Disc brake conversion

[2nevets]

 Anybody put a disc brake conversion on your 38 DeSoto or something similar? If so was it worth the effort

[Matt Harwood]

The only thing disc brakes do better than drums is shed heat. They don't grab harder or make the car stop shorter, which is still a function of the tires' contact patch as much as anything else. If you drive fast, race, or run the car in the mountains, a disc brake conversion might make a difference you can feel. Otherwise, it is unlikely that a little 11-inch GM disk will work as effectively as the original drums. Look around at how many guys have put discs on their cars and then come back to ask how they make them work properly with master cylinders, proportioning valves, new wheel cylinders, and things like that. While the "kits" make it seem like you can bolt it on and go in a day, that is not the case. The fluid requirements of a caliper are far different than those of a wheel cylinder and if you don't get the combination right, you will either have a totally limp pedal or a pedal that's so hard it does nothing. Then it's up to you to figure it out.

 

Or get the drums in top shape with correct materials on the shoes and have the best brakes of the era. Chrysler nailed it in the braking department during the '30s and '40s. The car isn't fast or powerful enough to make enough speed to overdrive the stock brakes unless you're doing something really aggressive.

[edinmass]

Matt is 100 percent correct.