Bleedin' Heck!

[Guest rockabillybassman]

Went for a cruise in the '55 today and came into a panic stop situation! Now I've never experienced that in this car, so I did'nt know what to expect. In that split second when the desicion making process kicks in, I was prepared to swerve and whatever it took.

Now when I did the brakes, I kitted all the cylinders and replaced the return springs, but left the shoes as they had obviously been renewed at some stage. As I dont have a brake setting tool, I just adjusted them using the old "screw 'em up till they grab, then back 'em off" method.

I was totally unprepared for what happened. The bloody car stopped on a dime! No swerving, no lockup, nothing. My wife just about cracked her head on the windscreen. I've got a 2005 Falcon (Aussie) stationwagon as my daily that has big discs all round and ABS braking, and the Plymouth stopped every bit as good as the Falcon can.

I'm telling this story because it has made me realise that drum brakes can work well. I certainly dont need to entertain the idea of switching to discs any more!

[Normspeed]

Thanks. I agree, my stock drum setup is up to the task, and it's really pretty forgiving. I recall a post some time back about a Mopar that was driven halfway across the country, and later the owner finding there was only one really functional brake out of four when they finally rebuilt it all. Still stopped.

[RobertKB]

I agree that drum brakes work very well. All my cars seem to stop well and I keep an eye on the master cylinder level which is usually the first sign of trouble. No disc conversions for me either.

[BloodyKnuckles]

Agreed!

A well built brake system will perform...get this...the way they were designed to. I have been more than impressed with my Plymouth's drum brakes. I've had numerous people comment about how well it stops as I'm not bashfull while driving it.

Glad to hear about your brake building abilities.

Great job!

BloodyKnuckles

[Don Coatney]

Well maintained drum brakees will stop a car well. Well maintained disc brakes will stop a car well. However there are a few other advantages of disc brakes.

Repair parts are available most everywhere.

No adjustments required.

Will not fade as much as drum brakes when hot or wet.

Conversion cost about the same as a complete rebuilding of stock drum brakes.

[John Mulders]

and you forget the fun part where you can work on the car

John

[greg g]

I had a similar situation last year on dry pavement. No lock up no swerve, do drama after the initial OOOOH Crappppp!!!! I guess the new radials actually over power the brakes. In that I mean the tires have more traction thna the brakes can over come acting in effect as an ABS system. Don;t think it would be the same on gravel or in the wet but on dry pavement, the old drum and new readial combination is pretty darned effective.

The only thing I have experienced was some fade running around the hills of Vermont a couple summers back, nothing serious but something to keep in mind when using them repeatedly.

[62rebelP23]

Chrysler products always had the reputation of having the best brakes IIRC.

drums function well as long as the adjustments are kept up and regular maintenance is done. discs in the early days had the reputation of being grabby, noisy, and prone to leakage, so drums were kept for a long time after discs were available AND affordable.