Ok I have a 76 maverick parts car that has all the power options and 71 maverick I'm restoring. The manual steering doesn't seem bad & the manual drum brakes are not the greatest but their not working properly ether and I would assume after upgrading them to disc brakes that would be a considerable improvement. My question is would the power brakes and steering give improvements worth upgrading to? Thx Jim
how much are you going to drive the car and how much time/knowledge and money do you have to do the swaps? I have manual disc brakes and manual steering. I've been across 28 different states in it and love the way it handles.
It's all a matter of preference. I am content with my non-power disc/drum brakes, but power is nice too. In any case, upgrading from front drums to front disc is definitely worth it.
I'll have the time, my work season ends next month for about 3 months. I'm pretty confident I can do swop. It sound like your pretty content with the manual steering and disc brakes & I'm glade to hear that, that will Give the engine compartment a much cleaner look and less work for me to do, if I go that route. Thx for your input.
IMO, four wheel drum brakes are an accident waiting to happen, especially at highway speeds or with a high HP engine. I've owned a 69 Mach 1 and a Maverick, both of which had drum brakes all around. Stopping was mediocre when they were cold and very difficult when they were hot (both feet on the brake pedal at times). Just adding discs to the front makes a HUGE difference in stopping ability and resistance to fade when they are hot. Power boost is nice, but not mandatory on these cars. It is a matter of how much you value your life and that of your passengers.
parking lots are the worst for manual steering, highways are the best. if you take your maverick to the grocery store more than not then i would suggest the power steering. if you take it just to car shows then i guess the engine compartment will look cleaner without it.
I agree with everything you said except the part about "a high HP engine". Brakes couldn't care less how much horsepower your engine has. A stop from 100mph is no different with a 500 horsepower engine than it is with a 150 horsepower engine.
Agreed however, people with serious HP make many more hard stops from 100 MPH than do stockers. That is where I was coming from. When I bracket raced back in the 70's, my drum brakes faded into uselessness after one hard stop.
The drums on my maverick pull to the left but in defense in drum brakes my 46 ratrod has drum brakes and work great and brake straight.
Drum brakes are regularly belittled here but the truth is, if in good condition they'll stop similarly to disc(at least once, no they don't like heat)... They won't pull either occasionally or continually unless front end has issues, are badly out of adjustment, been wet with grease or brake fluid(bad wheel cylinder)... Water will basically render them useless, at least till you ride them long enough to dry... Yes compared to a modern disc, they are high maintenance and more complex... Seven of the six drivers I owned 40+ years ago had drums, unless wet or worn, never had a issue with any of those cars... Yep I've seen people ride then down mountains/big hills and burn them to a crisp(discs as well), but if one down shifts before heavy usage is required, descending is not a issue... Yeah I've come down in 1st gear several times...
