Stopping a car is overrated, right? I mean, all we need to care about is making our cars go faster. From the factory, it seems ma Mopar used to have that same philosophy. They must have, why else would they place a V-8 between the fenderwells of a car and then give it a single-jug master cylinder and four-wheel drum brakes? When the average speed in the U.S. during the early- to mid-'60s was approximately 35 mph, it may have been sufficient. Now, however, the inadequacy of the early braking systems is downright scary during freeway jaunts in traffic or busy downtown areas.
Yes, we have done brake articles in the past, but we still get a lot of e-mails asking how people can upgrade their brake system economically. Sure, you can go to a salvage yard or swap meet and hope to find all the parts necessary, but that could cost $100 or more, and you will still need to replace the calipers and pads-or at least you should. Sometimes, all you really end up with is a pair of expensive spindles because everything else is only usable as a core.
The premise of an economical disc-brake setup for an early A-Body got us thinking-does anyone have such a kit? After some comparative research, we found out that for around $900, a complete kit is available from Stainless Steel Brakes Corporation. The kit comes with the master cylinder, four-piston calipers, 11.25-inch rotors available with both 4- and 4 1/2-inch bolt circles, and all necessary hardware to install on your 10-inch drum-brake spindles.
The owner of our test car is more than happy she no longer needs to plan to stop a mile in advance. She also knows the car will go straight when she hits the pedal instead of violently darting to the right. All-in-all, a good investment of money and a day's work.
