic
I can't help but wonder if there's a way to upgrade the front drum's like you
can in the rear ( as in "Drum brake FUN") by modifying front backing plates
to accept the wider shoes and drums ?
as alot have already mentioned brake needs are relative to brake usage.
I recall how satisfied I was with my 67 El camino BB 427 with drum /drum
till I raced it at only 95 mph in the 1/4 miles I had a lil butt pucker going on
wondering when it would slow down

[67chevemall]

4 drums 4 life.
I use the stick to slow down. Gear on the road

[msgross]

I would buy a used booster and bracket from a member and then turn it in for a new one... Might spend $150 for reliable power upgrade, then go disc later. I have a 4WD so disc upgrade was easy with a new front axle...

[Walts_restoration]

My old chevelle has 4 wheel drum with manual brakes. I had to install a new mastercylinder, and i still have to put new pads on. If you think 4 drums are bad, try 4 drums with a bad mastercylinder. I had to pump the brakes to get it to stop at all

It goes 0-120 like a bullet, its 120-0 thats the hard part

[GMan69]

Manual drum/drum for now. I do intend to upgrade to disc/drum when $$$ allows.

[19673ontree]

I love these post's about the old vehicle's that everyone love's but a lot of myth's got started ,
people drove with drum brake's for 70 year's and didn't worry about it cause that's all you had , point's did not bother anyone , somewhere along the line people must have evolved , most people don't have the ability to roll down a window now either ,,,
just haveing fun with this ,,,,
to answer the post for me
I drive with drum drum , drum drum , 67 camaro RS 4 wheel drum's 67 C10 4 wheel drum's and I would not change them if you paid me and would not be bothered to drive across country in either vehicle

[1LoC10]

Originally Posted by 19673ontree

I love these post's about the old vehicle's that everyone love's but a lot of myth's got started ,
people drove with drum brake's for 70 year's and didn't worry about it cause that's all you had , point's did not bother anyone , somewhere along the line people must have evolved , most people don't have the ability to roll down a window now either ,,,
just haveing fun with this ,,,,
to answer the post for me
I drive with drum drum , drum drum , 67 camaro RS 4 wheel drum's 67 C10 4 wheel drum's and I would not change them if you paid me and would not be bothered to drive across country in either vehicle

I agree with all that.... funny thing is when i bought a truck, everyone told me... ya know thats rear wheel drive, and it snows around here.. what you gunna do in the snow? lol, i guess back in the day people walked when it snowed

[Driver177]

I'm on a drum/drum setup...three on the tree and no power steering or A/C
and it IS a daily driver.. to and from work , 5 days a week (of course it is only 8 miles each way)