1967 Pontiac Firebird Convertible 400 ci V-8 , THM 400 transmission, 3.08 rear, 195,000 miles on chasis , 10,000 on engine and trans. Age of brakes is unknown but old,, many original brake parts. Horsepower higher than stock but not dynoed. So ?
on car now 4 wheel non- power assist stock drum brakes. 9.5 " inside dia drums are on the car stock from factory. Requires fair amoutn of effort to stop car, esp from high speeds, a little scary when a modern car jams on brakes in front of you. There is some brake fade on hard braking and pull to one side. Brakes are in reasonable shape with no wheel cylinder leaks. Brakes have been bled and fluid changed. Drums are in good hsape with no scratches, unknown whether they have been turned before.
Should I consider adding front power disk brake kit or four wheel disc brakes? Assume use of aftermarket ready made kits? Or Possibly just add power assit to the existing 4 wheel drums. If recommend something other than stock setup which kit is a good one to use? Or should I just leave it alone and rebuild the non power assist drum brakes?
How to make sure proportions are set correctly if change so that fronts or rears do not lock up too soon?
I would put power discs on the front the backs are good enough the front does 90% of the stopping anyway
Awesome thank you. I will do this before I regularly again. Love your advice and video and you. You're very helpful and genrous with your time.
oh i had a tip for getting off rusted brake lines at the wheel cylinders, use propane torch and penetrant and flare wrench and clamp open end of flare wrench in vice grips so it cannot flex and round the nut. Vice frips were the key to keep the wrench from rounding the nut.
Definitely go for the power front discs. Not only will it stop much better but moving forward they'll be a heck of a lot easier to work on. I regret not doing this on one of my cars of the same vintage where I recently rebuilt the drum brakes. You can get fixed or adustable proportioning valves from suppliers like Jegs or Summit Racing to equalize the rear brakes.
