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My original 59 brakes worked fine today. A guy pulled out of a side street forcing me to hit the brakes hard. I stopped from 40mph with all wheels locked. He still didn't see me until he heard my tires squealing. Great breaks 59 navy
Makes your rear end pucker up just a tad doesn't it? That happens to me last month while driving one of dad's 67. Took me a while to regain my composure
My original 59 brakes worked fine today. A guy pulled out of a side street forcing me to hit the brakes hard. I stopped from 40mph with all wheels locked. He still didn't see me until he heard my tires squealing. Great breaks 59 navy
Fake news, Impossible that decades old technology would work on todays roads. Just do a search on the interwebs and you will see how many owners are "upgrading" their drum brakes for "safety" reasons.
By the way, one of my work cars weighs 35,000 lbs and has drum brakes all around, stops just fine.
Last edited by Boyan; 08-19-2017 at 08:18 PM.
Reason: Typo
I did that in our '57 Fuelie about 8 years ago with bias ply tires. I slid sideways to a stop, then the white tire smoke passed me on both sides. Makes you appreciate anti lock brakes and radial tires a little more.
As mentioned several times on here, the Corvette brake systems are the same ones that were used on full size passenger cars...they work excellently when maintained properly...
I agree with Boyan. You are telling a sick fairy tale here. Drum brakes are killers. They don't work. Anyone that says they do is spreading misinformation. I know this because I have read it here dozens if not hundreds of times. Even before people buy their pre-1965 corvettes they are already making plans to changeover to discs "to keep their family members safe". Stop spreading these lies about drum brakes. All cars that have them should be junked, immediately.
As mentioned several times on here, the Corvette brake systems are the same ones that were used on full size passenger cars...they work excellently when maintained properly...
They do. But don't do what I did on a rally with a bunch of newer Corvettes. I was in my manual drum brake 1962, and we were doing some "spirited" driving up in the canyons near Irvine Lake. I went deep and hard into a couple of turns and that's all it took to boil the brake fluid. The C6 guys went on and I had to use the transmission to keep it low and slow until the brakes and fluid cooled. I took it back to my shop and ended up bleeding the brakes and replacing the shoes.
Did your own version of the Dan Short Fantomworks brake check, eh? :-)
Glad to hear it all was OK. For the 1-time emergency stop, drums are just as good as discs.
However, today, by chance, I was on a ~50 mile cruise with some altitude changes.. and for the first time (for me), the drums started to fade. I made a few consecutive downhill stops, and on the 3rd one, it got a little harry... the car carried past the white line at an intersection by about 3-4 feet.. it was NOT STOPPING very well..
Maybe you guys in Florida, where the highest point in the state is 300 feet above sea level, don't get to experience this?
I guess I'll take the advise here and junk the car immediately.
You have to 'work' the drum brakes on these old cars as fade is a problem. Using your engine for braking, knowing when to downshift and how fast you can safely coast with judicious application of the brakes as needed...to maintain control downhill.
Ain't no on-board computer telling the car you're being an idiot and compensating for it...
But yes, a one time...stand on the brakes panic stop that locks up the brakes...that's as good as it gets...
Last edited by Frankie the Fink; 08-19-2017 at 08:33 PM.
OK.. that sounds a little different than "will work excellently when maintained properly".
They are what they are.. they will work "like new" when maintained properly!
OK.. that sounds a little different than "will work excellently when maintained properly".
They are what they are.. they will work "like new" when maintained properly!
Doesn't sound a bit different to me...as I said, you have to know what you're doing and the brakes will work -- excellently...
Guess what ? I use the same techniques above in my 2013 Toyota Tundra when mountain driving...
Last edited by Frankie the Fink; 08-19-2017 at 08:40 PM.
The same could be said for the band brake on a model T.
I drive VERY conservatively in the '61 at all times (other than an occasional romp on a totally open road), using the techniques you mentioned.
Still had brake fade today.. that's all I'm sayin'...
Even though the brakes on my '62 work "excellently" I still allow more room on the freeway and try to look ahead of the cars in front of me when cruising along at 70 miles per hour in traffic when I'm driving it.
Are there any drum brake vettes s still around? sounds as if they all crashed back in the 60s. Cannot be any virgin glass pre 65 vettes in existence. Just last Friday did a full on panic stop, steer, slide in the face of sure death. All that steering, stabbing, sliding done in one nano second when a drunk blew thru a stop sign when I was on top of him. Miraculous save, words that begin with the letter F are still echoing off the hillsides And that was in my 5 spd 98 4wd pickup.
The Friday before, with the 63 coupe, a doomaze, behind me, tried to drive around me on the right when the light changed and I was making a left turn. Idiot was on the shoulder, no brakes involved, used echo location that reverberated with F sounding bleeps to help him alter his position.. Driving in NJ is not fun anymore.
Are there any drum brake vettes s still around? sounds as if they all crashed back in the 60s. Cannot be any virgin glass pre 65 vettes in existence. Just last Friday did a full on panic stop, steer, slide in the face of sure death. All that steering, stabbing, sliding done in one nano second when a drunk blew thru a stop sign when I was on top of him. Miraculous save, words that begin with the letter F are still echoing off the hillsides And that was in my 5 spd 98 4wd pickup.
