To disk brake or keep drum for now?

[srziemkowski]

In a dilemma of some tax money to use and thinking,get some patch panels,disk brake parts and frame paint,or leave drums for now ,get a motor to fill the hole in between the frame rails and paint for the frame?

[scottofksu]

Not advice that I'm following, but most say it's better to get it running and to drive it while restoring. Based on this advice, I'd say the last option (Engine and Frame Paint). Clean up the frame and crossmember that will be under the new engine and drop her in!

[Chad215]

I think disc brakes are the way to go, for sure...but if you're on a tight budget like me, then I would agree..get a motor and worry about stopping it later.
Thats assuming that your drums are in working order as is.

[NCD1966]

Originally Posted by Chad215

I think disc brakes are the way to go, for sure...but if you're on a tight budget like me, then I would agree..get a motor and worry about stopping it later.
Thats assuming that your drums are in working order as is.

Thats what I'm doing with mine right now. my motor needed a new crank so I ended up rebuilding the whole thing; Which took my brakes and suspension funds. So I going drum until I get some cash saved for the disc and new suspension.

[krazy_texan]

those drums will still stop your truck but you cant go no where without a motor.

[srziemkowski]

Good points,got rid of my motor at christmas time for more christmas money and thinking of going to 5.3 but i dont know now ,damn it all

[1963c-10]

Pull out the plastic and dont tell the wife...haha do it all

[srziemkowski]

Dont do plastic,got in trouble years ago,not doing it again,lol,if i had plastic i wouldnt be asking questions,id be busy puting my truck together.

[k1rodeoboater]

Agreed get the motor. Nothing wrong with properly adjusted drums. If you want to up the safety factor buy a drum/drum mc and split the lines. That way when you do go to discs you already have the hard lines done. Doing brake lines is a fairly cheap job in comparison to a lot of the other things you will do.
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[srziemkowski]

Ahhh,good idea k1rodeoboater,thank you

[Chad215]

yea- thats what I'm getting ready to do also. I can't afford the disc upgrade right now, but I'm going to go ahead and get a drum/drum MC, booster, and run new lines.

[61_FL_Apache]

They put drums on there because they work. I have no issue with keeping my drums. Disk are nice, but I think they are a little over rated.

[srziemkowski]

I did have them on my chevelle and never had any issues so dual m/c i think is where im going,thank you everyone

[ol_skool_chevy]

you have to Go before you can stop...I say Motor first Brakes SHORTLY after...always stopping is a good thing

[GMR-PERFORMANCE]

Well the other side of the coin. You loose a brake line and you wreck the truck. I agree it has to run but it also has to stop. I drove mine around on drum brakes and lets be honest they are poor as far as stopping power goes. Fine in there day but the people you have to drive with today. Tail gate and slam on the binders, leaving you coming up short... Reducing the stopping distance 20-30 feet is a big deal, you are talking about several car lenghts.

You can very easy go to a pick a part and get the parts off a 78-80 or so truck and bolt the stuff on your truck. The swap is very simple, there is a ton of data on year make model of what you need as well the "how to" part.

[Captainfab]

Being resourceful, I'd bet you could convert your truck to front discs for $250.00. I know I could......done it before. But then if your truck doesn't run, that would be a better place to put money at the moment.

[GMR-PERFORMANCE]

DO them both at the same time. Engines out gives you plenty of room to work..

[srziemkowski]

Lol you guys have my head all over the place,in thoery i would love to have them all done before driving,but get antsy lol

[Captainfab]

Good point. With the engine out, that is the time if you are wanting to swap the entire front crossmember.

Originally Posted by GMR-PERFORMANCE

DO them both at the same time. Engines out gives you plenty of room to work..

[losthope]

Me I would get running first then worry about disc........This is a thought,have your shoes relined with kevlar.... this is what some of the guys on the 54 car ford forum im on are doing instead of disc brakes.........May cost more to reline then regular brake lining but reports of lasting 10X longer.... here is something i copied and pasted from a post over there from a similar question:

"best bang for the buck is to reline your drums and add the power brake unit,check your yellow pages for "brake & clutch" you may be able to reline your existing shoes with Kevlar which has several advantages like 20-25% less fade and reduced drum wear and improved stopping power.For more info on Kevlar click on this: www.tribco.com/about.html read the whole page and then contact them for info on a local supplier and you should be able to even surpass a disc setup no problem."

[LostMy65]

Originally Posted by losthope

Me I would get running first then worry about disc........This is a thought,have your shoes relined with kevlar.... this is what some of the guys on the 54 car ford forum im on are doing instead of disc brakes.........May cost more to reline then regular brake lining but reports of lasting 10X longer.... here is something i copied and pasted from a post over there from a similar question:

"best bang for the buck is to reline your drums and add the power brake unit,check your yellow pages for "brake & clutch" you may be able to reline your existing shoes with Kevlar which has several advantages like 20-25% less fade and reduced drum wear and improved stopping power.For more info on Kevlar click on this: www.tribco.com/about.html read the whole page and then contact them for info on a local supplier and you should be able to even surpass a disc setup no problem."

I'm going to have to look into that.
As much as I want discs up front, I really don't have the money. I'm keeping my torsion bars, so I can't just do a crossmember swap. Also, I'm keeping 6-lug, so I'm to the point of needing a kit.
60-62 spindles & 6 lug rotors would be a minimum to just get started for the switch.
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[GMR-PERFORMANCE]

I bought all of m,y front end parts from a pick a part. I have less than 300 in the whole swap. I DID NOT cut the cross memeber saw no reason to .. You can bolt on the parts from later chevy trucks. I posted up on this ( how i did it) in the X frame post. With a little bit of work and time you can score some great deals and have a truck that will be safer.

[Turkey]

Originally Posted by 61_FL_Apache

They put drums on there because they work. I have no issue with keeping my drums. Disk are nice, but I think they are a little over rated.

x2

[GMR-PERFORMANCE]

Disc brakes are generally considered superior to drum brakes for several reasons. First, they dissipate heat better (brakes work by converting motion energy to heat energy). Under severe usage, such as repeated hard stops or riding the brakes down a long incline, disc brakes take longer to lose effectiveness ( known as brake fade). Disc brakes also perform better in wet weather, because centrifugal force tends to fling water off the brake disc and keep it dry, whereas drum brakes will collect some water on the inside surface where the brake shoes contact the drums.

Single masters , you loose one item and the entire system is gone.

There are many other factors like the type of tire , foot print etc.. However I recall one of the car mags doing a test on a nova ( I think it was a nova or the other belly button car) any ways they tested the stopping distance and it was around 200 feet from 60 MPH. They did some other testing but end result was 130 ( very close to that) with the install of front disc brakes.

I hope that I am not offending anyone but drum brakes REALLY?? I drove my truck with drums and they are extremely poor at stopping. Auto makers went to disc for a reason. If they where so great they would still be on the front. You have a huge weight transfer when the brakes are applied. The front disc will get the job done in less distance.

70 feet less stopping that is way too much to over look. Not to mention you can get what you need for little money.

All part of building a truck in my opinion. I have already posted on what I paid.. tons of trucks with the right parts in the auto yards. For those that do the front swap the parts are already there.. Take your pick but with a bit of time you can save a huge amount of money..

For those that love the drums carry on, I know that its each to his own..

[64fleetside]

Discs can be added pretty cheaply-I got less than $400 in my swap, including the ball joints & stuff. All that old stuff was worn out anyway. The best improvement is they stop straight, every time.