I have a 1977 F150 and am going to upgrade the brakes to at least rear disc. That much is settled. Thing I am unsure about is whether it is worth it to go to stronger components. I live in Florida, so towing through the Rockies is not in the play book. But I do tow sometimes, but under about 7K pounds.

Anyway, my biggest concerns are braking performance, reliability, and parts availability. The easy way is to install large piston calipers and an aftermarket rear disc conversion and call the play. But I wonder if it is worth it to install something like the Little Shop Wilwood 13" kit. I have some 17" wheels and tires ready to install, so fitting those under the wheels is not as issue.

Also, the truck has Flintstone brakes on it now. I just put on a new master cylinder and booster, and new pads and rebuilt calipers. Both feet on the pedal will not come close to good stopping power, so I am thinking about either a dual diaphragm booster or perhaps hydraulic boost, but not sure which would be reliable and actually stop the truck

Then I think it is only 1" larger, and that is a wad of money for a little more. Plus, I live in a rural area and Wilwood repair parts are not something I can just go to the local parts house and buy. Besides that, I imagine that a good set of brake pads will lock the tires just as well as big rotor Wilwoods, so we are talking about control, not the ability to just lock the tires from turning.

I am on a budget, but I tend to go with some additional cost if there is a tangible benefit. That is, if braking control is better, or if I don't have a caliper locking up every 30K miles or so, something worth it and not just a red paint job on the caliper..

My experience is that it is easier and cheaper to do it right in the first place than to do it over. I would not hesitate to put four wheel Wilwoods on it if the parts were easy to find and if they were that much better than factory, but if I can get factory parts to do the job almost as well for 1/4 the price, then so much the better.

Can someone cut through the fog? Thanks in advance

 

I have a 77 F100. I used the best componets I could find when I redid the brakes. Stock disc front/drum rear. I can lock them up at 70mph. That's good enough for me.

 

I am thinking about EBC pads, but the jury is out on drilled and slotted rotors. Some say they wear the pads faster with no real benefit on the street, others say there is a big difference but don't say whether the pads wear is faster enough to notice. I am rural and once I get past two stop signs, it is right about 25 miles until the next town, so not a lot of brake wear.

 

IMHO....The issue with drum brakes (in general) is youth.......
to start with, the replacement linings at most parts houses have a braking co-efficient of around .25, that is about 50% less than what the oem called for in the 60's (which was .32 or better, most offered .38 replacement linings). Going back to the 70's and through today, linings rated at .49 or better are common and typically sell for around $200-$240 a set. longevity, typically 50k to 100k (miles) depends on your foot. Braking capability, every bit as good as oem grade disc brakes (noticed I said oem grade) as I have demonstrated to numerous "experts"........and remember, the 3/4 scale dirt track Jalopy cars that are running today are required to have drum brakes!

Second issue. 99% of today’s mechanics have never been taught the techniques of installing drum brakes...such as, cutting the linings to channel water out towards the backing plates (there are a few requirements on specifically how to do that).

Granted, disc do provided a lot of advantages, but that does not, nor should imply that a proper set of drums/linings, installed correctly should be any less safe.

It really all boils down to the friction co-efficient....anything at or greater than .49 will be better than oem in terms of its ability to bite. I would avoid Wagner, Raybestos & any rotor from the chain stores...as they are all made at the same foundry in China (rotors/drums)

With regards to brake linings in general,

Ceramics: They are good but do not develop any more friction than good quality OEM linings

Performance Friction & Hawk: Good braking, increased friction but can be very dirty depending on the lining selected compared to OEM.

Wagner & Raybestos: a line of products that is 100% marketing and mfg from very low quality/inexpensive and/or imported products with the mfg's not providing any back-up or support on product failures (and I mean real ugly spontaneous, catestropihic failures)

VelveTouch lining- Used for many decades and was the original lining used in all Shelby Mustangs in the 60’s (I personally have used the Velvetouch lining since 1960’s until brake lining production ceased in 1986), then switched to Carbo. Wellman has been the builder of braking linings for all of the Formula 1 race teams for more than 30 years and VT is now available again.

Bendix- TitaniuMetallic™ II, a newer lining (semi-metallic) and although I have not personally used this, I have always been impressed with Bendix brake linings and this particular lining IIMHO would be a low dust, excellent oem upgrade/mild performance type brake lining.

CarboTech Engineering lining, which I have used for about 30+ years and been very happy on multiple full size (V8) cars and trucks. This particular lining has a high friction co-efficient, excellent pedal feel, wears (typically 50,000 to 75,000 miles before replacement is required) and produces less dust than OEM linings.

I highly recommend speaking to them by phone for linings that would be best for your application. Fyi- braking co-efficient is what identifies the bite rating of the linings- you want the CE to be no less than that of the OEM.....this will drive most e-base distributors & big box store "experts" right out of their mind because they either cannot verify this info or you will find the spec is less than oem.

