I am the proud new owner of a '65 F-85, and naturally it has drum brakes all the way around. Disk brakes are better, or at least widely accepted to be, especially now that ABS is a thing. Some people are telling me that I should convert the drum breaks on my F-85 to disk brakes. Is it worth it?

 

I still have power drums and find they are very reliable and adequate on my 67. I grew up with drum brakes and know the pitfalls. With that said I would convert your master cylinder to a dual reservoir vs the single you currently have.

 

The only issues I had with drum brakes was driving through deep water (as in halfway up the wheels or more) and panic stopping from 90 MPH resulted in a lot more fade than with discs. So just avoid those situations and you should be fine.

 

IMO 100% worth converting. Some are fine with front drums, but like Kenneth mentioned, I had a few similar butt clenching close calls, will never have a drum brake “A” body again. Damn near anything else either

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Depends entirely on your intended use for the car. But usually best bang for your buck is to optimize the existing drum system.

 

I would convert and definitely go to a dual reservoir master cylinder. As mentioned, it can depend on how you drive and the use of your car. But for sure, go to the dual master cylinder.

 

X10 on going with a dual master and inspect all of the hydraulic components i.e., steel lines, replace the hoses, wheel cylinder. If the drum brakes are in bad shape going to discs might be a good investment; but, if the drum system is in good shape i'd stay with it.

 

^^^^^this

 

I found the drums to be more than adequate bumming around my rural setting. After taking the car on a few road trips into "the big city" it became apparent real fast that drums are at their limit in that style of driving. As we all know once they are hot they suck, and they don't cool down fast in stop and go traffic.

 

Here are 2 specialty salvage yards that might have to parts you need.

http://www.ctcautoranch.com/

https://www.dvap.com/

You might also check with Fusick.

https://www.fusickautomotiveproducts.com/

 

Disc brake swaps on A-body cars are pretty easy, as the parts pretty much grow on trees. Your call if you need it or not, depending on how you use the car and your driving style. One thing to be aware of is that some early A-bodies used smaller bolts holding the steering arms to the spindles. All disc brake spindles use the larger bolts. If you end up getting spindles without the arms and have to reuse your originals, you might need to open up the bolt holes for the larger attaching bolts.

 

I would optimize the drum brakes before deciding what you need. It is not fair to it or you to decide to go disc because you don't like bad drums without going first to good drums.

My personal opinion is that drum brakes are fine for non-aggressive driving. How much trouble will that 330 get you into especially when a few of the horses have died? I live outside of Evansville; the amount of panic stops I have had to do is effectively zero due to traffic. Downed trees after a tornado across the road, sure, but that's your daily. Fort Wayne is bigger than Evansville, but not by much. So, if you're going to overhaul the engine, stiffen up the ride, run good Michelins, and daily drive the thing, put discs on. If you're going to go to weekend car shows and evening drives, stay stock. Drum brakes are just as capable as old engines. Increase your following distance, and be more careful in the rain.

 

With all modern vehicles being equipped with disc brakes, stopping distance and performance has decreased to the point that the old maxim of one car length distance to the car in front of you for every ten miles per hour of speed is no longer followed. If you use that maxim on today's highways, you will find that you are being cut in front of all the time! That is something that you shall need to be aware of when driving the '65 car especially if you don't upgrade to front disc brakes. The other thing I don't like about drum brakes is the way that they will lock up, particularly in wet weather causing the car to slide into the car in front of you instead of stopping with clearance in a panic situation. As Joe mentioned in a previous post, the swap to front disc brakes is easy on these cars and for me a "no brainer"! And of course replace those old brake lines, both hard and soft, with new material!

 

This is something that pisses me off about modern drivers. I always follow at a safe distance regardless of what car I'm driving and am constantly dealing with A-holes cutting me off and darting into the buffer zone.

With regard to premature lockup, this is more of a traction/proportioning issue than one of outright braking force.

Bottom line: a well-maintained drum braking system is fine and perfectly safe as long as the driver recognizes its limitations and makes allowances accordingly.

 

Yes, because you are at fault for hitting someone if they cut in front of you and nail the brakes and you can't stop that fast. I would also be at fault for administering an *** whupping in that situation.

 

It's all about me, me, me, me....phuque everyone else.

 

A well maintained drum brake setup will work effectively as desk you can't follow closely though People drive like knuckleheads now doesn't matter they cut in front of you you need to have the distance regardless

 

In a word, no.

For about the first 75 years of the automobile age, all we had were drum brakes, and yet we somehow survived. I owned a '64 Jetstar 88 for about seven years back in the '90s, and it had drums on all four wheels. I rebuilt the brakes when I got the car, and it never had any trouble stopping. Yes, avoid panic stopping from 90 mph or driving through foot-deep water, but this is sound advice for ANY car, not just old ones.

Yes, there have been many safety improvements between the 1960s and today. Besides disk brakes, there's air bags, anti-lock brakes, side-impact protection, collapsible steering columns, the list goes on. Are you going to put all of those in your car, too?

We accept old cars for what they are. That's part of their charm. We don't try to make them into new cars. We enjoy them at local car shows on the weekends. We DON'T use them as daily drivers.

It seems that half the people who come onto this site with a desire to change their car over to disk brakes when disk brakes were not available on the car new report problems in making the conversion. Something doesn't fit right. The brakes grab. The pedal is hard. They can't seem to get them adjusted. Whatever.

Your car was engineered to stop just fine with the brakes it has. Make sure they're in good shape, and use them.


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Well put! I couldn't have said it better myself!!

 

X2.

 

I’m a long time owner of 2 66 big cars. Both were delivered with 1 master cylinder circuit and 4 wheel drums. That was great for 1966 traffic, 1966 cars, 1966 other car brakes and 1966 driver behavior.

1966 was a long time ago.

Now we have 4 wheel discs & ABS on every Toyota/Kia/Nissan, texting & driving, higher traffic density and generally more belligerent drivers. To drive my 1966 Oldses today, I want the best brakes I can do within reason.

I don’t need 4 wheel discs and ABS on my ‘66 Starfire. That would be stupid expensive, if it’s even possible, and frankly, at 60, I don’t drive in a way that needs braking power like that. However, I’ve upgraded both old cars to dual master circuits & front disk/rear drum at some expense.

I had a brake line blow out as a young guy which convinced me on the dual master. As an aside, dual circuit master cylinder became a federal regulation in 1967. I think Cadillac did it in 1965. Losing half your brakes is bad. Losing all your brakes is a life event you don’t forget.

I drive near San Francisco, in traffic & out of traffic. I use my cars as drivers and use them often. For me the sweet spot was front disk/rear drum with dual master from roughly 1970 era technology. I believe discs stop better than drums.

I leave a lot of room in front of me while driving the old cars. And yes, less polite drivers often cut in when you leave room. Like, you’d better expect that these days. At least in my region.

But those people are rushing in their unfun boxes, you’re cruising in your cool old car & enjoying the day. If you remember that, you’ll have no problem leaving room and having great brakes if you need ‘em. So, part of this game is mental, put your head in a place of “What a good day for a cruise”, as opposed to “I have to get there quick”.

Then you’ll enjoy the drive, but with great brakes at your side, you’ll be ready for some rude, texting & driving person who cuts you off just a little too quick.

Hope that helps
Chris