A full size car or truck with 11" drums, those will stop safely if the drum brakes are maintained. The little 9" Falcon brakes, they weren't that hot in '64.
9 inch drums are pretty tiny, not a lot of braking force available there, but then those cars didn't have large tires, so they probably provided enough force to match up with the traction available. If you are upgrading the power train, so the car runs down the highway substantially better than stock, than you're probably looking at some larger tires than stock too, and so yeah, some better brakes would be a good idea. Some of the guys gave you some good tips already. I would say, if you stick with drum brakes, learn how to adjust them properly, and do regular adjustments. Then practice emergency stops regularly. Do it without any traffic around, where you can safely bring the car to a stop as fast as you can without creating a traffic hazard. Learn what it feels like to get the car right at the edge of locking up the tires and keeping them there. Don't be surprised to find out that it pulls to one side or the other. Go back and practice adjusting them some more, get it to stop as straight as you can. Note, disc brakes don't necessarily provide increased braking force, what they provide is better control, less tendency to lock up uncontrollably. They also provide better stopping when wet. Drum brakes tend to fail completely when wet, so be careful driving thru puddles, and apply the brakes to dry them out after you do. And drums tend to fade after repeat application, so be careful on mountain driving. In fact among professional truck drivers there are 2 camps when it comes to downhill braking. One camp says to apply the brakes intermittently to allow them to cool in between applications. The other camp says to apply light pressure and hold it constantly to keep the vehicle from picking up speed. When I had my CDL I went with the later camp.
I would never put disc brakes on a fender less hotrod I enthusiasm for , but something with fenders , late model like a falcon that saw daily driving , freeway driving, populated area driving ... disc would be on my list for this bumper to bumper , texting while driving world In CA if you give safe stoping distance, some asshole always slides in... sometimes as your trying to stop!
I live in Canada and have been driving on ice and snow for a long time. I can tell you that the fastest way to stop on slippery surfaces is to hammer the brakes and lock up all 4 wheels, and slide to a stop. If you lock up all 4 you will slide straight ahead every time. If you lock up 1, 2 or 3 wheels you will spin around or skid sideways. I hate Hate HATE antilock brakes. With antilock brakes you can slam on the brakes as hard as you can and hardly slow down at all. You still go straight all right, straight into the car ahead or straight into an intersection or straight into the ditch and there is nothing you can do but sit there and take it like a little soldier.
I have driven my share of drum brake vehicles the truck in my avatar is all drum and I like it, but when I was your age things were a little slower paced where I lived, city driving and 70-75 mph highway driving will require a little more diligence in an older vehicle, factor in a carload of teenagers, music blasting, phones ringing, people talking etc, you will definitely need to keep your distance and attention focused, even if you have disc brakes, if you are behind me following too close I can stop faster than you, learn your vehicles limitations then enjoy it. Be Safe
Realizing that it’s all totally off topic but this is terrible information, abs prevent lock up to allow directional control so you can steer around objects instead of sliding into them, the same reason I was taught to pump the brake pedal in low traction stops. Having all four wheels locked up is not the fastest way to stop on any surface. Ever. Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
l grew up in No. IN that sees plenty of ice and snow, and the best proven way to stop a non-ABS vehicle is to rapidly pump the brakes vs simply slamming on the brakes I say proven because that's part of what I used to do; ABS/non ABS testing and demonstrations on all types of road surfaces and speeds. Today's all wheel ABS systems provide the safest and quickest braking ever while allowing steerable control. A large contributing factor is disc over drum brakes.
Disc brakes all the way for me. Save your pennies and step up. You won't regret it. How much is a bumper, grille, hood and fenders going to cost the first time you can't get it shut down in time? An let's not even think about getting the steering wheel out of your teeth or your chest. Step up. Drum brakes are good. Disc brakes are better.
If we're talking servo drum brakes, not all (front) primary and (rear) secondary linings are the same material, with secondary being commonly more aggressive. Using these as primary friction material can easily cause an aggressive brake that may have little if any modulation, along with possible damage. What may luckily work for you might not work for others, so recommending modifications of a proven drum brake design to others may not be in their best interest. Converting to a disc brake is the best upgrade alternative for a drum brake, period.
Blues, I agree that disc are better and have a better “ feel” than drum brakes. My point was they are capable of stopping the wheels from turning at speed. Some people act like they don’t work at all! Like mentioned here, we survived with them for years. Disc are an improvement, no doubt. It a panic stop 99% of the people are going to push on the brake pedal as hard as they can, locking up either disc or drum, that’s why they invented anti-lock brakes. To prove my point watch those clowns on NASCAR next time they spin out and start sliding toward something, they have all four wheels locked up and smoke coming off them. If they would lift off the brake a little, they could steer out of trouble sometimes. And they are supposed to be the best drivers in the world. Edit: Blues I agree with everything you said in post #32. Bones Bones
Hey Falcon64, (to be called Mr Falcon at your age, you need 15 more Falcons in the backyard) I see on your profile you have a Honda. Here's an experiment. Find a quiet road that you can do a brake test. Pick out a landmark like a sign post and panic stop the Honda. Mark where you stop then go home and get the Falcon and repeat the panic stop. How many feet did you run over your Honda? 99% of the time you'll be OK, car guys are generally better drivers because they know what their cars are capable of and they are more aware of their surroundings. It's that one time you look down to change the radio or see who called and you will get in trouble. New cars stop better than old cars and if you've ever driven in LA the traffic is 80mph and slam on the brakes, 80mph..slam on the brakes, time after time. Those 9" drums are going to fade. That makes that do it yourself disc brake changeover a pretty good modification. That gets the ball rolling.. new wheels, change the rear end, then you're ready for the 302.