With regards to rotors, I have previously run Brembo OEM replacement rotors that are cryogenically treated at Diversified Cryogenics, making them almost as hard as stainless steel. Unfortunately, Brembo, Powerslot, Raybestos, Bendix, Hawk etc. are all purchasing their rotors from the same foundry in China (with the exception of the $300 each composite high end units for Ferrari, Porsche, etc).

DC purchases the highest grade rotors made, laser mic them for quality, scrap the ones that are out of spec and cryogenically treat the good ones which are now as strong as stainless. They will also slot and cross drill the rotors for you. DC's service, price and quality are excellent as well.

For street use, slotted/drilled rotors are just “cheese-graters” for the brake pads IMHO, because unless you are involved in true racing conditions, the brake linings do not produce the gases which slotted/drilled rotors are designed to relive. In some cases, brake testing indicated reduce brake efficiency in street-based operations using slotted/drilled rotors when equal comparisons were made. The staff at carbo can speak to you as well regarding those options, but I am very satisfied with the performance & wear of these products.
As far as EBC products go, just read this thread, then run don't walk away...https://www.f150online.com/forums/wh...-brakes-4.html

 

Have you checked out Battle Born Brakes, and though about a hydra boost mod? https://www.battlebornbrakes.com/ford-trucks-73-79

 

Also, I didn’t notice any mention of brake lines being replaced. Unless you know the brake fluid was regularly flushed/replaced (depending on DOT type), and if the trucks been in a high humidity climate, the brake lines may need help.

Thats great info on brake pads and drums! Thanks!

 

When considering drum vs disc brakes, don't forget that drum brakes have a self energizing effect when going in forwards due to the shoes being forced against the anchor pin. Disc brakes rely 100% on squeeze created by hydraulic pressure alone. Good drum brakes are good brakes. Disc brakes will sling water off the surfaces, and are often easier to cool.

 

Of all the things that these old rigs could use an upgrade on brakes would be the last. worth it? no.

 

EBC, NAPA United line ( if still made) are good. I don't think drilled and sloted discs hurt anything and could help a bit on heavy use. Keep in mind the front brakes do 80% of the work. I don't use cramic anymore. Lots of dust and gravely noises.

 

Drums can stop pretty well if everything is right. One of the main problems is heat build up after repeated use. My friend Wes built a 1964 Ford drag racing truck and when he did the narrowed rear end he put on disc brakes but he kept the stock Ford drums up front after rebuilding the wheel cylinders. The shoes were probably original and said FoMoCo on the sides. It would stop the truck fine runing 5.70's in the 1/8th mile at just under 120mph BUT in eliminations where it had to go a few rounds back to back they were a problem so he upgraded it to discs on the front too. So it all boils down to how you're going to be using the truck.

 

IMHO, for performance, reliability and parts availability, I would stick with stock, but that's me... on all my older trucks, new drums or if the og ones were good, had them turned, all new cylinders and hardware, adjusted correctly, never had a problem not stopping or being able to lock them up if wanted.

 

It's just another solution in search of a problem. these pickups were never destined to compete at Le Mans.

 

>> these pickups were never destined to compete at Le Mans

Good point, I never thought so. But...

If I can upgrade braking affordably, no reason not to. My stock braking is very bad, almost as if the only brakes are the rear ones. It has new NAPA pads, and rebuilt brake booster, master cylinder and calipers. All this made no difference at all. I usually leave plenty of distance between me and the car ahead, but this does not factor in stupidity and the mistakes we all make.

That said, my underlying question was is there a big enough difference to get the better brake components and it seems not.

 

My goal when building my resto-mod-ish truck was to use as few speedshop or universal parts as possible. I wanted to be able to get all parts from a normal parts stores in the future.
When I put the rear disc on my 9", I used weld-on brackets for large GM calipers. I had a machinist make me 2 rings so I could use front rotors from a 90's Dodge truck and stay hub centric. I put an adjustable proportioning valve going to rear since those rotors/calipers were as big as the front. It's been 7yrs and 12K miles w/o an issue.
Can't say if it is any better than stock drums as I never drove the truck prior to conversion.
I can say that I miss an e-brake some times.
Mine is a 1978 F150 4x4 chassis with stock front disc. Have a 65 body on it.

 

Never considered disc on the rear, your rear brakes are only responsible for maybe 30% of braking. Here is some reading material for your pleasure. I enjoyed it, but it was something I long wanted to do. When I did it 2014 I had access to the stuff for decent costs, but I had by then had the '77 nearly 30 years and never an issue, but I decided to get it done. I've put maybe 7K on it since, likely less .... and while it does stop a little better with same pressure on the pedal. I've always gone easy on the brakes, never crowded traffic, never ran oversize tires ..... and I never thought about it needing better brakes until I read about it.

I needed a new booster anyway, the OEM MC had seeped some.

tbear853's 1977 F150 Brake Upgrade - Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums