Just how bad are factory Drum brakes on '66?

[69W34]

Dave '68 toro' stated ... " I strongly advise you to acquire the wheels necessary for your disc brake conversion" and I wholeheartedly agree. The disc brake conversion page posed by Twilight Fenrir, shows that unlike other application it makes no mention of retention of the drum wheel or the use of the different wheel such as the 67 up disc wheel. I do not wish to discourage anyone from indulging themselves in what ever the goal or what makes them happy.

That stated however, i will offer this, the 66 toro is now 45 years old! Many very capable people have been down this road and have spent an untold amounts of money all with the intent that in the end they will be able to use the 66 drum wheel. I agree of the two wheel the 66 drum is unique and very cool! Well none the less we're still here with the same problem.

As far as Kanter is concerned I don't buy the premise that their 'kit' will work with the toro drum wheel. First I have not been successful in locating kit it in their catalog. Secondly as with many aftermarket Toro related parts there is simply not a large enough return in the market to invest the R&D money to develop a disc brake for a single application where in the only return is to retain the 66 OEM wheel especially when one considers that a toro disc wheels are readily available.

Lastly the porp valve shown in the photo that Dave posted may have been what he used in his conversion 'With Drum lessons' it serves as both: metering and balance switch . However if your 68 was factory equipped with disc that valve is not 'Factory' correct as used on the 68 and 69's. Mike V and I both have discs his 68 and my 69 and both have this style (see below) mounted in board of the master cylinder with the balance switch mounted on the frame below.

We working to verify that the 67 and 70 are the same Inline Tube # PR-105 the bracket shown is for the A body application. Your bracket can be reused or the correct one can be had from Inline.

[Twilight Fenrir]

Dave '68 toro' stated ... " I strongly advise you to acquire the wheels necessary for your disc brake conversion" and I wholeheartedly agree.

Done

[69W34]

YES

[Twilight Fenrir]

That stated however, i will offer this, the 66 toro is now 45 years old! Many very capable people have been down this road and have spent an untold amounts of money all with the intent that in the end they will be able to use the 66 drum wheel.

As far as Kanter is concerned I don't buy the premise that their 'kit' will work with the toro drum wheel. First I have not been successful in locating kit it in their catalog. Secondly as with many aftermarket Toro related parts there is simply not a large enough return in the market to invest the R&D money to develop a disc brake for a single application where in the only return is to retain the 66 OEM wheel especially when one considers that a toro disc wheels are readily available.

Lastly the porp valve shown in the photo that Dave posted may have been what he used in his conversion 'With Drum lessons' it serves as both: metering and balance switch . However if your 68 was factory equipped with disc that valve is not 'Factory' correct as used on the 68 and 69's. Mike V and I both have discs his 68 and my 69 and both have this style (see below) mounted in board of the master cylinder with the balance switch mounted on the frame below.

We working application. Your bracket can be reused or the correct one can be had from Inline.

This winter, kanter had had a disc brake conversion kit listed for our 66 toro's, which said it did not need different wheels. Maybe it had smaller callipers, i'm.not sure, but it was there. However, they discontinued it in the very.next catalogue, so i'm guessing there was an issue with it or something.

As for the prop valve, I just ordered the one I posted a lil to. My 66 never had disc brakes, so i'm.not concerned with keeping the bits of the system authentic. I wanted a combination valve. Plus this one comes with a convenient mointing bracket, and connectiln links

[mikesteam]

All this BUTCHER work done to a 66 toronado ! My GOD just to get disc brakes! i have 2 66 toronados i have driven since 1997 i believe - what about a modern high tech drum brake sys. "musclecarbrakes.com". Both my cars still have the original brakes. I am more worried about the car behind me not stoping then my car not stoping. Yes disc are much better but all that butcher work to a 66 - not for me the drums suck but they are not that bad. I will find a kit that uses the 66 wheels first if i wanted disc brakes unless you have LOTS of money. Sorry thats how i see it -I am in wisconsin drove on rt94 to work in chicago with my 66 it stops i don't see the huge need except maybe for a everyday driver maybe!

