# Ultimate drum brake parts ??



## Irishmic (Sep 24, 2013)

I was reading somewhere....that there is some drum brake shoes and spring kits available that are superior to the over the counter stuff....makes it stop like disc brakes...lol...Anyone know of this product ??? Or was I dreaming .... Thanks


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## propuckstopper (Jan 20, 2012)

*Link*



Irishmic said:


> I was reading somewhere....that there is some drum brake shoes and spring kits available that are superior to the over the counter stuff....makes it stop like disc brakes...lol...Anyone know of this product ??? Or was I dreaming .... Thanks


The place you are looking for is Muscle Car Brakes


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## Irishmic (Sep 24, 2013)

Thanks!!! Anyone try this product yet ?.. Comments ???


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## ALKYGTO (Mar 29, 2010)

Seems to me you could convert to disc for what they want for the package price. $850 sounds like a lot to put into a drum brake system.

Searched on EBay and plenty of conversion kits out there with spindles, MC, drilled or slotted rotors, upgraded calipers (Willwood) etc. for the same or less $$$. 

GM Front Disc Brake Conversion Kit Spindles Drilled Slotted Rotors A F x Body | eBay - just one of the many examples I found that are available, I'm not necessarily endorsing this one.

IMO unless its a #'s matching RA 3 or 4 Judge concourse resto and you are actually going to drive it, disc brakes are the way to go.

If you are worried about "originality" just squirrel the stock parts away and if you sell the car the new owner can put them back on if he wants.

BTW, I put 4 wheel disc on my car (rears are Cadillac Sedan Deville) and it has enough braking power to put you through the windshield.


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## Pinion head (Jan 3, 2015)

have personally installed half a dozen brake in a box kits from Praise Dyno Brakes. the lat 7-8 years, the company has been known as Musclecarbrakes.com. You don't have to spend $850, unless you want their new cry'oed brake drums. I've only had one customer that bought their drums. instead you can run your current thick drums or have nice thick original drums lightly turned, then cry'oed locally for as little as $20 a drum. just about every metro area has a company that cryogenically freezes components for industry and for racers. Cryogentically freezing the drums changes the molecular structure of the cast iron and allows for the drums to take much higher heat levels. On two of my keepers, both have have received the special high matrix ceramic shoes and I had the drums cry'oed locally. As soon as I get a pair of alum front drums sent to IL for relining, am having them along with 4-6 other rear G body alum drums cry'oed. 

On disc setups, have been pulling and putting disc setups together since the late 80's. have put together and sold tons of disc changeovers. Nearly all $400-1000 "new" front disc changeovers are patterned off the '69 GM A body disc spindle and setup. The exceptions to the '69 style front disc changeovers are Scarebirds stuff, Willwood pieces for the track, and the VERY expensive protouring new spindles that utilize C6 Corvette rotors and calipers.

In the last 10 years along came the import spindles and caliper brackets. Personally, having had in my hands, import disc spindles that the two holes weren't even machined correctly for the steering arms, I personally wont waste my time with them and know many others that wont either. The improper machining is besides the use of questionable quality cast steel, very hard to beat GM's foundry's arma steel.


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## propuckstopper (Jan 20, 2012)

*Opinion*



Pinion head said:


> have personally installed half a dozen brake in a box kits from Praise Dyno Brakes. the lat 7-8 years, the company has been known as Musclecarbrakes.com. You don't have to spend $850, unless you want their new cry'oed brake drums. I've only had one customer that bought their drums. instead you can run your current thick drums or have nice thick original drums lightly turned, then cry'oed locally for as little as $20 a drum. just about every metro area has a company that cryogenically freezes components for industry and for racers. Cryogentically freezing the drums changes the molecular structure of the cast iron and allows for the drums to take much higher heat levels. On two of my keepers, both have have received the special high matrix ceramic shoes and I had the drums cry'oed locally. As soon as I get a pair of alum front drums sent to IL for relining, am having them along with 4-6 other rear G body alum drums cry'oed.
> 
> On disc setups, have been pulling and putting disc setups together since the late 80's. have put together and sold tons of disc changeovers. Nearly all $400-1000 "new" front disc changeovers are patterned off the '69 GM A body disc spindle and setup. The exceptions to the '69 style front disc changeovers are Scarebirds stuff, Willwood pieces for the track, and the VERY expensive protouring new spindles that utilize C6 Corvette rotors and calipers.
> 
> In the last 10 years along came the import spindles and caliper brackets. Personally, having had in my hands, import disc spindles that the two holes weren't even machined correctly for the steering arms, I personally wont waste my time with them and know many others that wont either. The improper machining is besides the use of questionable quality cast steel, very hard to beat GM's foundry's arma steel.


Hi Pinion Head. Can you offer a bit of a review on the Muscle Car Brakes products? Do their shoes really make that much of a difference in stopping power?

If they are really that good, I am thinking of putting their shoes on my '65.


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## Pinion head (Jan 3, 2015)

Propuckstopper, the stopping distance is decreased significantly. Typical brake fade from repeated use is where they really shine, brake fade is minimal. The improved drums work well on the street as long as you dont dip and dart in heavy traffic,masking for trouble there even with a disc/ drum setup. Of the early A bodies I've installed the brake in the box kit on, had an old customer with a real '66 Chevelle SS. on Jerry's '66, i installed the special shoes, stiffer springs, what amounts to station wagon wheel cylinders, & the slightly larger bore master cyl, all from Praise (now MCBC). In preparation, he took two old stock parts store front drums along with a pair of low wear wear alum G body drums across town and had them cry'oed. Jerry gave to me access to driving his '65 ElCamino at the end of my work on the Chevelle (also changed the ElCo's 12 bolt r/e ratio changed back to a more manageable 3.31). We both came to the conclusion, the now blue printed 4 wheel drum system on the Chevelle actually stopped better than the previous owner's converted single piston caliper disc/ drum set-up on the '65 ElCamino. On my '71's, both are manual 4 wheel drum cars and are being prepared for national show & PureStock racing. On the T-37, I plan on removing the stainless steel resleeved original master and swapping it out for an identical one with a 1/16" larger bore, then swapping on the slightly larger bore wheel cylinders. Just want to compare, the 1/16" larger bore cyl ended along with master require less pedal effort, just am used to putting the brake pedal down, takes a little getting used to.

Would I use MCBC's brake in a box pieces on a near 50 year old very collectible muscle car, and then drive it extremely aggressively through traffic like I did with my modded autocrossed TransAm in the early- mid 80's ... NO. I can admit when I was in my early to mid 20's I drove on the street waaaay too aggressively. Very lucky, my first T/A was never wrecked, and am glad I parked it when I did.


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