Had a bit of a scary experience involving a fast-moving 'cuda, roundabout, queue of stationary traffic and no brakes this weekend! After pulling off the front drums (no servo) my trusty 1970 Plymouth service manual is telling me that I've got the manually adjustable taxi brakes .
Question is, were these standard fitment or has somebody swapped them over at a later date? I'm not sure whether if I order replacement bits they're gonna turn up correct, or even whether it's worth splashing out on a disc brake upgrade?
Steve you are wrong
Wait a minute though......you said that I would say you were wrong.....which means you were right......No!! you're messing with my head
Hey, it's just opinion. I would say get your manual drums working right and you will be stopping quite well. If you don't like a properly functioning manual drum I don't think a power drum will help (no more braking power, just less effort), so go discs. Personally I've gone manual discs, if you like an easier pedal (and less feel, more weight and money ) go with power discs.
See, everyone is right
Gavin Chisholm - 414ci W2 Stroker SmallBlock Panther Pink '71 Challenger convertible - in bits Car progress can be viewed here
Thanks guys. Gotta say, when the drums have been working ok i've been happy with them - sure, they pull one way or the other when you hit them a bit hard, and a light foot won't do you no favours but I don't expect to get in a 1970 muscle car and stop like I would in a modern car. It all goes with the territory I s'pose.
I just thought that while I considered spending some moolah on bits, it might be a good idea to consider the other options as well. How do manual discs feel versus manual drums? My (admittedly limited) experience with manual discs was on an old HC Viva I had years ago and that took more effort to haul up than the 'cuda!
I'm another one of the "I prefer powered discs" group, of all the cars I've either owned or driven, I've always felt better with power assistance and discs. Of course, power assistance is only assistance and not any better than correctly set up non powered drums, just makes things easier for your left foot is all. each to his own as far as which is best is concerned. having said that though, if things don't feel right, then theres no harm in upgrading, as already mentioned, get the drums set up properly first and if not happy try rear drums and front manual discs, if still not happy go for power assist front discs / rear drums. after that theres only power discs all round or buying an anchor
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To do the disc conversion properly make sure you get the proportioning valve too.
a drum system splits braking force 50/50 and there's bigger drums on the front to sort the brake bias out.
Without the correct proportioning valve you still end up with a 50/50 pressure split, so the new front discs won't be working at full capacity and there's a chance that the rears will lock first.
I was talking to Don the other day about this and he was telling me that the amount of cars over in the states that had had discs fitted but not the valve was huge and therefore the coresponding amount of people complaining about their brakes.
The other option is Viper calipers on 11.75" mopar discs on the front, although you do need a 73/76 A body knuckle for this oh and the viper calipers aint cheap either, then a strange rear end disc conversion 8)
I have manual discs and I think they are fine. My old 70 Cuda had drums and they were ok (from memory, don`t recall any frights ).
As Alex said, drums need keeping on top of, while the discs are low maintenance.
Personally, I`d stick with the drums if you`ve been happy with them in the past - just keep them sorted.
Wil wrote:
The other option is Viper calipers on 11.75" mopar discs on the front, although you do need a 73/76 A body knuckle for this oh and the viper calipers aint cheap either, then a strange rear end disc conversion 8)
Actually I think the viper caliper kits only work with conversions using the drum type knuckle?
All help much appreciated guys. At the moment I'm leaning towards playing about with the drums, setting them up right and seeing how I go.
As mentioned before, experience is limited and this is the first time I've had drums all round on a car. Anybody have any tips on the best way to adjust the drums? Should you be able to feel any drag from the pads when the you spin the wheel? I put the drums back together at the weekend and set them so that there was just the slightest hint of drag between drum and pad, but the pedal went most of the way to the floor and the rears locked up before the fronts. I guess that a lot of this is just because of the wear on the existing bits anyway; all pads were well glazed and the drums have worn unevenly from inside to outside (unless that happens anyway?)
Once the drums are adjusted up, is there an accepted timescale / mileage for checking on them, or is it just a case of adjusting when you feel them going again?
My '70 manual shows auto adjust front brakes and also mentions 11" taxi brakes as being manually adjusted.
Go through the usual checks,like distorted drums/linings,odd lining material on one shoe,collapsed flexi pipe,front end alignment or possibly a soft or broken rear spring. also make sure both wheel bearings are adjusted correctly.Front brake part of master cyl not up to pressure.
Good luck
1965 Belvedere 2 426 Wedge.
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