i want my wife to be able to drive my car so it has to have power brakes.she's still small as we haven't been married long.are disc's that much better?is there a power drum brake set up for this car?it has ps already just was thinking about not using a s10 or other gm.is it really that much difference in ride quality?
I don't think it's so much an issue of drums vs. discs - rather an issue of power vs non-power brakes. I drive a '67 LTD and '60 Falcon pretty regularly, and for everyday use, I see no difference between drums & discs. LTD has power drums, Falcon no power drums, but Falcon is small & light so power not needed. I'm sure plenty of others will chime in that I'm an idiot and discs are 10000% better, which they are, in high speed / high performance type driving. As a grocery getter, I think it's a non-issue...if you're gonna be doing lots of mountain driving and high speed stopping, you might want to upgrade.
i wonder if the ltd power drums could be made to work on the merc?just trying to weigh the amount of work vs the pay off.just thinking out loud at the moment.
Why not just add a power assisted master cylinder to your merc. The Merc has pretty big drums I would think they would be fine for most of the driving your wife will be doing.
Is she 12 and still growing? Any adult human can safely drive a car with non power brakes if they are set up properly. Power brakes are power brakes, the only advantage of disk is reduced stopping distances, less brake fade, easier maintenance. But this is on old car forum, and you are working on an old car. If the drums you currently have are serviceable, I would stick with those. If your starting with nothing, then buy whatever you prefer.
There is a reason that NOBODY puts drums on the front of a car anymore. Disc brakes work better. My old Impala had power drum brakes and it stopped fine with very little pedal effort. But when you first touched the pedal it would tug to one side or the other. The other big safety thing is when drums get wet you have no brakes. On a full fendered car that my wife was driving I would want disc brakes. Power disc would be even better.
I drove my newly purchased 4000lb+ car home 65 miles in the rain, drums stopped it fine. They are power, and are a little firm, but never had a scary moment. Did women not drive 40 years ago? I agree with this quote "Any adult human can safely drive a car with non power brakes if they are set up properly."
She's still small? That's pretty funny. Is her momma big? I vote for new shoes, turned drums and power assisted modern master cylinder.
Go to discs! A merc with Drums cannot stop as well as all the other cars on the road....you have to stop as well as all the other cars or better;ALL the time.Discs are the best,less maintenance and dependable and here life depends on it.
Had power brakes on my merc and they stop great After 40,000 plus miles driven on it ,to shows and what ever , never had a problem. I used a dual mastercylinder and the booster off of a 1974 olds delta 88 (The pistons front and rear on the drums where the same size as the 1950 mercury's) But with todays easy of putting disc. on , the disc.I'd do
what does she daily drive now??? is she going to expect this to stop as well as her ______ ? what are the drivers like in your area?? these are all things that make going to disk important yea sure the drums where fine 50 years ago when there was 1/4 of the cars on the road and all the cars stopped the same
well she's petite at 5'3" 5'4" with little chicken legs.shes never driven a big car like the merc.just driven hondas.the people we have out here are the worst I've seen and I've been around.she has a bad habit of following close and last minute swoop and stops.i have been trying to break her of this but after a few years and a couple rearenders it looks like bad habits are hard to break.i will mainly be the driver but i want my car back in one piece if she takes it out. i may just add the power booster and NOT let her drive without me.thanks for the input guys.ps no her moms not big just bigger than her.
Your last post answered your question - in your circumstances - without doubt DISCS - power dics even! Give her all the help she can handle.
