I'm pretty new to restoring, and I was wondering what your all's opinions were on switching drum breaks for discs.

 

Do it! Get all parts from a donor truck. Buy a new master cylinder, rebuilt calipers, new rubber hoses, and brake pads. Add proportioning valve. Make new brake lines. Realistically, about $250 to $300 plus whatever you pay for donor parts.

 

From reading the forums it seems like the F100 owners like discs. On the other hand, I do a fair amount of towing and hauling with my '65 F250 and can see no benefit to discs unless you plan to race or submerge your brakes in water. I compare it to my 2002 3/4 ton with fresh turned discs, new pads, new lines, and new braided hoses....in other words top shape 4 corner power disc brakes. I still don't feel motivated to switch to discs on my '65.

By towing I mean a 5 ton fifth wheel and by hauling I mean up to 2 ton ...both on the interstate. I've got around 40k on my current brake shoes and will likely get 20k more.

 

Discs are less prone to brake fade and cool off faster than drums due to less physical mass... tow loads up and down grades and twisted roads and your opinion would likely be much different. Discs are inherently more efficient over a wider array of driving conditions.

On the interstate it usually won't matter that much. However, I was pulling into Salt Lake City late one night and literally hadn't touched the four-wheel drums for a couple of hours so the brakes were really cold. The minor highway I was on was coming to an end at a stoplight so I applied pressure to the pedal only to find little stopping power... It finally built up enough heat for the shoes to take a bite and stop the vehicle... halfway into the intersection. Good thing there was no cross traffic or I wouldda been t-boned.

 

Drum brakes work fine, (mostly) they kind of get an undeserved reputation today because people manage to get some old rig fired up that sat in a field for 30 years or something but it takes a county or two to slow down and they think that's just the way it was back then. "Drum brakes suck!" The brakes haven't been serviced since the Nixon administration, whaddaya expect? Whatever you decide, replace all of the hard line and hose, use good quality U.S.A. made parts. Lots of junk out there these days.

 

Care to expound on "mostly"?

 

Not really, no. All this just slips into silliness after a while. The brakes are no good, the suspension sucks, get rid of that generator, drop in a new motor, the transmission needs to go, needs power steering, my ***** hurts etc etc ad nauseam ad infinitum.

And you kids get off my lawn!

 

Ok..........

 

I can kind of see what Tedster9 is saying about misjudging these trucks in their neglected state and it helps me understand my confusion over the reputation of drum brakes. First thing I did when I bought my '65 was replace everything brake-wise (except for the drums which I had turned). I had the same concerns of the OP in this thread about drums based on what I had read and the first couple times using my new brakes they were very weak until the shoes were "fit-in" to get their arch. Now if I slam on them, especially when empty, I think I can get most people to face plant on the dash...if they're not buckled up.

I agree with the theory that drums are more susceptible to heat fade....I've just never crossed that boundary. In my experience, drums are adequate when loaded and plenty when driving empty. For example, I've locked up my back brakes on dry concrete with almost 2000lbs in the bed.

There's one time when I can say I saw the benefits of discs...I was doing around 90mph and touched the brakes....truck got all squirrelly....that's the one and only time I drove that fast in that truck. I can also see how discs would be better if driving in road salt. Springs and adjusting screws inside drums tend to rust out inside drums...not an issue with discs.

I'm not trying to tell the OP to skip the conversion...I just don't give disc brakes as high of a priority as some people do. I will say that if your truck isn't braking or handling nice...up to 70mph...then something ain't right.

 

Drums are self-energizing, discs are not. It takes more pressure to engage discs than drums. At approximately 600 PSI of line pressure on the brakes, a typical drum brake will be fully locked. At the same pressure with discs they will be roughly half applied.

Drums are more susceptible to brake fade because they are not exposed to the air like a disc brake to keep them cool. In order for drums to dissipate the heat, the heat, first, has to travel across the ENTIRE drum brake casting surface before it will begin to shed this heat. Disc brakes only have to shed the heat that's induced on its friction surfaces.

