Actually when I was 15 and a half years old I learned to drive in this car. Same with my sister. Then we both drove it to high school until we bought cars of our own.
I’ve decided to just get disk brakes regardless of the cost because I need to be comfortable stopping.
I drive a Jeep Cherokee for everyday driving and a Jaguar XK for elegant driving. The Mustang will be fun to drive on the weekends.
Not selling, not even close.
What does vented in the front mean?
What is “OP”?
Thanks Tester.
I’d keep the drum brakes for a while and see if you get used to them. Stopping distance is a little longer but once you get used to them you won’t have any problems. Your brakes were just rebuilt and replacing them right now is a poor choice for spending your money IMO. How old are the tires? You might do well to replace them instead. This is not a daily driver and you should get used to it.
It looks great and is probably a survivor. That is, the car hasn’t had any modifications from original and the value is significantly enhanced. If you replace the drum brakes the value will go down. If the paint and vinyl roof are original and the interior is in similar shape this is a special car and IMO should remain as is.
Didn’t your father tell you not to pump the accelerator before starting a hot engine? A hot engine does not need to be primed, you are making the starting process take longer.
I drove the car in high school and the brakes were never an issue. I raced around town, drove on the freeway, etc. My parents would never have let me as a 16 year drive the car with these current brakes. My sister drove the car today and was also horrified with the inability to stop.
We’re taking the car back tomorrow and getting disk brakes no matter how much it costs.
Just the front should work pretty good. Many new cars even now use front disc, rear drum. May require new brake tubing arrangement, b/c you’d need separate hydraulic circuits for front & rear. Probably want to add a power booster. Power brakes of that era were really touchy; hopefully that problem is addressed in the aftermarket drum-to-disc retrofit kits so you’ll be able to slow down without locking up the brakes. I was thinking at one time to switch to front discs on my Ford, but decided to keep it original, drums work pretty good as long I keep them adjusted for balanced operation. Suspension system design is more of a problem than drum brakes anyway.
@Keith above mentioned the choke pull off as a possible problem your carb may have. Good point, but that part can usually be tested without removing carb. so no need to replace it unless it tests faulty. The choke pull off is a Car Talk inside joke, early radio shows, very high % of the callers were told “the problem is the choke pull off” … lol … My Ford is 50 years old, never need a choke pull off replacement.
I recall the exact time I first saw a Mustang. Was playing football in the street with other kids when neighbor came driving through our game in new Mustang. We had all seen it on the tv, so we knew what it was, crazily ran after neighbor for a ride. Turned out he was just test-driving it, so he said “climb in”, and off we go for ice cream cones. Top down, first time I discovered it is hard to eat ice cream cone in moving car with top down … lol … Classic car show here had a 64 1/2 Mustang a few years ago, looked exactly like the one I first rode in, even the same interior coloring.
Well, that doesn’t include THIS easterner. Because I make sure that my vehicles are kept in top-notch condition, I resent having to share the roads with folks who drive on bald tires, with barely-operating brakes, with burned-out headlights and tail lights, and with worn-out shocks/struts.
NJ’s state-run inspection used to carefully check all of those things–and more–but Governor Christine Todd Whitman “privatized” the process by handing the state inspection stations over to a private contractor. Shortly thereafter, the mandatory inspections were changed to once every 2 years, but the private contractor continued to receive the same amount of money from the public coffers every year–despite having literally half the amount of work to perform, which allowed them to lay-off a lot of their staff. Ergo–more money in the pockets for the politically-connected contractor.
Later, Chris Christe became Governor, and he eliminated everything from the state inspection process–except for an emissions check. The first time that I went for Chris Christie’s “slimmed down” inspection protocol, I chatted with the guy doing the inspection. To quote him: “Even if you limped in here on 4 flat tires, with no brakes, no windshield, and no lights, I would have to give you a passing sticker as long as your emissions were okay”.
It should be noted that the private inspection contractor continues to receive the same fees each year from the public coffers, despite the fact that–now–nothing is done other than an emissions check. And, for those who might be interested in learning a bit more about this whole situation, you might want to Google the political affiliation of both Christine Todd Whitman and Chris Christie.
thanks tester.
You only need the disc brake conversion in the front.
You’re just driving the car as a casual weekend cruiser.
Now, if you wanted to go road rally racing, then you would want four wheel disc brakes.
Tester
Your story reminds me of the corrupt officer in Casablanca who said “OMG! I can’t believe there’s gambling going on in Ricks!” … lol
Maybe he should buy some of those Seinfeld puffy shirts …lol
That’s Original Poster, which is you in this case.
+1
If possible when you replace/convert to disc brakes keep ALL the original parts that are replaced just incase at some point you want to sell it, it can be put back to OEM specs with all the original parts… You never know you might get the show car bug and it will be worth way more original…
If the brakes now work much less effectively than they did before, you might find a good brake shop to fix whatever’s wrong, much less than the cost of the disc brake conversion. Once they’re working correctly you can then decide if it’s worth converting to discs.
My guess is the hydraulic lines are the problem, restricting passage of brake fluid, rather than the brake parts (drums, shoes, springs) at each wheel.
If this just came out of the shop, the brake shoes may not have fully bedded in yet. That means that only a small patch in the middle of the shoe is in contact with the drum. I takes quite a few stops until the shoe matches the drums.
In the old days, brake shops had a special grinder. The mechanic would measure the current inside diameter of the drum, dial it in the grinder and then the grinder would use a sanding disc to match the shoes to the drum. BTW, with use, the inside diameter of the drum gets larger due to wear.
If the pedal is going to far to the floor, the brakes need adjustment. If the mechanic knew what he was doing and installed the self adjuster properly, then all you have to do is find a safe place, back up and hit the brakes several times in a row. You will feel the brake pedal engaging further up. The further up the engagement, the better the brakes will feel.
Disc brakes were an option on your model so a conversion will be simpler and will not hurt the value of your ride. Since the Mustang that year was pretty light, you might not need a brake booster, but it wouldn’t hurt.
Dual master cylinder was not an option that year and to retrofit one will be a lot of work. If you didn’t get a new master cylinder or get yours rebuilt, then I would do that before any brake conversion.
