9" brake drums

cudajim said

I cringe every time I hear 9" drums.

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I drove a 69 Dart slant w/ 9" manual drums for 18 years. I don't recall any problem stopping or skidding the tires if I wanted. My wife drove it and never complained either. It always stopped straight. I have 9" drums on my 64 convertible and am keeping them for now, though changing to a dual MC.

The main superiority of front disks is for repeated braking from high speed, where the brakes have little time to cool, or constant downhill braking which only clueless drivers do. Disks with a hollow interior (not all) that cools better because more surface area and they move air like a fan impeller. I found a ~1965 Dodge ad online promoting the new disk brake option. It says the drum brakes work fine for normal driving, but disks work better "in repeated braking like road racing" (as I recall).