One more disc brake conversion post.

[Dino]

Sounds like a vacuum issue to me.  When the booster loses vacuum the pedal becomes rock hard and the car is very hard to stop.

Disconnect the headlight vacuum system from the booster or manifold, wherever it is, and cap everything you see.  Leave only a hose between booster and intake manifold and make sure it has no cracks.  Try again.  If the brakes work then reconnect the headlight system.  If the problem returns you've found your issue.

The bleeding procedure is correct as long as you did it in the right order: master first, then passenger rear wheel, driver rear, passenger front, driver front.

[rikubot]

I agree. It's gotta be a vacuum issue. It's the only thing that makes sense from what I've read and what you've observed. I'll try that first thing in the morning. I've got my hoses going through that can under the battery, which wasn't connected to the vacuum until I found it this summer. Maybe it had an issue and that's why previous owner bypassed it. So isolate the booster hose, and mist spray some stuff and search for leaks?

[Dino]

Yes.

You want to minimize the system so you don't have to check 10 things at once.  Just cap whatever you can.  Check the carb for leaks, the tree on the manifold, the booster check valve and the hose connecting the two.  If all checks out then you should have functioning brakes.

[rikubot]

Sounds like a plan to me. Have you ever had all drums on your ride? I know a guy in town with all drums on his road runner, and I wanted to see if he'd take me for a ride in his car so I had a baseline to compare my brakes to, but he hasn't been around because of the cold streak we've had here. I doubt myself and think "maybe that's just how they work". But then I'll read stuff where guys say they sometimes worked TOO good, and with their toe, they can stop really well.

[Dino]

My car has all drums and except for the front left activating before the others, the car stops fine.  I think that if the car was the same weight as my lighter daily it would stop pretty much the same.  All 4 wheels lock up when I mash the pedal.  Most of my driving is in town or on 55 mph country roads and I have no trouble stopping this beast when widlife runs out in front of me.  When the brake components are in good shape the car should stop very well.  There should be no compromise because it has drums.

[rikubot]

Great information and comparison. That's what I expected you to say. I've read that the ONLY downsides to drums is brake fade from repeated use and a little harder to adjust. The Ram Man vouches for them as well while explaining why they are a good design. There is no way mine would lock up, or stop good enough to even be able to lock up, and that makes for squashed bunnies and Hondas. I can't have that. Hopefully I find this vacuum problem tomorrow. I know the fresh booster helped my idle a little. I might put my cluster in tomorrow as well. I got my tach harness in today. Just to confirm, it plugs into the accessory slot on the far right of the fuse box if you're looking at the back of it, right?

[Dino]

Yeah brake fade is about the only real down side, but it usually only happens when you do frequent hard stops.  When that happen you may need to think about planning a new route.   

Adjusting can be tricky.  My left front always activates first so as soon as I touch the pedal the car wants to veer left.  But it's only for a split second so I'm just used to holding thw wheel steady.  The hardware is damaged and since I was going to install discs anyway I never bothered to replace it.

I'm not a fan of the Ramman but he's right about the design.  Drums don't need as much pressure as discs either.  When set up properly you'll be very happy with drums.  If I didn't have to rebuild mine and if my car hadn't come with a disc kit, I woud've kept mine.

If I recall, the accessory fuse is the 3rd from the left looking at the front of the box.  Lemme check the wiring diagram and I'll get right back to you.

[Dino]

I was wrong, you had it right.  Far right when looking at the back of the fuse block.  There should be markings on the front as well telling you which fuse does what.

[rikubot]

Ok, cool. I think I'll put my cluster in then. I gotta see those LEDs on those fresh faceplates. Still waiting on the engine side wit but Year One said February. I might just make my own just to see it work. Thanks for all the help with my brake system, you are still restore cars from hundreds of miles away. You've been a big help from the beginning and I really appreciate it. I'll report back tomorrow after I go chasing that vacuum leak. Fingers crossed, as long as I've had this car, the brakes haven't been to good, so this will be a milestone.

[Dino]

I'm always happy to help.   

You're gonna love those LEDs.   

When you have the brakes fixed you'll be driving that car everywhere all the time.  It pains me that my car will not see the road in, what will likely be, a very long time.  I get tremendous joy out of driving this car.

[rikubot]

I hear ya, my blood pressure used to go up Every time I'd walk out to it in a parking lot (in highschool). It still does now but whenever I take her around the neighborhood I'm afraid I'm going to get pulled over, so that doesn't let me fully enjoy it. I still need plates and insurance. What all ya got left before she's back together and road ready? If you're ever in SO CO you can cruise mine to get your charger fix. She needs an alignment tho, so she pulls to the right a little bit 

[Dino]

Thanks for the offer.   