The Friday before, with the 63 coupe, a doomaze, behind me, tried to drive around me on the right when the light changed and I was making a left turn. Idiot was on the shoulder, no brakes involved, used echo location that reverberated with F sounding bleeps to help him alter his position.. Driving in NJ is not fun anymore.
Around here you need a car that can accelerate from zero to 100 miles per hour in less than a second. People are texting left and right even in traffic. I try to have an out every time I come to a stop. Today heading to my shop some idiot in a brand new black Camaro rear ended some old lady pretty hard in a Camry.
Seems like yesterday's options become tomorrows standard equipment. For 2018 model year cars from what I understand back up cameras are supposed to be standard equipment. Now the automakers are touting their automatic braking technology that is supposed to make the car hit the brakes before you do. I wouldn't be surprised to see the Feds mandate that on all cars in a few years, too.
We need to get the self driving cars out on the road just as quickly as possible now, since people can't drive their own cars anymore. They are too busy working their portable technology, jabbering on the phone, eating, doing makeup, blasting "music", etc etc to be bothered driving.
And again, get those drum brake death traps off the road asap and into the nearest junk yard. Before more people are kilt.
You have to 'work' the drum brakes on these old cars as fade is a problem..
Disk brakes (and dual circuits) are an exponentially better technology, no different than breaker-less ignition and fuel injection. None of us would argue otherwise with a straight face.
I live in mountainous western New England and I observe the average driver descend hills in Subaru wagons mostly, and riding the brakes on long 8% grades, all the way to the bottom.
Now if those same knuckleheads were in a 63 Impala like mine they would smoke those shoes and expand those drums and very likely fail to stop at the bottom. The average driver around here would be an absolute menace in most of our drum brake cars. Back in the day a good driver knew the capability of typical automotive brakes. Dad told you to "pump 'em, don't ride 'em." Auto school taught similar lessons.
Today one need not be an educated, safe driver to stop a car after a long, steep decent. Soon it won't require a driver at all.
For all my appreciation for modern automotive technology all but one of my 8 cars is completely stock. I'm an amateur industrial archeologist. I like old stuff...that works the way it is supposed to work. That's where the fun is, pumping those brakes, downshifting at the right time, managing the systems.
Incidentally I own a 1960 Buick. It will be featured in the next issue of Hemming's Classic Car. The 60 Buick uses 12" finned aluminum front drums with wide shoes. Auto journalists hailed it the best brakes in the business. Buick needed better brakes than any other car. At 4,500 pounds my Electra tends to hurtle as the Dynaflow transmission does not provide much engine braking and cannot be shifted into low at highway speeds. The drum brakes on my 60 Electra will hook to a dead stop in a way that belies its size and age. They are not just the best drum brakes, they are the best brakes I've experienced on any mid-century large domestic car.
Wherever their are fools or the uninformed using it, old technology can indeed be dangerous.
I remember the first time I had to pump the brakes to interrupt tire slide while in a bad situation. It was a challenge to control the panic but I felt the deceleration decrease when the tires started sliding. ABS does wonders - and you can steer too.
I was having a somewhat recurring problem of people pull out in front of me so I put some LED daytime driving lights in the grill and I feel that the visibility has taken care of this.
Disk brakes (and dual circuits) are an exponentially better technology, no different than breaker-less ignition and fuel injection. None of us would argue otherwise with a straight face.
I live in mountainous western New England and I observe the average driver descend hills in Subaru wagons mostly, and riding the brakes on long 8% grades, all the way to the bottom.
Now if those same knuckleheads were in a 63 Impala like mine they would smoke those shoes and expand those drums and very likely fail to stop at the bottom. The average driver around here would be an absolute menace in most of our drum brake cars. Back in the day a good driver knew the capability of typical automotive brakes. Dad told you to "pump 'em, don't ride 'em." Auto school taught similar lessons.
Today one need not be an educated, safe driver to stop a car after a long, steep decent. Soon it won't require a driver at all.
For all my appreciation for modern automotive technology all but one of my 8 cars is completely stock. I'm an amateur industrial archeologist. I like old stuff...that works the way it is supposed to work. That's where the fun is, pumping those brakes, downshifting at the right time, managing the systems.
Incidentally I own a 1960 Buick. It will be featured in the next issue of Hemming's Classic Car. The 60 Buick uses 12" finned aluminum front drums with wide shoes. Auto journalists hailed it the best brakes in the business. Buick needed better brakes than any other car. At 4,500 pounds my Electra tends to hurtle as the Dynaflow transmission does not provide much engine braking and cannot be shifted into low at highway speeds. The drum brakes on my 60 Electra will hook to a dead stop in a way that belies its size and age. They are not just the best drum brakes, they are the best brakes I've experienced on any mid-century large domestic car.
Wherever their are fools or the uninformed using it, old technology can indeed be dangerous.
Dan
1960 Buick? My dad had 1960 Buick Invicta station wagon that he towed a 21' Ideal travel trailer with. It was a lot of fun coming down the Grape Vine and the Cajon pass when we were kids. He kept it in low and watched his speed, but the brakes were pretty hot when we got to the bottom.
I took this picture from the back seat in it in the 1967 when I was a kid and we were in Yellowstone. The bear was a Buick fan:
08-19-2017, 07:01 PM
Brakes locked up avoiding a collision