Convert the Front, Disc own the Rear is Pissing Money away and overrated, A conversion to the Front is Far Cheaper than Grill,Bumper,Fenders and Hood.Comparing Today's Drivers and abilities with those 30 or 40 years ago is Ludicrous, No Cell Phones and Fewer Cars own the Road, and Drivers had far more Skills.
Your Falcon is a Mustang in disguise. I you can find an early dic brakes setup it will help. I ran a 1963 Mercury Comet that I modified the drum brakes to work better. I drilled out the backing plates for more air flow, ^ above I bought 2 sets of shoes (metallic) and used the big ones. Front and rear. Make sure the shoes fit top to bottom inside the drum. They may have to be sanded. Now to get your brakes to work the best is to break them in properly. Ride the brake until there is smoke from the brakes and let them cool. Ride them again and let them cool (no need to smoke them) they will work better then they had before. Now as far as power: I ran a 3x1 homemade set up, modified distributor, larger Mustang exhaust manifold and adjustable rockers to get a few more horses out of the 170 that would cruise at 65-70 with a 3 speed manual. I drove a friends 65 that had an automatic and it could not get up to 65 without a lot of effort.....
I drive my 59 Vette with stock 4 wheel drums with updated brake shoes. I have no issue with them at all, except the annual adjustment that takes all of 10 minutes. I do keep my distance in traffic. She will stop in a hurry from 120 at the drag strip.
I guess I do it wrong when I'm there. I look ahead and leave some room in front of me, so I don't have to slam on the brakes. No matter whether I'm driving something old or something new. (last fall I drove through the area in a mostly stock 1940 LaSalle, and a few weeks later in a stock late model with 4 wheel disks, antilock, etc, but part of the time I was also pulling a car trailer)
Leave some room, you’ve got to be kidding, here someone will squeeze in between every time. I drive in rush hour traffic every day. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
My condolences. But you can still drive sanely, and make it to work on time. You might have to leave home a minute or two earlier.
You probably get to LA more often than I do, but I have agree with 31A, whenever I try to drive saine and leave some space 3 ricers pull in front of me. It's best to relax, go with the flow and keep your eyes open, if you get uptight you'll go crazy like everybody else. My only bad experience in LA was a flat tire on my trailer, was close to an exit & got it fixed without being stranded on the side of the road. I was in Phoenix when you were driving the LaSalle, Friday night was a nightmare of accidents every 5 miles. Never been there before, got off the freeway and drove in circles to find my bearings to the motel. Missed you In Vegas Halloween night. It was bizzaro on Freemont.
Your falcon is a light car less than 2500 lbs . I had a 60 falcon with a swaped in v8 95 mph 1/4 trap speeds car stoped fine at a strip with a short shut down. Would have wanted to do it 2 times back to back No.
Yeah, I question that too. Sounds like a good way to glaze the brakes. Check out Wagner's recommendation on "burnishing" new brake shoes/pads: https://www.wagnerbrake.com/technical/technical-tips/break-in.html
I drive a '75 F100 4x4 daily with 4 wheel drum brakes. Interstate travel included. Weighs quite a bit more than a falcon and haven't run it into anything yet.
so many people have conformed to todays cars that they forget how to drive and have a nice road trip.
You can be positive that locking all four is the best to do in a Nascar race; they be doing it for so long that it must be the best way..I'm sure if they could stick ABS in some how they would develop a version that would work [sneak?] in Nascar..Key word Nascar..
Here is a challenge for you. We will both drive identical cars on ice, yours with anti lock brakes and mine without. We will drive straight towards a cement wall at 60 MPH. I will lock up my brakes and slide, you depend on your antilock brakes. I am willing to bet $10,000 you hit the wall and I don't. I can also steer my non antilock brakes car anytime I want just by releasing the brakes. Or not applying them hard enough to skid. I would be happier with a car with GOOD drum brakes than the best antilock brakes ever made, when driving on ice or snow.
In a perfect world I agree, it would be great to have abs built in and have control, but in a typical old car with drum brakes that is pretty hard achieve. By locking all four wheels, I'm talking about a "panic" stop, usually stomping on the pedal as hard as you can, we all do it to avoid a bad situation.
Believe what you choose to, the problem with posting it is unfortunately other people will also believe it. Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
The Jalopy Journal
