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I have a beautiful '66 that has been used very little and maintained beautifully. I've purchased many vintage cars, Shelby's, Mustangs, XKE's, Triumphs, etc, but have never had a car as original as this one that still looks so fresh. I am wanting to get just a little better braking however, and am wondering if there are any other owners with the original 4 wheel drum system that are satisfied with the braking performance ONCE the system has been restored to a AS NEW condition. I want to replace the m/c with a dual chamber version, get new shoes, and replace the drums if needed. But am concerned that I will do all that and still be wanting to go to a front disc system. If I was to go to the discs in front, are there kits available that look exactly like the factory discs.
Z.
'66 Galaxie
'65 K code Mustang
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I have a 66 Galaxie and just converted from the original single reservoir MC to a dual reservoir MC. The swap was easy and I am a novice mechanic. I also replaced 2 leaking rear wheel cylinders, so it's no surprise that I think the braking is improved. I think I would like the improved braking with a front disc brake conversion but I just can't justify the cost. My manual drum brakes work just fine for the kind of driving I do.
I think Dearborn Classics and Dennis Carpenter sell disc brake conversion kits.
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T o go to exactly factory disc brakes up front, you will need to use the kelsy-hayes 4 piston disc brakes. These are not easy to come by and will be pretty pricy. They work great but are somewhat hard to maintain. I had a car with them once upon a time and liked them a lot. my next car, same model and year (67) had drums and was noticably less effective even with dual res. M/C. But now the car I own has disc conversions that are single piston. Much cheaper than the K-H but effective in braking for the way I use the car. The four piston were better. Compared to full drum, WAY better, even with dual m/c. So if cost is not the issue and originality is, then the kelsy-hayes are the way to go. If you want something similar, a modern 4 piston would be my choice. But for stopping power And economy, a single piston conversion is fine and better than drums.
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I've got a fair amount of experience with the 4 piston calipers from my various Mustangs over the years. Once thet are restored to an "as new" condition thery are retively trouble free if they get new brake fluid once and a while. I'd guess they use different spindles than the drums do, at least that's the situation with the disc equipted Mustangs of the same era. By the way, I can heartily reccomend Goldline Brakes for any kind of caliper restoration. They did a beautiful job for me a few years ago on a set of K-H 4 piston calipers off a GT350.
Are there any Galaxie vendors that have a stash of NOS or known good used parts ? Or am I at the mercy of ebay, etc. ?
Z.
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4 wheel drums are good. after you have driven the car a bit you have a fairly good understanging of how much stopping room you need. If you add power to the drums you will have tones of stopping power. In fact (when looking for max stopping power) I would take power drums over non power discs.... remember however those words were uttered by a guy with 4-wheel discs and a hydroboost power booster so I am maxed out in stopping power so what do I know 
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I have been thinking about the power brake option. But I am used to non power front discs on several Mustangs (admittedly a lighter car), so having to put a lot of leg into stopping is something I'm used to.
In my opinion, the only thing any power assist gives you is an easier time of stopping if you can't or won't muster the force to needed.
The only fear I have with just restoring the current non-power drum system to an "as-new" condition is that I will have an unacceptable level of fade when the brakes get a good workout. I will be driving this car in a year or so on a 2000 mile trip to SD. The drum brakes in the mountains are scaring me a little, but many people have driven these cars back in day over the same mountains, and survived. So I'm counting on doing likewise.
Z.
'66 Galaxie
'65 K code Mustang
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I have a pair of the 4-piston Kelsey Hayes calipers with very low mileage and like new pads. I also have a pair of rotors. I was using them on my '64 years ago but now am going to a Wilwood road-race set-up (open track Nascar Clone). I do not have the spindles you would need to mount these.
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Jhooch wrote:
I have a pair of the 4-piston Kelsey Hayes calipers with very low mileage and like new pads. I also have a pair of rotors. I was using them on my '64 years ago but now am going to a Wilwood road-race set-up (open track Nascar Clone). I do not have the spindles you would need to mount these.
sent you a PM
thanks,
Z.
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In my opinion, the only thing any power assist gives you is an easier time of stopping if you can't or won't muster the force to needed.
Thats not exactly true. with a power booster you can run a bigger bore MC which in effect changes the pedal ratio. By applying more fluid per inch of stroke you will git a higher line pressure per total pedal travel, in other words more breaking.
I know what you are thinking, I have had this argument more than once, "a small bore gives higher line pressure" however that higher line pressure is in relation to the leg pressure, not peddle travel. In other words (guessing on the 7/8" bore PSI numbers and first leg pressure number) a 7/8" bore MC will give 1000 PSI with 40 pounds of leg pressure and a 1" bore MC will only give 875 PSI for that same 40 pounds of leg pressure. However the trade off is stroke the smaller bore MC takes less leg pressure because it has a longer stroke.
Now look at what the power booster gives you by allowing a bigger bore. If a 7/8 bore MC gives you 1000 PSI with a 2" stroke (again initial PSI numbers are a guess but the rest of the numbers are calculated out based on the guessed numbers to illustrate my point) a 1" bore MC will create 1143 PSI for the same two inch stroke. higher line pressure equals better breaking. The booster allows you to overcome the increased leg pressure required by a bigger bore MC to get the same stroke as with a smaller bore MC
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thanks for the information. What I don't quite agree with is your conclusion that higher brake line pressure will give you better braking. At first glance that would seem obvious, but that argument does not figure in the fact that wheel lock-up is taking place at pressures well below the extra pressure afforded by a boosted brake system. Once you have locked up the wheels, the extra pressure isn't doing a thing for you. If I can lock up the wheels at highway speeds in a non-boosted system, then I have gotten all the usable braking that any system can offer. Now brake fade is another can of worms.
Of course, anti-lock brakes are not part of this equation since they are not installed.
Z.
'66 Galaxie
'65 k code Mustang
Last edited by zray (January 16, 2013 6:21 pm)
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