how rare are power Brakes ?

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Princess Valiant

Princess Valiant

A.K.A. Rainy Day Auto
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I have had 24 A-bodies (67-74) in the decade+ I have been into Cars and I have NEVER had one with power brakes. The later ones all have manual disk.

Even among the B-bodies (68- 70) I have or have had ...I have only seen ONE ever with power brakes and it's a high optioned GTX

I have had a few with power steering but even that is hit and miss.

I just saw another thread with someone talking about an A-body power brake booster and I thought it has to be rare having never had one in an A body.

Are there many power brake A-bodies out there??
 
Every car I've had, has had power steering and power brakes. Mopar gm ford euro and asian.
 
My 67 Formula S was practically fully loaded and has ps, pb, and a/c...

All my other 2nd gen a-bodies had manual brakes...
 
Where do you plug in the electrical cord for the power brakes??? :???:
 
I'd say they are fairly uncommon.

I know about 8 people who own A-bodies locally and none have power brakes.

Power steering on the other hand, I think 6/8 of them have it. Mine included.
 
Wow, I have owned at least five A-bodies with power brakes. Mine were mostly 74's though
 
I have a '69 Dart GT convertible with Kelsey Hayes power discs and a B41 code on the fender tag. I wonder how rare it is.
 
Interesting question, my 72 Special came with power discs and steering but after getting back into the hobby and checking out quite a few car shows I'm actually surprised how many 72 and earlier A-bodies didn't.
 
They're not rare. Less common than manual, but definitely not rare.

My '72 Challenger has power disks, as does my '71 Satellite Sebring Plus. So did the '74 Dart that I parted out.

Both of my '71 Dart GT's had manual drums (10", as per the GT package), and my Duster has manual disks.

So, of the six musclecar era mopars I'd had, half of them had factory power brakes. One A, one E and one B. :D The Challenger also had power steering and A/C, but other than that it's just a 318 car, the only other major options were the bucket seats and floor shift console. The '71 SSP has a 383 and is pretty heavily optioned, power steering, power windows, rear defrost, strato-vent, buckets and a buddy seat, but no A/C (Washington state car). The '74 Dart had a 318 and was a power steering and A/C car. It had the high back bench seat and the deluxe interior panels, but that was about it.
 
My 73 Swinger has power steering and brakes, and our 72 Swinger has power steering and Kelsey Hayes four piston power discs.

Both factory stock.
 
My 68 Barracuda has power brakes and steering, I do notice alot of the cars at the shows I see do not have power brakes or steering, but these could be cars that originally had them and the owners decided to go manual. The power steering in my car is the typical power steering overkill from Chrysler, I could steer my car with my nose hairs if I had too.
 
JTG said:
My 68 Barracuda has power brakes and steering, I do notice alot of the cars at the shows I see do not have power brakes or steering, but these could be cars that originally had them and the owners decided to go manual. The power steering in my car is the typical power steering overkill from Chrysler, I could steer my car with my nose hairs if I had too.
Click to expand...

"Nose hairs" :D LOL
 
yep, power brakes pretty uncommon in A bodies. power steering pretty common even in slant cars. hate the PS!!!!

6 cars here, all manual steering and brakes! that's fine with me!
 
IMO, maybe not rare but a nice option for your car. Power anything except engine was unnecessary to many folks back then. It was all about go and cost on the low end cars. Air conditioning was the wing window (which also doubled as an ash tray) and the vent box doors. Some kids these days ask what the crank handle on the door panel is for.
My BH29H came with the pictured 9"X 2-1/2" fronts along with 10"X 1-3/4" rear as standard. Even the '74 Dart I used as the disc donor are standard as well.
 

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The '64 Dart wagon my folks bought new had PB and PS (and got the under dash air added when we moved from So Cal to Texas in '65). My '71 SuperBee had PS, but not PB. Neither of my current '64 Darts have PB, but each has/will have PS. PB is still a maybe.
 
driving down the road, how can anyone not want a "good " manual steering box? I understand drivng a B B in town the manual can be a bear! ha

want to get into odd... how bout a 69 Bee I had that came with a 4 speed, and if i remember right, manual brakes and steering, ......... and AIR!!!!
F8 green, green int.
 
My Duster is manual brakes & steering. Thought that wasn't as prevalent as it seems to be. Cool to know. Thought it would be a pain to drive but it isn't. Brakes work great. Steering is a bit heavy when parking but really not that bad. Most non- car people are almost in awe when I tell them it's manual everything. "How do you drive it? Must be hard."
"Fast".

Steve
 
My 74 Dart slant 6 car had power brakes power steering and air.
 
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