musicmike927

as some of you will remember i have an itch for a midyear corvette. I really prefer the style of a 63-64 but since i plan on driving this car quite a bit i was wondering how bad the drums really are, and if going after a 65-66 makes more since for a car thats a few days short of a daily driver.

Also how much would it cost to do a conversion on a 63-64 to power front disc and keep the rear drums.

Thanks, Mike

Frankie the Fink

I've done front disc brake conversions on all my classic cars over the years....I don't think I've ever spent more than $500 (this doesn't count a dual M/C if you want that too).
I would not let that cost be a deciding factor in which year C2 you pick up.

You could also drive with drums, trouble free, for a long time if you are just going to shows, etc.. You just have to learn to keep a following distance to accommodate the old technology.

You will now hear from the 'old f@rts' telling you to keep your drum brakes and bias ply tires forever... It'll take a while because they are typing in their reply on TRS-80 Radio Shack computers.

Mike Terry

Mike I have never owned a 64 Vette but I have owned 5 of the 1963 SWC and all had drum brakes. I (NEVER) had a problem with the breaks but I never drove the cars fast. I would drive in town and on the interstate but would always do the speed posted or maybe a little more but I never had to worry about having to stopping real fast. I would drive my Corvettes like a person who had a lot of $$$$$ invested in it and didn't want to tear it up. If you drive it safely I don't see where you should have any trouble with drum brakes. I never did. Frankie how old do you have to be to be an Old Fart I am 57.

MikeM

I have five old cars with drum brakes. One is disc/drum/power assist.

All five will lock the wheels with minimal pedal effort. Even the ones w/o power assist. I have one with four wheel disc. It will lock the wheels too. With a little better pedal feel than the drums. The disc brakes don't fade in deep water like the drums do but I don't drive the cars through puddles so it doesn't matter to me.

There'd be a lot of features I'd look at on a potential purchase before I'd look see what kind of brakes it had. Either will work well if they've been maintained.

Don't forget, the Corvette drum brakes were designed to stop a car that is 1000-1200 pounds heavier than the Corvette.

If standing water is an issue, you can just ride the brakes a little and it will dry them out.

If you're used to light pedal pressure to stop a car, get one with power brakes or figure on adding a booster. Unassisted, both drum and disc Corvette brakes require about the same pedal pressure to stop the car.

Keeping a safe distance from the car in front and paying attention is probably a whole more important than what type brakes/tires are on the car.

Old Fart
67

67L36Driver

Unless you are planning on towing a large boat or travel trailer in the mountains the drum brakes are just fine. Tires are what limit stopping distance.

Bias ply tires suck, bigtime.

Frankie: You and the white horse you rode in on.

mrtexas

I just did this for my 63. It cost roughly $1,000 for the front(includes new spindles) and $2,000 for the rear(replaced trailing arms). New dual MC was $50 from NAPA. I skipped on the power part as there are problems with a 67 MC and power as far as hood clearance for the 63/64. Oh, and a couple hundred for re-building the front suspension, ball joints, A arm bushings, anti-sway bar etc. Oh, a couple hundred for misc pieces, brake lines, brake fittings, etc.

Most of this was indeed unnecessary, but I wanted to do it anyway. I'm glad I did it as I discovered a 5 foot section of copper brake line and a leaky gas line that needed to be replaced. I'm also pretty intimately familiar with the Corvette suspension/brake system now.

I also discovered my steering wheel bearings/shaft was completely wore out while updating to Steeroids rack and pinion, oh well, $700 for a Flaming River tilt steering column and smaller wheel....

CP64365

I have a 64 with drum and power brakes. The power brakes even with drums can easily lock up the wheels. On other thing to concern, 63's and 64's have single master cylinder ports. So if this is to be a daily driver, you may want to convert to a dual port master cylinder, just in case a brake line bursts.

Kerrmudgeon

Frankie, who you trying to kid, so now your a spring chicken!....well from one old phart to another, go pluck yourself. ( I'm such a punny guy) I agree with Mike W, and, disk brakes were developed for racing when brake fade due to heat build up was a big problem for drums after repeated laps on a race course.Discs by design are exposed to tons more cooling air. Like the man said unless your doing this, towing a trailer, or live in the mountains, drums are more than satisfactory.
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66L72

I had a 64 fuelie coupe years ago and the brakes worked fine.......certainly as good as the non power discs on my 66.

