I scored a "possiblly Mor Dropped Axle" which included the drum brakes and tie rod. I plan to convert the front to disc brakes and since the drums and shoes that came with the axle look to be good, I want to put them in the rear. Does any one know any issues with doing this? Seems pretty straight forward. Also, the king pins seem to be fine but debating replacing them since the axle is out and easily accessible, thoughts?

 

Front and rear brakes are about completely different

 

I tore down everything down to the frame I didnt pay too much attention and figured it would be a quick swap. Thank you. I guess I will have a good set of drum brakes/pads up for sale in the near future.

 

F-1 front drums with enough meat left for turning are worth a fair amount. New ones are over $100. (each)

 

What's your opinion on swapping out the drum for disc? I plan to put a flathead (tops 110 horses), 4 speed "rock crusher" tranny and most likely the original rearend. Im planning on the disc but part of me (my wallet) says keep it drum for now and disc later. Of course, everyone talks about the additional safety of disc but do thinking drum will do. My 71 F100 longbed (all drum) struggled stopping at times.

 

The safety doesn't come from the disc but from the dual master cylinder. You don't lose all brakes at once. I still have drums all the way around and drive the freeway and stop just fine. Nothing wrong with discs though but unless I was doing a lot of suspension mods I'd stick with the drums for now. Just my opinion.

 

It sure does sound enticing to stay with drums for now, especially since Im keeping all suspension stock and not much horsepower. Of course, except for the dropped axle. I will take them to a shop for a second lookover.



Possible Mor Dropped Axle

 

The front drum brakes will be completely adequate for your application. If they're in good shape like you say, it would be a shame to scrap them just to spend another grand. The only real reason to switch to disc with the stock drivetrain is if all your stock parts were junk and you had to replace everything, anyway. The cost to replace drums and shoes and bearings and hardware and lines, etc, is about the same money as the disc swap, so you might as well upgrade. My 2c.

 

Save your money on the kingpins if they don't wiggle and put it into disc brakes. Much safer in the rain even at lower speeds.

 

Yes and no, Pete. Us old fogeys know to purge the drums of water after we hit a puddle. Now, if you're driving through a foot of water, you'd best be going slow anyway. Actually, it may be best to back up and turn around now, right? I saw a car get swept away years back. Two people drowned that night. It took just a few seconds for their car to be washed out a couple of hundred yards. There was no going after them. I had mud in my air filter the next day. Had the car floored in reverse and it would only do about 1200 RPM. Thank goodness that I had a lot of blow-by in that worn out engine. There was water on the hood before I knew it was there. I digress..

 

Self energizing drum brakes will stop quicker and with less effort than manual disk brakes. Disk brakes are "better/safer" than drums only under special conditions such as driving in mountainous areas or carrying/towing heavy loads. As stated those of us who started driving before disk brakes became commonplace were taught to "ride" the brakes to dry them while/right after going thru water, and to give more stopping room, plus test the brakes in heavy rain (both good practice even with disk brakes) before needing to stop.

 

Jeremy, I guess I would qualify as an old fogey too but my experience on test tracks and the data don't support the equality of drum to disc brakes at any speed, with or without water. Riding the brake pedal after going through a puddle helps but not completely as those of us that have towed boats after backing down a launch ramp can attest. We all have some level of nostalgia or we wouldn't own these old trucks. Even so there are certain laws of nature that should not be ignored.

Here is a rather lengthy SAE document regarding the subject. Lots of cartoons and drawings to illustrate his points. If you get bored skip to page 45.

http://www.sae.org/events/bce/tutorial-limberg.pdf

 

The more info you are all providing, the more Im thinking of sticking with drums. I live in "it never rains" in Southern California, Inland Empire (flat lands) and it will be driven mostly for fun (not a daily driver). I do need to replace my master cylinder, any suggestions on where to get a quality one?

 

Drum brake fade doesn't need rain but heat does make it worse.

 

Pete, thank you. This is a great document, did have to get another cup of Joe to keep reading but very informative and convincing. I do have to factor in that my 14yr old is looking to drive this truck as soon as he gets his license.
I drove around my 71 F100 for a few years, all drums, with no issues. Well, it did spring a leak in the driver front side brake line. Not fun.