My dad has a model a truck that has non-power, drum brakes all the way around off of a Nova I think. It stops, but pretty much stops like a turd. My question is, how much difference would a front disk brake kit help? Or would it not make much difference? Thanks, Jon
First thought is... you need to take a good look at the system on the truck now. Drums on a small truck like a model A should stop pretty well.
I would still check on front discs, not sure how much better but they would improve stopping and came on Nova's so would be an easy swap, mostly the spindles, calipers, master cylinder, lines and maybe a proportioning valve.
pictures of these Nova front brakes? what do you have for rear brakes? master cylinder? we need more info......drum brakes if set up correctly should stop a Model A just fine
It will make a big difference. Well adjusted drums all around should stop an A very quickly. the big difference I see is the ability to stop quickly multiple times or stopping on a big hill when the brakes are hot. the truck in my avatar can lock up all the tires if you get on it really hard, drum all the way around. The bendex style brakes are superior in my mind to the huck style.
There's no reason that the drums from a relatively heavy car couldn't safely stop a Model A, unless there is something wrong with them. My '62 Chevy II had stock drums all the way around and stopped fine, after I adjusted them correctly. Find out what is wrong with them first, and go from there. It could be something as easy as shoes, drums, or an adjustment. Or they were never set up correctly in the first place, ie master-cylender to wheel cylender ratio...
Those brakes should stop fine. If you have a very high and hard pedal you might have too big a bore in your master cylinder. Do you know what M/C it is? Is it from the same car as the brakes? The pedal ratio could be wrong too
these threads always have someone say how their car "stops fine" with outdated brakes. which would make sense if you were the only car on the road. the problem is, 90% of the other cars on the road ''stop great".
My 65 gto with non power drums stopped great even from high speed. The problem with drums is you better only do that once and then let them cool say 10 to 15 min
Haven't read the other posts but they would not make any difference in my opinion. Discs are OK got nothing against them at all. But there is no reason to invest the money in them unless you just want them. If your drums are up to par they are made to stop a vehicle that weighs about twice as much as the A bone and they will work as well as anything else that you put on there. The key is making them right and not just using them as they came from the junk yard.
Early Ford hydraulic brakes stop a Model A well enough, you must have other problems with your Nova brakes. Did the stopping problem just occur as has it been around since the conversion was made? If it has always been there I would suspect the leverage in the linkage going to the master cylinder. I would hope the leverage of the linkage going to the master cylinder is the same as when it was installed on the Nova. Using Nova brakes seems strange, is it part of a subframe change, if not, are you sure they are Nova brakes? Are you using 100% of the Nova system (master cylinder/wheel cylinders/drums/backing plates)? Charlie Stephens
I agree with Beano and CS there is nothing wrong with drum brakes,that's what I have on my Deuce pickup,I can't exactly stop on a dime but I don't think disc brakes will do that ether. Properly adjusted drums work great. HRP
Hey guys thanks for the feedback. I'm headed to my dad's next weekend and I'll look into it a little more. The truck is pretty much a pieced together rat rod that he has been trying to resurrect. It has a new master cylinder on it, not sure of the bore, but I'll find out. I think it has nova rear drums, and the fronts are actually 1960 belair rear drums that are re-drilled to fit ford hubs. (figured out the drums form the p/n of the brake pads.) If it was going to make a huge difference, I was going to go ahead and order a kit, so that it would arrive at my dad's house about the same time I did. It stops pretty good, but I am just used to modern boosted brake systems (which we may look into) and was wondering if the front disk swap would be a night and day differences.
Another thing to check is if the master cylinder designed to be used with a disc/drum system. Is there a number on the master cylinder and can you trace it to a vehicle. As I asked before, is it a new problem or has it always been there? What kind of front end is in the vehicle, going to discs may not be cheap? As far as making a day and night difference I would say no unless you plan multiple stops from high speed and driving through deep water. Charlie Stephens
yep, lots of unknowns here. have correct MC and push rod, new pads, drums turned or replaced, brake lines good ?, etc. a power booster on all drums makes a world of difference too. if you go the disc brake kit route make sure that it has everything you need to do the job correctly. but, even then need to make sure rear brakes are good.
If you're used to power brakes -as in like just about everything on the road today- then non-boosted will "feel" inferior. It's not better braking just taking less leg effort.
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