Drum Brakes Done Right
Likely the biggest problems behind drum-brake performance issues are inattention to detail and being a cheapskate about your brakes. Drum brakes are high maintenance and temperamental. They demand the best components and your closest attention. Whenever you rebuild drum brakes, start clean with new, high-quality components, including springs and hardware, riveted linings, wheel cylinders, and new or resurfaced drums.
Stainless Steel Brakes makes a Kelsey-Hayes-design four-piston, front-disc brake kit for classic Mustangs and other Ford compacts and intermediates. They can be installed on any V-8 drum-brake spindle.
When you go cheap with used components, you're asking for trouble. Drum-brake components last for one, maybe two brake jobs. Springs lose their tension. Hard parts wear out. Wheel cylinders develop leaks. Drums become too large internally. Drums should be machine turned by qualified personnel at every brake job and replaced at every other relining. Even though inside drum dimensions are within limits, drum brakes perform their best when shoes travel the shortest distance.
The bottom line with drum brakes is this-never cut corners. Use the best components, riveted linings, and new drums when it's time for an overhaul. When you don't turn drums, shoes can't bed like they need to. Whenever you push drums to their legal limit, brakes will not perform their best. They will also make unwanted noise because the shoe itself will rub the drum, causing an annoying squeal. Remember: one turning to a drum, then toss it.
Baer is another major player in the high-performance aftermarket-brake business. Baer Claws, as they are known, are available in a variety of rotor sizes and caliper types to meet the need. | 
Extreme braking performance comes from monster disc brakes from Wilwood. This is a huge, six-piston disc brake sporting a cross-drilled, slotted rotor for superior heat and gas dissipation. | 
From one extreme to another-this is JMC Motorsports' four-piston front-disc-brake conversion kit for classic Mustang and other classic Fords. It's a bolt-on kit that can be installed in an afternoon. Just make sure it will fit inside your wheels. |
What Are Power Brakes?
There are two basic types of power-brake systems-vacuum assist and hydroboost. Vacuum assist is most common, employing a chamber divided by a spring-loaded diaphragm. The engine's intake-manifold vacuum creates negative pressure (suction) on one side-the side nearest the master cylinder. The diaphragm is drawn toward negative pressure, which helps the driver apply pressure to the master cylinder's piston rod. Intake manifold vacuum helps the driver do the braking, easing pedal effort.
Hydroboost power brakes work like power steering. When you touch the brake pedal, you open a control valve that applies pressure to the master cylinder, easing pedal effort. Hydroboost isn't at the mercy of faltering intake-manifold vacuum when you have a hot cam. As long as the engine is running, hydroboost gives you power-brake assistance. Hydroboost pressure comes off the power-steering pump-even if your Ford doesn't have power steering.
Hydroboost power-brake units can be sourced a variety of places, including Power Brake Service [www.powerbrakesonline.com, (800) 504-1060] and Hydratech Braking Systems [www.hydratechbraking.com, (586) 427-6970]. Hoses can be fabricated at a hydraulic or air-conditioning shop. Mustangs from 1996 to 2004 with SOHC and DOHC V-8s have hydroboost power brakes. So did some Lincolns and Mercurys. These are good sources for the units if you decide to fabricate your own setup. If you can't find one in a salvage yard, order one from your favorite auto-parts store, and be prepared to pay the core charge.
Vacuum-assisted power brakes don't do much for actual braking. They provide braking assistance and reduced pedal effort. Your engine's intake-manifold vacuum is the power booster's source for negative pressure. If you have a radical camshaft profile and insufficient manifold vacuum, you need an electric vacuum pump. Another option is hydroboost power brakes when vacuum sources become nil. | 
Bleeding the master cylinder can be done two ways-on the bench or in the car. Bench bleeding is preferred because it is the most foolproof method. On the bench, you can see what's going on. There's less chance of jamming the piston and better odds of getting the air out. In the car, you need to pay close attention to pedal travel. Don't push the pedal to the floor. Slowly step on the pedal while watching air bubble traffic. Once all bubbles have stopped, you have successfully bled the master cylinder. | 
Pressure bleeders and bleeders that mechanically push fluid and air out of the system enable you to bleed brakes by yourself. |
Brake- Bleeding Technique
Through the years, we have seen a lot of different approaches to brake bleeding. Most of us subscribe to the shade-tree approach of having a buddy work the pedal while we work the bleeders.
There are also tools that enable you to bleed brakes by yourself. One is a pneumatic-pressure bleeder that places air pressure on top of the master cylinder's brake fluid, pushing fluid and air out through bleeders. Another tool uses a hand-pump method, pushing fluid and air back through the master cylinder. Both systems are quite affordable.