Yeah, we know that a brake upgrade probably doesn’t top your dream list of custom additions to your project. But if you would rather not take the risk of obliterating some pesky late-model tin can that has decided to jam on its brakes right in front of you, a brake upgrade should be seriously considered.
If you drive an older car still equipped with original drum brakes, you have undoubtedly experienced the fear factor of wondering if you will be able to slow that classic before it squashes the car in front of you like an aluminum can under your foot. We had those same fears recently when we began daily commutes in our recently acquired ’63 Galaxie Country Sedan wagon (a true heavyweight). The vehicle had supposedly been “gone through” by a “classic car expert,” but after a few white-knuckled panic stops and a constant annoying tendency to brake hard to the right, we knew the original drum brakes were definitely in need of some help.
We looked into the cost of a basic brake rebuild, and it soon became obvious that for a few more bucks we could upgrade to more efficient discs with a kit from Stainless Steel Brakes Corporation. Their new “Force 10” Extreme Duty kit features four-piston calipers and 12-inch slotted rotors that still fit within a 15-inch wheel.
We also decided that even though our wagon had been very well maintained in its 150K miles, it was definitely a good time to rebuild the original front suspension while we were at it. A complete rebuild kit from Kanter Auto Products included everything we needed to make our front suspension factory-fresh. Kanter also supplied the needed parts to get the rear drum brakes in shape to aid the new discs.
We headed over to Sleeper Suspension Development and left the Galaxie in the very capable hands of Jim Sleeper. Sleeper has worked for some of the best-known hot rod shops in Southern California and recently opened up his own shop again. After a couple of days of working on it between other jobs, Sleeper made the Galaxie stop much better and feel new again.
Since we knew you’d want to know just how much better the brakes worked, before we did the swap we took the Galaxie out to a straight, flat, secluded road and did some baseline-measured 60-0 stops. Our distances were no surprise: 198 feet and 210 feet. As the brakes got hotter the distances got much longer. Once Sleeper was finished we went back out to our testing location and observed the difference. The discs stopped the big boat in 175-foot and 173-foot consecutive stops. Brake fade was also much less prevalent with the discs.
These distances really mean something when you consider that in most accidents, if the car had stopped just another 5 to 10 feet sooner, its sheetmetal would still be straight and shiny. The renewed confidence in the suspension and brake system has certainly added to the driving enjoyment and has given us two less things to worry about with an almost 40-year-old daily commuter.
Editor’s note: Although you’d never know it, most of the time we run into difficulties just like you at home. After spending six months with these new brakes we have found them to work extremely well, but upon a routine inspection we found the calipers have been rubbing on the sway bar close to the end links. This clearance problem was not noticeable while the vehicle was jacked up during the installation; we noticed it only when the suspension was compressed at ride height. We solved the problem by using shorter end links to bring the sway bar end closer to the control arm. Learn from our mistake and make sure to check any suspension modification at the ride height.