Thread: Who has replaced front drums with discs and no power brakes---and ran them??

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I did a disc brake conversion on my 1930 Ford coupe with '40 Ford spindles. I have a dual master cylinder mounted under the floor. Under normal driving conditions I feel the need to pump the brakes. They do not feel right on the first application of the pedel. I have bled the brakes and installed the residual pressure valves front and rear and have an adjustable proportioning valve for the rear. I believe the problem lies in the fact that the master cylinder is below the calipers in front and can never be bled properly. If I pump the brakes just once, then it feels fine and stops really good.
With that being said, I had an emergency stop on the way to the NSRA nats at Richmond in 2006. A car turned in front of me at an intersection and I locked the brakes up in a panic stop without pumping them. They worked fine although my hotrod was severly damaged.
Bottom line is, I have the car back together now with no change in the brakes and I have to assume they are OK do the the fact that they stopped the car in an emergency as was expected.

Originally Posted by dans30

I did a disc brake conversion on my 1930 Ford coupe with '40 Ford spindles. I have a dual master cylinder mounted under the floor. Under normal driving conditions I feel the need to pump the brakes. They do not feel right on the first application of the pedel. I have bled the brakes and installed the residual pressure valves front and rear and have an adjustable proportioning valve for the rear.

What front calipers are you using?

Bob

I used a kit from ECI back in the early 90's with standard GM calipers on my 1930 Ford.

My 2c, our 55 has manual disc front/drum rear and stops fine at +100mph. As for pedal pressure, I don't notice any difference. But since I only run it at the track my heart rate is up a little! I also used the Corvette master. Yes, it does get pricey!!

Originally Posted by dans30

I used a kit from ECI back in the early 90's with standard GM calipers on my 1930 Ford.

Would that be the '78-'87 A / G body "metric" calipers or the earlier A body calipers? I've heard of problems with the "metric" calipers. Been told they are "low drag" to retract the pads more than the earlier type, and this can result in a low pedal when not used with a quick take up master cylinder. I've got them on my T roadster, and have the same phenomenon, but It could be just air in the system.

Bob

My T uses Wilwood, non power assisted disc brakes up front with a mustang master cylinder and a 8 inch rear end with drums. That set up hauls the t down with very little effort! I had 69 GTO disc brakes on the front before I switched over to the Wilwood set up and it was fine too (Just too heavy of a brake set up for the little t) Don Jr.