What I need, in short, is money.   

The engine needs a new cam, lifters, valve springs, pushrods, gaskets, and paint + a new carburetor so I'm looking at around a grand for that.  I also need an HP manifold.  I have a lead on one cheap but the heat riser is gone so I'm not sure if I want it.

The transmission needs to a new pump seal so nothing maor there, the res of the car needs a lot of small stuff like seals, cat whiskers, that kinda stuff.  That all adds up quickly.  I'm currently swapping the manual windows for power windows, I've installed power door locks and trunk, and I still need to install the controller modules and the alarm system.  That won't take much investment but you know how it goes, you start removing parts and find a bunch that need repacing.  I still need all the bushings for the front suspension, paint all those parts as well, and I need to adapt the hydroboost unit to fit the car.  I have evrything else to finish the brakes though so not too much investment needed there.

When I started work on the car I had the money to do it, but we ran into some things that ate the car fund so now I'm stuck with a half demolished car.   

I would've left the car alone but you can't plan for the unforeseen!  Unless I can come up with the money and finish it before grad school starts, this car may be sitting as is for a few years.  I won't have much if any time to work on it while in school.  Of course I'll have more time if I don't get into grad school, but let's not go there!   

[LeesRT]

Here's one I haven't seen anyone ask yet.  I have a 1969 Charger R/T that is power drum brakes and a 4-speed car.  I'm going old school tires and rims like I used to run in the 1980s, but I want to convert to 4-wheel disc brakes.  My front tire size will be a 50 series, 14" tire while my rear tire will be a 50 series tire, 15" size.  I would like the ability to put the original 14" magnums on if I so desired so I need disc brake kits to be small enough to do this.  I also would like to be able to use the original wheel bearings on the Dana without having to go to a "Green" bearing.  Baer has an interesting kit for the rear that would allow me to do that, but minimum wheel size is 15".  I like what I see with Wilwood for the fronts, but not the rear.  Does anyone make a good modern brake kit to fit what I'm trying to do.  I just want to improve the braking as well as the handling (a whole other subject that I'm working on) to be equal to my daily drivers or better.  I've read a lot of comments on here about other brake companies, i.e SSBC and using A and C body parts to get there.  Just curious if anyone else thinks like I do on this.

[rikubot]

Man, I'm sorry to hear that, Dino. Hopefully grad school isn't as time consuming as you think. My girlfriend is just about done with her masters and although the work was harder, it didn't fully consume her free time. I guess it all depends on how fast you wanna get it done though. I think she is taking three years for hers. Is that what the interview was for?
Also, what are cat whiskers?

[rikubot]

Here's one I haven't seen anyone ask yet.  I have a 1969 Charger R/T that is power drum brakes and a 4-speed car.  I'm going old school tires and rims like I used to run in the 1980s, but I want to convert to 4-wheel disc brakes.  My front tire size will be a 50 series, 14" tire while my rear tire will be a 50 series tire, 15" size.  I would like the ability to put the original 14" magnums on if I so desired so I need disc brake kits to be small enough to do this.  I also would like to be able to use the original wheel bearings on the Dana without having to go to a "Green" bearing.  Baer has an interesting kit for the rear that would allow me to do that, but minimum wheel size is 15".  I like what I see with Wilwood for the fronts, but not the rear.  Does anyone make a good modern brake kit to fit what I'm trying to do.  I just want to improve the braking as well as the handling (a whole other subject that I'm working on) to be equal to my daily drivers or better.  I've read a lot of comments on here about other brake companies, i.e SSBC and using A and C body parts to get there.  Just curious if anyone else thinks like I do on this.

Yikes, that's a loaded one. 14" is gonna be tough to work with but I'm sure someone knows on this site. Definitely not me, though!

[Dino]

Yeah the interview was for PA school.  It's one year didactic followed by one year clinical rotations and projects/presentations.  It's pretty intense.

Cat whiskers or fuzzies:  the thin strips with felt that are mounted on each side of the side glass.

I also need to retrofit modern 3 point seatbelts, forgot about that one.

Lee, scarebird makes a kit to fit 14" wheels up front but the rears are for 15s.  https://scarebird.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=64&product_id=158

However you could contact them and see if they have any thoughts for the rear.  They do custom mill so maybe they can make you a set or at least guide you in the right direction.

[rikubot]

Yikes, I'm gonna go out on a limb and assume that PA school is harder than Public Communications (that's what she's getting).

Ahh, I see. I should have known. Funny how the list isn't a whole lot of major things, but because MOPAR the price goes up so fast. I need new whiskers too, come to think about it. I don't even want to know how much those cost. Well, hopefully you get some good luck goin your way. You deserve it. That ride is just too wicked, and getting more so haha