First time having manual brakes, are mine bad?

standup303 said
I just got my Dart and it is the first vehicle I have driven with manual brakes. Disc front, drum rear. I have to stand on the brake pedal, hard, just to come to a complete stop. Does that seem normal? I am ordering drilled slotted rotors for the front, new pads, then new shoes for the rear. Going to give them a good bleed and go from there. But at this point I have no idea why someone would want manual brakes!

One thing to check is the master cylinder bore diameter. Drum brake cars had smaller diameter wheel cylinders which required less fluid as the pistons traveled. This required a smaller diameter master cylinder to develop the necessary braking force. The disc brake caliper cylinders are larger diameter and take more fluid to clamp the disc. The master cylinders with the same bore as drum brakes would require longer travel to get braking pressure. The answer to the long travel was power assist by vaccum booster, and a larger diameter master cylinder to get the required pressure. If someone in the past has asked a parts store for a disc brake master cylinder and bolted it in, you will have the situation you describe. How is pedal travel? A disc brake without booster should have an intermediate diameter between the manual drum and power disc cylinders. Remember that these model years were when disc brakes were being introduced along with power assist, so many parts were changed.
Another point, where the brake lines thread into the master cylinder there are residual valves. On drum brakes these hold about 10PSI in the lines to ensure no air can get in. Drum brakes have heavy return springs so the 10PSI can not hold the shoes on the drum. Discs use runout or the squ
are piston seals to retract the pistons slightly, so only 2PSI residual valves are used. All drum vehicles will use two 10# residual valves, 4 wheel discs use two 2# residual valves while disc/drum cars use one of each.
Dealing with parts counters these days is a trip to the lounge for a couple of whiskys experience. Even the old dogs behind the counter have a rough time because the old parts books have been swept away for a glowing box full of stupidity. In those books was a wealth of information where you could quickly check master cylinder diameters for example and compare. The glowing box requires make, model, year, engine and probably transmission, rear axle size and I usually tell them the color. They may require the date your wife washed your underwear by now. To find out about different cylinder diameters is near impossible. Closest you get is drum or disc brakes. The concept of manual discs is beyond their comprehension, but they were manufactured and require a different master cylinder.