Master Cyl / Wheel Cyl combo to maximize manual drum power

I have decided to stick with the manual 4 wheel drums for originality and was wondering if there is a way to maximize stopping power via use of various bore Master and brake cylinders?

I converted my Fastback to 4 wheel discs and have run front discs on every Mopar I've owned.
But I really dont drive very aggressively and want to experience the simplicity of a basic manual brake / manual steering car. Not to mention keep the stock look.

The biggest key to drum brakes starts with having the correct components, ie master cylinder, wheel cylinders, correct proportion valve. Once them demands are meant it is an absolute to have good drums,ie ones that are within spec, brake shoes that are installed correctly,( ie primary and secondary shoe, installed in the correct positions ) , properly installed and good working order brake hardware , and last but not least THEY HAVE TO BE ADJUSTED CORRECTLY. Leaving out just one of the before mentioned items will result in less then desirable to no brakes! I will likely get flamed for saying this but it is what it is.. there is nothing wrong with "correctly" installed and serviced drum brakes for your daily driver or for a street beater etc, what is wrong with them is when someone who has no knowledge or experience with them can not get them to function correctly, then they are deemed junk or "not up to par"! Yes they do require more attention then disc, but it is minimal. There is lots of good info on proper sizing out there as to answer your original question. A factory service manual would be of great value to you for proper set up and maintenance.

Thanks , I have very little experience with 4 wheel drums but really want to maintain the stock essence of this car.
The whole reason I bought and am redoing it (besides trying to save it from a crushing) was because it was a bare bones 340 4sp car and I thought the simpleness of it was cool ! AND IT WAS RED..LOL

But what I am looking for is some secret little tricks like wheel cylinders from a truck , or a master cylinder from a &*^%
whatever...... combos others have discovered that will enhance the brake feel a little but keep everything looking stock.

maybe there are none ??

and I have stacks of factory service manuals. So I am set there..

The factory service manuals will go along ways in proper setup of drum brakes, don't ignore there specs on things. I do not know of any secrets as far as swapping parts, ie master cylinder, wheel cylinder, from another donor, what I can tell you is there is certain criteria that needs to be met, the master cylinder bore diameter needs to be sized accordingly, it will typically be smaller then disc brakes, likely around 15/16" bore, too there needs to be a residual valve within the system. As far as wheel cylinders go, they are most general sized according to brake shoe size, ie a 9" drum will utilize a different size cylinder vs a 10". Good luck to you, I'm sure there will be others whom will chime in to give you more better reference to parts swap then I can, just be sure of what you are swapping will be compatible to all other parts!

There are 3 common M/C bore sizes and 3 common w/c cylinder sizes. You can mix and match until you find a combo you like. All will stop your car equally well, some just requiring more pedal than others.
Some guys like the rock-hard pedal that comes with a big bore M/C. Others like me like the progressive feel of a smaller one.
These parts are cheap, so it won't break the bank to experiment.
The only trick is to size the rear wcs to match your tire width; the bigger the tire, the bigger the wc can be.

The stock 10 inch stuff was;
Front shoes;10x2.5 and wc were 1.125.
rear shoes 10x1.75, and wcs were 15/16
The M/C was 1.00

As to the M/C
If you like a hard pedal, go 33/32 or 34/32 ;These will take a bit of leg power.
If you like super progressive, go 15/16. These, your wife can power-up
As to the front W/Cs just run the factory stuff for now
As to the rear wc's
the stock ratio is about a 15% reduction in the rears to the fronts and was designed for all 4 tires being the same size.
If you are running Big-n-Littles, obviously you can run more % in the back. With really big tires you can run wider drums and wider shoes.
I highly recommend braided hoses. The feel is excellent and they last a really long time.
The strut rod bushings take a beating under hard braking; make sure they are up to the task
I actually like the feel of a well-tuned drum-brake system. They are self energizing. After the initial hit, you get to back off as the car slows down. At a stoplite the drums do a really good job of holding the line with a tight converter, with minimal leg power.
Enjoy

Just to be clear mbaird, the smaller the MC, & the larger the WC, the more hydraulic force you are applying to the shoes. What works for you & the balance needed frt to rear
sometimes has to be empirically derived, trial & error..........................