Discs are less impacted by wet weather running. Drums get gabby if they get wet. Disc tend to make the vehicle track straight and true when they're applied. Drums often have a propensity to pull to one side or the other when applied.

Brake modulation (control of brake application) is much more superior and linear with discs than drums.

The self-energizing nature of drums is a negative attribute once the brakes have been saturated with heat (brake fade). Modulation becomes even less controllable.

Maintenance of disc brake systems takes far less time to accomplish than with drum brakes.

I'm no stranger to drum brakes or how to service or set them up/adjust them. I've done many disc brake conversions on various vehicles. In late 2014, I converted my '69 F100 from front drums to front discs/suspension from a '77 F100 (with a power brake booster). The discs are a MAJOR improvement over the old drums they replaced but, then again, I've never done a disc brake conversion that wasn't a major improvement over drums.

 

To the OP...What model truck do you have, what other modifications are you considering, and how do you plan to use your truck? Ultraranger has laid out many of the differences nicely. You just may never notice the advantages of discs unless you drive/use your truck a certain way. Honestly, while I do drive heavy often, I drive slower (usually hover 5mph over the posted speed) and more cautious than many people so I'm likely not appreciating the benefits of discs as much as others.

If you do go discs, you may look into staying manual. Some of the guys that race FE engines prefer manual disc brakes over power disc brakes for preferred "feel".

 

If you have the cash to spend, why not?

I am going to pull mine apart here soon. If they are in useable shape, I will probably rebuild them with shoes. If I have to replace them down to the kingpins, I will probably go the extra mile for discs.

I am persnickety when it comes to the word "restore". Restore means to restore to factory, build means to do whatever you want. That is just me...

 

I first did the power brakes as needed due to a worn out knee joint.

The Shots of cortisone in my knee was only good for about a month if that.

Ah relief after installing just a Power Booster to my drum brakes.

I'd say at least 50% less foot/leg pushing power on the old drums now,
working beyond what was needed for my comfort zone not causing me any more knee joint pain.

But have since then have upgraded to disc brakes front axle only for the aid of finding replacement parts since my truck is a 4wd.

I finely made up my mine when, I came across a 1976 axle could not pass up any longer. I did not notice really that much improvement, may be
15% once they seated.

The biggest improvement was just adding the a Power Booster brake setup:

Orich

 

This is my point. If you have the cash to spend, why not just buy a new truck? LOL

People can, and do, spend tens and tens of thousands converting an old truck into the equivalent of a modern F150. This is the the same thinking applied here taken to its logical extension.

There's no seatbelts on the older rigs.. Well that'll never do. And that leaky six cylinder has got to go. And those icky contact points! No AC! And that radio! And the rear end gearing, and the steering column and ... and ... Different strokes for different folks, sure...

At some point it seems to me a much better approach would be simply to purchase a reproduction body shell and drop it on an S-10 frame. Apparently with some there isn't anything else acceptable other than the body contours, and even those need some massaging. Hm.

Of course modern brakes are better. And so is everything else. So is a modern suspension. In fact, putting modern brakes on a 60 year old truck in some ways can arguably be somewhat of a bad idea, simply in the sense that it encourages people to drive a lot faster than the truck is otherwise designed. 90 miles an hour? Really? These things handle like coal carts.

I get it, I really do. To each his own, this is a hobby. Nobody "needs" to drive around in antiques. It's your money. The skills and fabrication and design talents by some in these areas are absolutely incredible. Do what you want.

Just don't spout off all this BS why it's just absolutely mandatory to spend forty or fifty, sixty grand to make the damn thing suitable to cruise down the road to pick up a malt and fries. I'm amazed any of our forebears lived to tell the tale.

 

Whoa, easy greasy...did you just call my '65 a coal car? In the words of Cooter Davenport "a man's truck is his castle". The one time I hit 90 I was just trying to see what my truck would do in the quarter mile. Found out a fresh FE can haul the mail :-)

I've done a lot of 60-70 mph loaded and towing. It's a truck...to me it handles like a new truck...albeit with slightly stiffer springs in the back.