Single Drum to Dual Disc

[WillBilly53]

sorry to post another topic on the same day. i searched for this topic but only found a heated debate on the "hyped up" idea that single drum brakes are unsafe.<P>i'm not trying to win any awards. i want to drive this car and enjoy it. take my girl out on the town. that kind of thing. i want to convert it to dual master cylinder with disc brakes on front and rear. (if this is possible)<P>are their any kit conversions out there? i looked at kanter but i think all they had were drum overhaul kits.<P>also is dual master brakes the same as power brakes? if not what is the difference?<P>thanks again i advance,<P>i promise once i learn some stuff i'll hopefully be able to give good advice. i'm a newbie-please bare with me!<P>will

[Bill Stoneberg]

The best thing fo you to do is to go pick up a copy of Rod and Custom or Streetrodder.<BR>Both magazines have manufacturers of both Disc brakes and front clips.<BR>If you want to chop the car apart you are looking at taking the front end apart, welding a new clip on, changing your steering column, changing brake pedals and making linkages for these, re running all brake lines, including the back ones and then putting all the sheet metal back on.<BR>Its a lot of work and takes specialized tools and about 5K dollars.<BR>I am not saying this to discourage you, just to let you know what you are in for.<P>On the other hand, you can rebuild the stock brake system, rebuild the master cylinder and have a car that will stop for under 500 dollars. You wont have to change things out and manufacture parts and pieces. You wont need a welder, only a shop manual and hand tools. The car will still stop just fine.<P>I drive my 47 with stock brakes and will drive my 50 the same way once it is done. I keep my distance (read dont tailgate) and never have had any concerns. Agreed, Disks with a dual cylinder is a better system but you can do fine with a stock system.<P>I also have no isssues with making a non-stock car, you just need to know what you are getting into both work wise and money wise.

[Guest]

thanks bill,<BR>i guess i just got scared from some horror stories i've heard about drum brakes. i think i'll just stick to overhauling the stock brakes and save myself a lot of headaches and money that i don't really have.<P>thanks again,<P>will

[BuickNut]

For an extra margin of safety, you might want to consider replacing all the brake hoses AND the hard lines - even if they LOOK good, they can fool you - either through the hard lines being rustier or the hoses being weaker than is the actual case. I made that mistake once. While the hose didn't break or burst, it turned out that the almost new looking hose had swelled inside and barely had enough open area for brake fluid to be of equal pressure as the other side. End result was that it pulled like ba-geezus to one side even though it LOOKED fine. Its a real pain - but for peace of mind - replace or rebuild the entire brake system if your not sure when the last set of hoses, etc. was replaced.