Are manual disc/drum brakes doable in a Hotrod? I have a '53 chevy pickup with a Hilborn injected 392, 727 torqueflite, 4.56 9" set. 11" disc front and 11" drums rear. Getting enough vacuum for power brakes isn't really there. Running power brakes with not enough vacuum is very hard to stop.
my 38 chevy has manual disc/drum brakes, it stops very well i think. as long as you use the right master you shouldnt have a problem. i think the rule of thumb is no bigger then 7/8 piston?? that sound right guys?
As was mentioned, if you want power brakes a vacuum pump will make it happen. Those are available belt driven or electrically powered. A cutoff switch can be used to run the pump only when needed. There have been many production and race cars with manual disc brakes, some of them pretty fast and/or heavy. So yes, it is definitely possible to go manual. A smaller master cyl piston or revised pedal linkage geometry can reduce effort. Unfortunately that happens at the expense of increased pedal travel. So, you can only compensate so much. Also be aware that current cars all have fairly low steering and pedal efforts. Although you would be doing nothing that hasn't been done before, in today's context the pedal effort may seem high.
I wish I would have heard you say that about three years ago. I went with 1" & my stopping power isn't that great. I have a very hard pedal & I can't lock up the brakes (which, in a way, might be a good thing with a light weight hot rod). Although it'll be a hugh fiasco, I think I'm going to switch to 7/8."
I have manual disc/drum on my 49 F-1 (350 engine) Uses big GM calipers and Mustang master cylinder and the truck stops great. I couldn't believe the difference in stopping distance. It was a kit from CPP
I'm running disc front, drum rear with the original master cylinder on my 50 and find it a great improvement. No power needed.
Okay guys, thanks. I want to use manual brakes to keep it lean and mean. Anyone recommend a master cylinder?
My Biscayne had a disc/drum combo for the same reason, cam too big. I was leary about following too close because you had to stand on the brake to lock it up. If I had kept the car, I was going to install a hydro-boost.
I was just about to start a thread on the same thing , I have a 65 Aussie Falcon ute & was wondering if any of you guys have used this set up from Willwood with out the booster . Not using their rotors or calipers just pedal box & M/cylinders Dont have enough room to run an inline booster as well as a clutch master cylinder & would rather not run a remote booster on the brakes The price is right as well , cheaper than doing up my dual circut master cylinder that I already have Thoughts would be appreciated !! http://wilwood.com/Pedals/PedalProd.aspx?itemno=340-3950 http://wilwood.com/MasterCylinders/MasterCylinderProd.aspx?itemno=260-6765 http://wilwood.com/MasterCylinders/MasterCylinderProd.aspx?itemno=260-1304
I just like the feel of manual brakes. I have manual set ups with all disc and disc/drum and I just prefer the pedal feel plus, the booster is not in my way when working on it.
I parted out a wrecked 71 Camaro for the drive train and complete brake system. I bought a hotrod under the floor pedal assembly and bolted everything else off of the Camaro on and as far as i know it is still stopping. I used the rear, M/cyl, distribution block, calipers...everything. New brake lines to the new locations and it was done. No special valves for under the floor...No special hotrod parts at all other than the pedal. Everything available at any parts store in the country.
Pedal ratio and M/C bore size all need to match the requirements of the system ie. caliper piston size/wheel cylinder size, and you will not have any issues what so ever stopping your ride. Also important is to consider the weight of the vehicle when chosing the size of the front and rear braking componants ie. front rotor diam./size and # of pistons in caliper and rear drum diam. and shoe width and wheel cylinder size. TR
If you do your homework, many of Detroit's muscle cars from back in the day came with Manual Disc/Drum set ups. Use the knowledge of the Engineers that have done the work for you. My 67 Barracuda Formula S was one, as well as my sleeper 69 396 Nova, both had Power Steering and Manual Disc Drum. Camaros were a little heavier as well as the Plastic Fantastic Corvette. TR
Just do some reading...there are some great books describing the whole thing..! The master cylinder can be ANY size....it just needs to correctly match the size of the caliper/wheel cylinder piston size.. If you have big truck piston calipers, you'll need a larger master cylinder piston..! Smaller wheel pistons...smaller MC piston. Doing the math on my car....I have "both" ends using disc brakes and "no" power booster, and the car stops easilly, smoothly and without standing on ther pedal. It's just not required..! Wilwood 4 piston calipers at both ends, front larger thAn the rear, and a 1.000" piston master cylinder, also by Wilwood. It's their twin piston, twin reservoir assembly. Mike
I have a manual disc/drum setup on my 60 Falcon straight axle car, it uses the factory ford master cylinder. Mid 70's chevelle rotors and calipers on the 54 chevy truck straight axle under the front, late 80's mustang drum brakes on the 8.8 mustang rear. It stops on a dime, I was really suprised how great it stops. Some setups you will need to run an adjustable proportioning valve to get your front to rear brake bias set, so it doesn't lock the rear drums up. I got lucky with my car it didn't need one.
X2, alittle more leverage will make it feel like power, but you will have alittle more pedal travel, lots of cars were designed with two holes for this purpose.
There are several that should work but the late60's early 70's Corvette manual disk/drum master cylinder used to be popular back when we first started putting disk brakes on the fronts of hot rods. Those may be made of unobtainium now though.
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