[Twilight Fenrir]

All this BUTCHER work done to a 66 toronado ! My GOD just to get disc brakes! i have 2 66 toronados i have driven since 1997 i believe - what about a modern high tech drum brake sys. "musclecarbrakes.com". Both my cars still have the original brakes. I am more worried about the car behind me not stoping then my car not stoping. Yes disc are much better but all that butcher work to a 66 - not for me the drums suck but they are not that bad. I will find a kit that uses the 66 wheels first if i wanted disc brakes unless you have LOTS of money. Sorry thats how i see it -I am in wisconsin drove on rt94 to work in chicago with my 66 it stops i don't see the huge need except maybe for a everyday driver maybe!

Well, I'm planning on using it for a daily driver in the summer. I think that's half the fun of owning a car like this. The brakes have worried me a few times, and if I really stomp on them the car tends to turn sideways on me. Plus, that single resevoire is scarey. All it would take is something to nick or break a line anywhere in the system, and I'd only have the parking brakes to stop with.

Really, I can barely tell the difference between the disc brake wheels I got and the factory drum wheels. The only change is there isn't a 1/4" gap around the "Spider" in the center. That picture up above are the wheels I got.

Not a whole lot is really involved in the transition... Just swapping out steering knuckles, booster/master cyl, adding a prop valve, and re-routing a few lines. If it weren't for the fact that I was planning on replacing all my control arm bushings and such while I've got it all apart, it could probably be done in one afternoon. I'm not going to be punching holes in anything. Without the knowledge that '66's only had drums, it should be impossible to tell it wasn't original. And everything will be un-doable if I ever feel the need to put my life in danger.

I realize we all have different opinions on our beloved projects, I've been poked at a few times myself for being a stickler for orriginality. This is the biggest change I plan to make on the car, and it is, in my opinion, an absolute must.

[xgecko]

Mike,

I had a 1967 Delta 88 with drum brakes. Dude in an Audi 4000 pulled out in front of me and stopped in a panic after he saw more than 2 tons of Detroit Steel bearing down on him at 35 MPH.

I slammed on the brakes. The response was less than stellar, and they did their best to slow me down but I was still going about 15 MPH when I slammed into him. The brakes were in perfect working order but simply did not have what it takes to control such a heavy car.

After this I will never, under any circumstances, drive a car with drum brakes any longer than I have to in order to get it to my shop. I strongly support Twilight's choice to update his 66; if he were driving around here I would feel much safer with disks on his car.

I have gone so far as to update my 69 with Hydroboost - primarily due to the aggressive cam I installed but after using them I will update any car I ever get in the future such as my 68 and the Riviera I am planning to buy eventually as well as any other late 60s or early 70s Oldsmobiles I end up with. The difference in braking performance is astonishing. Hydroboost takes braking performance to even higher levels, and that is never a bad thing. Next up for me is to convert the rear drums to disks.

Your driving patterns, goals and needs no doubt differ considerably than mine, and you may be just fine with drums. After my experience I will never accept them again.

[Twilight Fenrir]

Well, since i've got this great big pile of parts anyway, is there any particular reason I can't use some now?

Specifically, can I put my new booster/mc on, so that I don't have to worry about loosing all my brakes if I get a fluid leak? Maybe throw my prop valve on there to improve straight-line braking? Or will the fact that the prop valve is for disc in front make this impossible?

[xgecko]

Not clear on what you are asking here... are you thinking of leaving the drum brakes on it? I personally, as you can see from my post above, would not hesitate to update the brakes to Disk for a variety of reasons.

That said, I doubt you can use the prop valve and those parts for the drum brakes, but the MC and Power Booster might work although I am not certain of this. I again suggest it much better to replace the drums...

[Twilight Fenrir]

Not clear on what you are asking here... are you thinking of leaving the drum brakes on it? I personally, as you can see from my post above, would not hesitate to update the brakes to Disk for a variety of reasons.

That said, I doubt you can use the prop valve and those parts for the drum brakes, but the MC and Power Booster might work although I am not certain of this. I again suggest it much better to replace the drums...

I'm talking for the time being... I plan to tear my front end up this winter. But, that single reservoir scares me, and I wonder if I can replace just this, untill I replace the rest. It would take an hour max to throw on a booster. And would give me a huge peace of mind.