Brake question

[CrashBob]

Hey,

I overhauled the power drum brakes on my '67 C20, the whole works. It stops very well from speeds under 50, anything over that, it's a loooong, scary slow down. Why?

CrashBob

[ChevLoRay]

There's a bedding-in procedure for new brake shoes that should enable you to have the best possible drum brakes. But, my thinking is that if you drive a disc-brake equipped vehicle, then get in your truck....you're going to see a difference in the braking in comparison. Drum brakes just don't stop as well as disc brakes. When you are at the higher speeds, and you get on the brakes, they will heat up and there will be brake fade as a consequence.

Metallic brake linings were one of the things that came along to enable better braking. Sintered metallics were one of the descriptive terms I remember. Corvettes used them until disc brakes were introduced.

There was a company called Praise Brake Dyno, that made kevlar-based brake shoes for drum brakes that were supposed to be as fade-resistant as disc brakes. They were located in Phoenix, I believe. I don't know if they're still in business, or not. They had a website, but I haven't looked for it.

[GRX]

Like ChevLoRay said, front drums are a different animal than disks. You should pulse the breaks & slow in phases to help minimize fade. And be careful when driving wet roads! After going through a puddle you should ride the brakes a bit to dry them out. Invariably you will hit puddles on the passenger side more often. Which means the driver's side will catch faster and pull you into oncoming traffic during a stop. A source of many head-on collisions in the years past.