I have drums on all 4 corners. I plan to do a frame off soon and am thinking about putting discs brakes on the front. I only plan to drive the car for a few months in the summer, a couple thousand K. Do I need to convert to discs or should I spend my money elsewhere?


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Rod
Team Chevelle
Gold Member#22
1970 454

Disc Brakes have been factory-installed on all cars for the last 25 years for a very good reason - they're better. Chevelle big blocks are very heavy and very fast...don't you want to stop too?

Get the disks. it's only your life!

Clark

Over the years I have driven many cars - front disk, four wheel disk, and four wheel drums. My feeling is that whether or not you switch to disks depends very much on how you use the car. Drums tend to fade after repeated heavy stops, and they can also fail if they get very wet. My Malibu is a six cylinder three speed and I don't think I'm going to bother converting to disks because I've had no problems with drums. If you have a good set of linings and your brakes are in good repair you should have no problems unless you drive very hard/ or race. Probably the best advice is to make sure you have good tires (radials) if you plan to do a lot of driving. If you do convert MAKE SURE you do a proper job of it since malfunctioning disks are far more dangerous than good drum brakes.

If it is a fast car you need disc brakes, if you drive it normal the drums are fine. Everyone upgrades engines for more horsepower but forget to upgrade the brakes to stop it.

Just a quick comment on brakes...

I have been racing my 3300 Lbs Chevelle for years with drums on all 4 corners. Current 1/4 mile MPH is 130 and I just don't have any problems stopping the car at all. I have found that as long as the brake system is properly maintained, shoes are a quality brand and in good shape they will work perfectly.

Brand new disks are great but not always necessary...MK

I have disks a new chassis build-up that I'm working on. Just seemed ashame not to do the upgrade when I was doing so much work.

The logic I used was that you're driving the big Chevelle on the road with lots of rice burners and eggshell cars that can stop almost on a dime. You can't.

If the Ford Taurus in front of you stops short and you're close up, he may become your hood ornament. If all that was on the road was drum brake 4000 pound dinosaurs like ours, we'd be OK.

[This message has been edited by ddoler (edited 07-23-99).]

Do what I did to my '67 Elcamino.....four wheel disc! the front's are off of a '70 Camaro and the rear's are off a '79 Turbo T/A backing plate to wheel studs are an easy bolt on to a 10 bolt. You'll need the longer studs on the rear. However, the front converstion requires steering box modification. I'll give you the details if your interested. Email me at energy@foxinternet.net
(NO association with Energy Susp.)
Dale

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My two cents, Disc are the only way to go er......stop! One good rain storm, a mildly flooded road and you will be thanking everyone from the Lord on down!! Been there Done that and it's not fun when you can see the entire resto flash before your eyes.

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Jungle Jim #105 Gold
70SS396 & 70 Malibu
"Fight the good Fight every moment, every minute,every day. Make it worth the price you pay!"

I've never had the Chevelle in a midly flooded environ and I hope I never do, so maybe I shouldn't comment, but my drums work really well on dry pavement as long as you have a good leg muscle.

To re - iterate: I have never had problems with drum brakes. The drums don't stop much worse than disks - even if they fade you just have to increase pedal pressure. The most important factor as far as I know is to have good tires since they are the actual stopping mechanism. One of my major concerns with installing disks on a car which was not designed for disks is whether or not problems can arise because of the different characteristics of disks - could Tom or Bill comment on this ?

how about - disks look better than drums? Its as good reason as any.

of course drums are fine for racing. You have at most tracks, 1/8 mile at the least to stop. But on the street where things seem to pop out of nowhere its nice to have the discs. Converting to power discs was the very first thing I did with my car.

I have a 66 Chevelle that is easy to get started and a nightmare to stop . I have replaced every part on the drum setup that can be replaced and have nothing to show for the effort . I am also considering the conversion to disc . I know how you feel .

Are Tom and Bill's opinions the only one's with merit? Maybe you should e-mail them directly so we can keep our opinions for those who wish to hear them.

I put disks on everything I drive, one time of serious brake fade with drums convinced me..luckily noone was coming as I went through that red light!