Rarity?

[Dartnut]

I am a disc brake guy. Especially the LBP brakes on A-Bodies.
However, a lot of drag race guys go to the drum brakes because they have less rolling resistance by adjusting the shoe away from the drum so it sort of ''free wheels''.
That being said, they have a lot of shut down area to deal with and not an example of ''Real Street'' applications.
That would be scary on the street and i wouldn't condone it!
But it works at the track..............

 

[slantsixdan]

While looking into brake upgrades for my daily driver (not an A-body) I came across these:



Basically they nudge the disc pads slightly away from the rotors when you take your foot off the pedal. Reviews I see around the web suggest they won't make other problems I might worry about (long pedal travel, etc), and I found one site where a guy made a set out of steel utility wire ("piano wire") for an application not available off the shelf.

 

[Killer6]

What I know is that I had the stock 9"drums on the front of My '69 Dart Custom, and after swapping in a 'teener, a Crane Blazer cam, 600 Holley,4spd, & an 8.75 w/3.23's,
10x1.75 drums on that, I never felt "unsafe" or that I had to pray, and I always hit the 1st turn-around at the strip w/o any drama from~100mph. My '71 Cutlass Supreme
with the 9.5x?" manual 4 wheel drums, I scared the living Geebuz out of Myself one time in that car, no comparison. Did I put '73 & up discs on My '72 Swinger? Sure, but
I intended to stop hard & repeatedly with that one, so..........................................

 

[Killer6]

While looking into brake upgrades for my daily driver (not an A-body) I came across these:



Basically they nudge the disc pads slightly away from the rotors when you take your foot off the pedal. Reviews I see around the web suggest they won't make other problems I might worry about (long pedal travel, etc), and I found one site where a guy made a set out of steel utility wire ("piano wire") for an application not available off the shelf.

Not at all, take Honda Accords & many others that use a spring wire spreader(actually 2 per side frt. 1 per side on the rear[bottom]), they are not strong enough to exert
"push-back", just assist in a quick clean release. If You drill little receiver holes in the pad backing plates & had room to the caliper body it would be an easy adapt deal.
Newer Rams have an abutment shim that clips to the ends of the pads, but have an arm that hits the inner/outer bracket faces pushing the pads away from the rotor.

 

[slantsixdan]

What I know is that I had the stock 9"drums on the front of My '69 Dart Custom, and after swapping in a 'teener, a Crane Blazer cam, 600 Holley,4spd, & an 8.75 w/3.23's, 10x1.75 drums on that, I never felt "unsafe"

Glad you survived, but how safe we feel is not the same as how safe we are.

 

[slantsixdan]

Honda Accords & many others that use a spring wire spreader(actually 2 per side frt. 1 per side on the rear[bottom]), they are not strong enough to exert "push-back", just assist in a quick clean release

Yup, here's the fun part: the stick-shift version of my daily driver ('07 Accord V6) has these anti-drag clips as factory equipment. Mine's an automatic, no clips from the factory. Same calipers, same pads, same rotors, same wheels! I'm putting 'em on; I figure can't hurt, might help.

 

[Killer6]

Glad you survived, but how safe we feel is not the same as how safe we are.

LOL, well, I hardly consider it surviving since on a couple of occasions I had a car full of My fellow gearheads when I had to make a "panic" stop & they were impressed
enough to comment on the cars stopping power....they were GM guys. Unlike half of the brainwashed populace in this country, I don't base My reactions or decisions on
how I "feel" about things. Those brakes had enough to lock up the tires (yes the frt. ones) I was running, which often were take off Eagle GT's that usually had 4/32 or
so on them since My budget was,...um tight....in modest 195-205/60 varieties. Again, I encourage anyone to upgrade if they can ability/$$$ wise, but I don't encourage
scaring people. Of course today, "conservative driving" almost doesn't exist, and stopping real fast can get You rearended just as easily...
I've had 2 accidents in recent years that I couldn't have avoided w/13" 6 piston Brembo's & A032R Yokahama's on My ride, & most of the accidents I've been in I was
driving within 5mph of the posted, and someone pulled out directly in My path & I had no escape route...one simply blew right through a stop sign coming from a rd.
obscured by the ground level being approx. 4ft. above the rd surface, by the time He caught the corner of My eye I had My foot over the brake pedal when We collided.
37mph, I never got to apply the brakes, didn't even make it thru the intersection just got turned around, rolled His S-10 & ended up on His lid 80ft. on the other side of
the road....if He had been a few 1/100's of a sec later I may not be here..............................

 

[barbee6043]

good thing is I live out in the country, just rural and very small town driving. makes a difference. this country has NO traffic lights. HA

I have had many A bodies with 9 and 10 inch drums and I have swapped over to 73 p discs on quite a few.. run everything from 13 in on a 62 lancer, to 15 on the 70 volare. I am old, woreout, and old school! ha

 

[BillGrissom]

... It was a question based on trying to find proper MC for it at parts store. ...

You stirred up a lot, but to answer your question, the correct MC isn't related to the engine, only to whether you have front drums or disks, and power or manual brakes. Check rockauto for PN's. But, you can also change to a more modern aluminum MC by using a 2 to 4 adapter plate ($30 ebay, or buy w/ an MC for ~$100 from Dr Diff).

Welcome to the slant forum. Many people with strong opinions here, but also a lot of useful knowledge. Just use a coarse filter to ignore comments which might upset you.

 

[RustyRatRod]

While looking into brake upgrades for my daily driver (not an A-body) I came across these:



Basically they nudge the disc pads slightly away from the rotors when you take your foot off the pedal. Reviews I see around the web suggest they won't make other problems I might worry about (long pedal travel, etc), and I found one site where a guy made a set out of steel utility wire ("piano wire") for an application not available off the shelf.

Lots of imports come with those from the factory.

 

[Killer6]

Sadly it was repainted at some point and may have had a vynil top as it is black under repaint. Looks like wide white stripe up the middle rear piece is painted black and has plymouth in sticker letters across it. Brite Blue interior front seat armrest , auto on column. I did not think it anything special, was just alotta fuss of the brakes not being Power when I went for ne MC

LOL!!! Who was "fussing" & how old were they? Most people under 35yrs. of age can't imagine a world w/o power almost everything, and 4 wheel drums?, WTF? You might
as well be from the non-planet Pluto! Plus of course, Barracuda's are supposed to be muscle cars, surely most came with V-8s right? Aye Yai Yai!!......................
Sounds like You have a cool & unique ride, congrats, & a 4-wheel drum MC is as stated, common as dirt & fits a bazillion A-bodies.
Oh, and welcome to FABO!!!