VCCA Home Forums GENERAL DISCUSSION New User Forum Disc brakes?

Thinking of upgrading my 51’ bel air to disc brakes along with upgrading the with the master cylinder. Thoughts, recommendations?

Going to a tandem master cylinder would increase safety due to the reduced possibility of complete brake failure but putting disc brakes would also necessitate adding a booster.
As with any modification there is a can of worms which can mutate into black snakes and come back to bite you.
Tony

Remember that brakes are a complete system. Changing one item has impact throughout the whole system.

For example changing the front to discs will probably require new spindles as well as a different master cylinder plus a proportioning valve to prevent locking the rear brakes.

Like Tony said the can of worms can become quite a snake nest.

If you have personalized it to a V8 you might want to keep going that direction to make it into a more modern car. Otherwise, the 1951 brakes are adequate and converting to disc brakes is a lot of time and expense as Rusty 37 Master has pointed out.

Keep the regular Bendix brakes but just be more alert and leave yourself more room behind the vehicle in front when driving the 51.

Remember, full lock-up is all that can be expected and all you can get no matter what type brakes you have. Caution is king.

Best,

Charlie

BTW: Try to not lock-up the brakes. Burning rubber whilst sliding the tires across pavement lets out a loud, awful noise. It may scare the h--l outa someone on their phone and shockingly remind them that they are driving while their mind is somewhere else..

As Charlie said the best you can expect is complete lock up but the most efficient stopping point is just before lockup. When the wheel begins to slide you lose 30% braking efficiency on any given surface. That is the reason for the operation of the Anti Brake Skid unit.
Tony