I think it would be a waste of time and money to convert to disc on a 64

JMHO

musicmike927

thank you all so much for the responses

my hunt continues...

1snake

Properly working drums will lock the wheels the same as disc's will. The limiting factors are the tires and the road surface.

Jim

kellsdad

I grew up with drum brakes and drove my 63 Vette with drum brakes for more than 20 years. I converted the fronts to disc brakes about ten years ago when I was flirting with the idea of autocrossing it. Having driven it with both brake systems, I believe there are only two noticeable differences. First, when drum brakes get wet you need to dry them out by riding the brakes for a few seconds. Having grown up with that requirement, I didn't find that to be a problem. Second, drum brakes fade quicker than disc brakes. That's typically a problem only on extended down hill grades or at the track. As for daily driving, I find drums as good as discs. ..... Two things I suggest you do conisder are radial tires and a dual brake master cylinder. You'll feel the effects of radial tires much more than either brake system. And there's something comforting about having a backup brake system in a 40+ year old car.

63Corvette

I'm the Old Phart that Frankie referred to above, and I am also an ardent fan of DISC brakes on ALL midyear Corvettes (all cars period). That said, as others have mentioned above, if you are only going to drive occasionally in a non-aggressive manner, or show your car then drums are fine. What you gain with discs is consistency, and confidence in your braking system....... Invaluable at the end of the Mid America straight

abe g

To the Fink (appropriate name) who seems to have a problem with old age (if you are lucky you may reach that point).At age 82 and still driving my 63 swc, Drum brakes were never a problem and still drive same (without power) without any problems. I do not suggest driving any old car (over 20 years) as a daily driver . These are not meant to do that (any make). If you want dependable daily safe drvving, get something else. regards, Abe G (an old but capable 82)

Tintin

I agree that the other thing you get with disc brakes is consistency in the stops. Drum brakes are old technology and if you feel that you do not need to stop very quickly , then you will be fine. I used to hear this debate a lot when I had a 35 Ford - "Mechanical brakes work just fine, why switch to hydraulic?" Same debate. If you are content to have antique technology on your car , that is your choice. I prefer to be able to count on pushing the brake pedal and having virtually identical brake performance every time whether they are wet or not. I also do not wish to rely on having reversed and braked hard enough to enable the adjusters so that the car tracks straight when I brake. I cannot think of a single auto sold in the US today that has front drum brakes. Or mechanical service brakes either for that matter.. Even bicycles have disc brakes

Here is a good place to get a conversion kit, assuming you are not just going to buy 65-82 Corvette stuff:

http://ecihotrodbrakes.com/index.html

Really good guy, super nice kit and pretty reasonable. I think I paid about $700- including a 67 master for everything.

One final thing - the ability to look the wheels is not indicative of good stopping power. The ability to modulate the pressure to gain maximum friction at the verge of lock = maximum stopping power.

I drive my car about 8-10,000 miles a year and it makes a good everyday driver. The only problem is that as you age it becomes more difficult to get in and out of because the seat is quite low...

I just wanted to add this edit

If you are buying the car, you can avoid this endless argument by buying a newer C2. They are really cheap right now, a friend just bought one - a 1966 Mosport Green over green - looks way nicer than you might think. The car only needs three minor things to be a Top Flight car according to a friend of ours who is a judge of that sort of thing. He paid $40,000 three weeks ago and the car has only 78K on the clock. Knockoffs etc. Buy a newer car and save the headache.. They are cheaper than new commuter cars...

MiguelsC2

Corvette had some of the best drum brakes. Just don't take em down a mountain road or into standing water. Drums are fine. Discs are better and have considerably less unsprung weight.

Kerrmudgeon

Cue music.......YOU SAY TOMATO, I SAY TOMAHTO, YOU SAY POTATO, i SAY POTAHTO, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH,.........

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Canute

People still road race these cars sometimes. How about with a set of Porterfield shoes?

midyearvette

i have a friend who owns a red 64 with a 383 all dressed up and he runs the snot out of the car with the drums with no problems, like mike said, they are designed for a heavier car anyway...there is really no debate on which system is better, however the drums are certainly adequate for a streeter and performance street driving..jmo

MasterDave

Been driving my 64 (drums) for over ten years without an issue. I did however get to run a few laps a PIR a couple years ago. A bit scarey once the brakes got hot and faded. I don't race so they're fine.