Hey all, I have a question related to the brakes. I have a 66 F250 that currently is without brakes. I would love to do a front disc swap and have found a fantastic write up ( i believe it was on here) on how to do so. My question is given this truck is really just going to be a "date night" sort of truck i drive just around town here and there could i get away with just putting all new drum brakes all around? Would the performance be sufficient and safe? Potentially update to a power brake system with two master cylinders but keep the drums? Just curious which path i should take, stick with the drums or try my luck on converting the fronts to discs assuming i can find the parts. Thanks in advance!

 

I have exactly the same truck with '74 F-250 discs, calipers, I beams, radius rods, power booster...and, for a heavy vehicle, it stops really well! I have other old vehicles with drums all around, one with power booster and drums and there is no comparison. I believe that drums can be safe, if they are turned, adjusted and set up properly, but I'm very impressed how the 66 brakes work. If you're in the mood to get in deeper, you might even find a donor truck with power steering. I'm so glad that I made that swap, as my steering is effortless. You essentially take very old technology and step it into the next era of safety and handling. I hesitated, because I didn't want to spend the time (with limited space) dismantling another vehicle, but it was the right choice. Junk yards abound but I ended up just buying a running 74 and keeping it until I had all the parts swapped. I parted the rest and scrapped what I couldn't sell. It was worth working from home, not in a junkyard and wouldn't have been any cheaper if I had the yard dogs pull the parts for me. The best bonus, was I scored a very nice 390 and C-6 in the transaction.

 

Did you do the conversion yourself? I really would like to swap to discs but i am concerned not really with the work but getting accurate information from folks on what will work. I agree, buying a donor truck would be the way to go. I have been keeping my eyes out for one. I shouold be looking for a 72-79 F-100/150/250 correct?

As for power steering, someone has already put that in my truck, all i need to do is make a bracket to mount the power steering pump and plum it to the steering box and i should be set. Thanks for your 2 cents, any additional info you may have would be greatly appreciated!!

 

Adam:
I got all the information that I needed right here on FTE from all the members who have done this swap many times. Information here is very valuable from those experienced. Everything was pretty much bolt-on with few exceptions, such as making some new brake lines, adapting the small brake line brackets from the later truck and modification to the power brake pushrod length. Let us know if you need more help as you go, it is readily available. From what I understand any 72-79 will work, but you want to stay with the F-250 since that's what you've got. Otherwise you have 5 lugs up front and 8 in the back. There may also be some advantage to later years...not sure about that, such as getting the dual piston calipers. There were also some models that had a front sway bar (79??) which, if you get those radius rods, you can add to your truck as well. That would be desirable. Do a search here on FTE and you'll learn a lot and, I'm sure, feel more comfortable.

 

 

If I decide to go to a power brakes setup, what year/make/model booster and master cylinder should I keep my eye out for? Or would just about any work provided I can get it mounted? I would want a dual mast cylinder and know I will need a proportioning valve e. Thanks in advance!
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What year/make/model brake booster/master cylinder should i be keeping an eye out for? I presume just about any would work as long as i can figure out mounting. I plan on looking for any 70's or 80's Ford one with a dual master cylinder and a proportioning valve correct?

 

It depends on whether you plan to stick with drum brakes or swap to discs. If you stay with drum brakes, the stock single diaphragm 6.75" booster works amazingly well (as would any similar sized aftermarket single diaphragm booster). New modern compound shoes are much better than the old organic shoes they originally came with. I drove my '66 F250 with the stock booster from Michigan to Southern Maryland in rain and sleet with no problem. I couldn't tell it was even using drums. In comparison, my '66 F100 with the stock manual drums with almost new shoes required a lot of pedal pressure for an emergency stop. A big booster on drums will make them twitchy. Do you have the 12x2 1/8" drums or the HD 12x2.5"? I've been toying with a swap to use '69/70 E300 12x3 front drums with the 12x2.5 backing plates to be able to use the larger 12x3 shoes. I'm not 100% sure it would be a pure bolt on; it might require spacers between the drum and hub and longer than stock studs. I'm also a big proponent of the ceramic matrix shoes from Muscle Car Brakes in Texas. They have twice the coefficient of friction as regular modern shoes and are much more resistant to heat fade. My old trucks are retired from serious work duty. They're mostly for cruising around, but I want to be able to tow my trailer so I need the brakes to be better than how they came stock.

If you switch to discs, get a large diameter dual diaphragm booster from a 73-79 F250.

 

F100/150 disc brake parts will not work on an F250. Plus F100's (2WD) were not available with disc brakes till 1973, 1975 for F150 2WD

1968/72 F250 2WD's were available with optional dual piston caliper disc brakes, but Ford had problems with the calipers, so stay away!

You want 1973/79 F250 2WD parts, but some have single piston calipers, some have dual piston calipers. 1980 and later will not work.

 

Would appear I have the standard 2 1/8 drums. I'm tempted to just get them turned and install all new hardware, shoes and wheel cylinders and see how it goes. Along with a booster or minimally a dual master cylinder. Plan on replacing all brake lines as well.