You can just try the power brake booster and go from there . That's the cheapest way and will work fine ! If you have $700 laying around , then go to Stop-n-Drop and get a disc brake set-up , that's the best way ! The power brake booster should be fine !
i hate drums!! if i can put disc on it i will. power boosters with drums do work well but you always have to keep them adjusted. i would save you pennies and do discs and the booster you wont regret it.. matt
Been running dual master power drum brakes on my Merc. for over 7 years. I am more than satisfied the way they work. Under the right condtions you can lock up all 4 with minimal effort and you cannot do any better with disc brakes. The only time you may see a difference is under extreme braking conditions where brake fade may be a problem and that's not too likely under normal driving conditions. Most front disc conversions for the Merc. require that you go to a different wheel bolt pattern thus giving you one pattern for the front and stock Merc. on the rear.(this may or may not present a problem) In so far as having to adjust them too often, F150 pickup truck self adjusters fit the Merc. brakes perfectly, thus eliminating that problem.
what year of f150 adjusters do i need?i want to get the car drivable this next year.gonna run a small block ford and auto trans,nothing to wild.once the car is more complete i will upgrade but for now im looking at working with what i got.it already has a 9" out back.thanks again for the input and thoughts.
A couple rearenders? Power disc brakes are not going to save her(the car) nor keep your wife from driving that way, if i were you i wouldnt let her drive it based on that alone. Just sell me your car and save yourself the pain later when she wipes the pretty face off of your merc.
Power drums are fine on a Merc, big brakes, stops well. Contrary to popular belief disc brakes on an old car do not correct unsafe driving practices.
I think this is a common misconception. The ART of stopping is all about NOT locking up the tires. Much the same way at the Drag Strip where smoking the tires gets you a SLOWER ET slip and actually hooking up gets you a better ET Slip. The best stopping power occurs right BEFORE you lock up the tires - not once you're skidding. It is THAT small zone that can be so elusive - moreso when conditions are changing - weight transfer, road conditions, etc etc. The evolution of brakes has resulted in REDUCED STOPPING DISTANCES - PERIOD!! Not so simply done as the engineers at Detroit have learned over many years. Single master cylinders, single servo drum brakes, dual servo drum brakes, dual reservoir master cylinders, disc brakes, metering valves, proportioning valves, residual pressure valves, Low drag calipers, fast fill master cylinders, Power assist, the dreaded anti lock brakes..... The down side to all the improvements is that the drivers then seem to RELY on the system THAT much more - following closer, paying less attention while they're busy texting. I agree better brakes won't make up for bad driving habits - but adding lesser components to the equation sure IS gonna make a bad situation WORSE. Any car that my wife may drive AUTOMATICALLY gets disc brakes. She's used to disc brakes in her normal cars - no need to make it more challenging for her to drive an older one. Even with that- she still RARELY ever drives one - oh well - at least I'm prepared. and NO my wife doesn't follow too close OR text while she drives!!!! ;-) Good Luck with those Mercs!!!
AMEN TO THAT!! Interesting to note that with all these "improvements" that are designed to make driving both safer and easier, people are getting into more accidents now than they were 60 years ago! And that number IS adjusted into "constant" terms, so the fact that there are more cars around today, etc is accounted for.
Mid to late 60's and probably early 70's. They are the same size brakes as 49'-51' Merc. The only modification you have to do is add an adjusting access slot to (I believe the left side backer) as the adjusters all face the same direction. If you already have a 9" installed then thats a horse of a different color.
yes a bus pass would be a good idea but out here there isnt one.so i keep her in a car with airbags.is there a thread that shows how to add the adjusters to a merc drum?
Disc brakes are for fags period. The stock drum brakes on these old cars work just fine. I drive my old cars everyday, not sometimes, not just weekends. everyday. That includes all seasons and long distances. I have never felt like any of them were unsafe at anytime. Women didn't drive cars in the old days? Maybe you guys that gotta upgrade everything to make it "safer", need to give these cars to someone that can handle them. Drum brakes are fine for everyday driving, quit hacking shit up and raping these old cars with nasty newer shit. Just my opinion.
These are a couple of pic's that illustrate the installation. They may or may not help. Most auto parts stores should have all the componenets.
so i need all these in the first pic,not just the adjuster screw assembly correct?would the power booster/mc off the f150 work in the merc?i currently have no mc or even a firewall yet but its the section im working on.i had a 47 ford pickup years ago that had drilled drums, i've never seen that before or since.ive never heard it mentioned either.any ideas?
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