Brakes

[MarlboroMan73coupe]

I have my 73 mustang I’m working on. It’s up on the lift and I’m at the point of deciding wether or not to convert to rear disc brakes. I was looking for second opinions as to wether it is advised

 

[71ProjectJunk]

This is more of a do you want the car to brake a little better, than is it advised kind of question. The rear drums work fine for normal driving, and even some spirited driving, but obviously drums have their limitations. If all you do is drive the car occasionally on the weekends to a car show, or a pleasure cruise, I see no reason to ditch the drums, but if you occasionally race the car, the rear discs will definitely be a noticeable improvement, plus they look cool with modern wheels

 

[tony-muscle]

This is more of a do you want the car to brake a little better, than is it advised kind of question. The rear drums work fine for normal driving, and even some spirited driving, but obviously drums have their limitations. If all you do is drive the car occasionally on the weekends to a car show, or a pleasure cruise, I see no reason to ditch the drums, but if you occasionally race the car, the rear discs will definitely be a noticeable improvement, plus they look cool with modern wheels

+1 Agree

 

[MarlboroMan73coupe]

This is more of a do you want the car to brake a little better, than is it advised kind of question. The rear drums work fine for normal driving, and even some spirited driving, but obviously drums have their limitations. If all you do is drive the car occasionally on the weekends to a car show, or a pleasure cruise, I see no reason to ditch the drums, but if you occasionally race the car, the rear discs will definitely be a noticeable improvement, plus they look cool with modern wheels

That’s my plan is for more aggressive driving and taking it to the track but also driving it to and from work etc

 

[71ProjectJunk]

This all will boil down to your budget, if your budget allows for a rear disc brake conversion, I see no reason why you should not do it. The only question, if you have a limited budget, is if those funds could be better used somewhere else.

 

[Don C]

The cheapest and easiest way to upgrade the rear drums is to put on the Fairlane station wagon rear drums:

How-To: Shelby Rear Brake Trick on Early Mustangs (motortrend.com)

You can get new ones from NPD

DRUM, BRAKE, REAR - #1126-4 - National Parts Depot (npdlink.com)

These will give you about a 25% increase in braking surface area, plus the added cooling, and they'll look a little better than the plain drums.

 

[Hemikiller]

Most cost effective upgrade you can make is better friction materials. Hawk, Porterfield & EBC make pads and shoes that fit our cars.

 

[mrgmhale]

This is more of a do you want the car to brake a little better, than is it advised kind of question. The rear drums work fine for normal driving, and even some spirited driving, but obviously drums have their limitations. If all you do is drive the car occasionally on the weekends to a car show, or a pleasure cruise, I see no reason to ditch the drums, but if you occasionally race the car, the rear discs will definitely be a noticeable improvement, plus they look cool with modern wheels

I agree re: if using it for street driving, leave the drum brakes in place - they are fine. If you are racing get all disc. But, if you do go 4 wheel disc be sure to remove the Residual Pressure Check Valve from the master cylinder's rear fluid outlet port (under the brass seat), otherwise you will have rear dic brakes that will always have some pressure applied to them. That would result in overheated rear brake pads/rotor, rear brakes wearing quickly, and reduced performance.