Nissan Repair: 1978 280z Datsun, 280z datsun, friction material

Question
My father bought the car new in 1978 and I've been driving it for about 5 months now and what I've come to realize is that the brakes tend to shriek a loud noise every time i come to a stop. My father said its because of an indicator set in the brakes when the brake pads get low, or some sort of sensor, but the brake pads are fine and replaced often.
i don't understand why my brakes shriek and was wondering if theres a way to fix it?

Answer
Jonathan,

The government eliminated asbestos in the mid 1990s and since then there have been all kinds of pads made with different material.  Most make some type of noise or have less than effective friction material for good stopping power.  Currently, I recommend Performance Friction Carbon Metallic pads sold at Autozone or if you can get you hands on a factory set purchase them.  You need to change the resonant frequency of the pad to eliminate the noise if you do not want to change the pads themselves.  You could purchase a set of backing plates or an anti-rattle kit from Nissan for your car.  Basically, you disassemble your brakes and install the new slides and backing plates to the old pads and reassemble and the noise should go away.  If you are using ceramic pads I would suggest the pads I recommend.  They are a little dusty but the stopping power is well worth it and they are pretty much noise free.