Front disc brakes but should the back brakes stay drum?

[steve l]

So as I have mentioned in previous threads I am restoring my truck and trying to get it as close to a factory restoration as possible. I am adding in small conveniences and safety items. I think front disc brakes is a big one (bad drums on the front which almost caused me to crash the truck with my daughter in the car is what started me on the frame off restoration). I have looked though other threads and seen very helpful information about how to put these on the front and only needing a 1/4" spacer to make them work with original wheels. That part looks easy.

My question is really should I leave the drums on the rear or would I be better to go disc all the way around? The other challenge I think the disc on the rear gives me is how do I make the original parking brake for the drums work for the disc brakes?

It seems most just go with disc on the front. I intend to drive the truck on the highway so I just want to make sure it is safe and have good stopping power with whatever setup I use.

 

[Lakeroadster]

Based on your description of how you are building the truck, and how you will be driving it, rear disc brakes aren't necessary.

But if it's something you'd like to do, there's no reason against it either, other than money and time.

 

[Bilbo]

Steve, Unless you're gonna' carry Heavy loads on the highway, I'd be surprised if you could tell the difference in rear drum or disc brakes. I can lock up all four wheels at any speed, (that I've tried anyway) with my front disc and rear drum un-boosted brakes. Like John says, " If you want rear discs, go ahead." There's no reason not to. It does require a few modifications for the parking brake though. Bill B.

 

[ironman3452]

I agree with the guys , it really is up to you to see if you want both front and rear as disk.

 

[Chiro]

I upgraded to front disc and put a Nova rear in my truck at the sme time. The Nova rear has SMALLER drums (8") than the stock drums and my truck stops on a dime and straight every time. Absolutely no need for rear disc IMHO. I do highway driving and I carry loads in my truck too.

Andy

 

[Bill Hanlon]

I have had front disk and rear drums on both my old trucks and was happy with both. One was power, one not and I think I liked the non-power better.


This posting was done while donating blood. Those of you who can should go out and give a pint.

 

[steve l]

Thanks for all of the feedback

Based on what everyone has said I think I will just go with the front disc. That seems to be the easiest option. However Bill brought up a good point. Power booster or no power booster? I know very little about brakes other than they are important to stopping the car.

Before I started the frame off I had a power booster for the front/rear drums. So I have a relatively new drum/drum booster with almost no use to it. Is there anyway that can be used to function with a disc/drum combination or would I need to go with a new one made specifically for that. But more importantly as Bill has pointed out would I be better to go with a dual master cylinder and the non-power option?

Thanks to everyone for their feedback thus far. It has been extremely helpful.

 

[Bill Hanlon]

Dual master cylinder no matter what. It's likely that you could mount it in front of your existing booster unit.

 

[Bilbo]

I don't think the booster cares whether it's pushing disc or drum brakes... You other guys correct me if wrong
Since I can lock up all four wheels without a booster, and having driven Bill Hanlon's truck with booster, I think I like the non boosted setup a little better. I think I have a better "feel" of the braking. Just my opinion..

 

[steve l]

It seems like non-booster might be the way to go...

I am not sure if the booster knows either. Hopefully someone with more knowledge than myself can offer their opinion. I have attached pictures of the booster I have. It seems the compartments in the cylinder are the same size. I am not sure if they would be different sizes for a disc/drum set up?

 

[vwnate1]

Vacuum Brakes

Nice looking mini - booster there ! .

I see the old brake fluid is cloudy so it needs a good flushing A.S.A.P. , remember : only BRAKE FLUID , BRAKE CLEANER or ALCOHOL may be put into any hydraulic braking system ! .

Me , I prefer the vacuum booster as it makes for much less foot / pedal effort .

I'm also still running drum brakes all the way 'round .

They're the Std. 2" wide ones , I foolishly didn't grab the optional 2-1/2" ones I found on a clean junked Suburban , oops .

Disc brakes will always stop you better .

Most folks use a residual pressure valve in the front brake circuit , this prevents the caliper pistons from returning too far , causing low brake pedal upon application .

Wait a moment and the disc brakes guys will chime in with what to do .

 

[ol' chebby]

Booster doesn't know or care. Use a Gm 70s with disc/ c
drum application.....ex. 67-76 vette. Run 2# residuals front, 10# residual back. I personally prefer manual, I put power on mine and didn't really get an improvement. I would rather I had invested in power steering.

 

[steve l]

This is the set up I was thinking of going with...

So it seems the general consensus is that a non power option is better. I am sure I can find someone who would like the power booster for a good price.

This is the configuration I was thinking about going with for the front disc. These parts are from The Truck Shop in Orange CA:

This would be the dual master:

This would be the mount for the dual master:

And this would be the proportioning valve setup:

I like this setup because it all seems to go very neatly together with everything mounting on brackets and mounting together. I have bought a few parts from the The Truck Shop in Orange CA and they seem as good as any others I have bought from.

Any thoughts on this configuration?

 

[ol' chebby]

That is pretty much it.

 

[oklahoma]

five window 49

This is really not a reply but a question so please feel free to correct me if I am going about this incorrectly, its my first time in this forum. Here is my question, is it wiser to replace the whole chassis with the chassis of a later model truck or maybe just look for a mustang 2 front end and something of the sorts for the rear? One thing i know for sure is that it will not remain stock I will zip it up. The things I am looking at are time, money and degree of difficulty.Thanks for your help friends

 

[steve l]

Oklahoma - You should start a new thread

This is really not a reply but a question so please feel free to correct me if I am going about this incorrectly, its my first time in this forum. Here is my question, is it wiser to replace the whole chassis with the chassis of a later model truck or maybe just look for a mustang 2 front end and something of the sorts for the rear? One thing i know for sure is that it will not remain stock I will zip it up. The things I am looking at are time, money and degree of difficulty.Thanks for your help friends

The best thing to do would be to start a new thread about what you want to do with your truck. There is a button at the top of the main threads page that says 'New Thread'. There is a tremendous amount of experience and information in this forum and if you start your own new thread there are a lot of guys (and some girls) that can give you all sorts of tips and advice. It has been extremely helpful throughout my restoration and at times motivation to keep moving forward.