The 'Maverick' Classic Porsche Forum and Classic Porsche Club for Porsche 356, Aircooled Porsche 911, Porsche 912, Porsche 914 & Porsche Replicas. 'We join for the cars but stay for the people'
I'm thinking of having some work done on my car next month while it's off the road for winter. Top of my list is to get the brakes converted to dual circuit. However, I'm also hoping to get the engine re-built next year (assuming that fat fingered thieving barsteward Gordon Brown actually leaves me some money after he has taxed the life out of everything I work for....phew,anyway... ), so back to the plot...my question is this:
If I have the engine re-built to, say, max of 90-100bhp then would the drum brakes be good enough, or should I also be thinking of having disc brakes? In which case there is no point spending money on dual circuit now....
TIA
Simon Moore
1958 356A
1978 Aston Martin V8
1988 Jaguar XJS 3.6 manual
1959 Lambretta Li125
if the police wasn't a car that we want to restore to as it was originally then i would definatly be upgrading its brakes.
although the drums are suprisingly good and you get used to using them. for piece of mind in modern traffic, discs are better. my 356c after Andy had upgraded it would (imho) have been dangerous if it hadn't had good disc brakes.
so i guess the answer is it depends on a) how much you are going to use the car b) how "original" you want to keep it.
member#1182
Currently Porscheless but on the look out for my 30th
Porsche Standard Drums in perfect condition are the same as Porsche Standard Discs in perfect condition
When Discs come into their own is in a constant use situation - Drums cannot get rid of the heat as well as Discs
So Racing or Mountain work - discs everytime
Dual system - YES
You are talking to someone who entered Gallows Corner roundabout, in the rush hour at 30 mph, with no brakes on one occasion when a brake pipe failed ---------- VERY exciting
I haven't driven a 356 with disc brakes but I'm pretty happy with the drums on mine.... 1600s with big bore... but I am definitely thinking of going for a dual circuit conversion at some point... as an aside I picked up a replacement rev counter the other day which had an extra warning light... so I have main beam, indicators and one other (red)... I'm planning to wire this up as a brake level warning light which would mean I get notice of when I need to find the handbrake and change my pants....
Spend the money on some solvol autosol and polish the drums, they look fantastic when shiny! True, as Mike says, drums though have to be in excellent order and I must say have thought about dual circuit myself for safety.
i fitted the german csp dual circuit master cylinder and wide-5 disc brakes to the pops 356 B and I'd heartily recommend the conversion. the pedal feel is strong yet very progressive, with plenty of bite when it counts (and no wobbles!). I took off a perfectly good, overhauled set of o/e brakes (relined, new cylinders etc) for the discs, and it was definitely an improvement. also, other people have commented on the nice 'feel' when they've driven it, which is always a nice confirmation!
but they also do a vented kit for the more performance minded. oh, and they fit behind the stock wheels with no offset problems etc.
i have pics of the fitting if anyone is interested - i keep meaning to lay it out as a 'how-to' as it's one of the best mods we've made to that car (that and the subtle lowering )
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I went dual circuit - easy kit from Al Zim, I think.
Not at all difficult to do yourself.
Drums are fine although as Mike says can fade a bit with prolonged use!
I usually stick to 80 ish if conditions are good - not had any problems. Have locked front wheels briefly at about 50 when some to55er pulled out on me in France.
Cheers
Steve
'72 911T - 212 BHP 2.7, on PMO's
'62 RHD T6 B outlaw
'71 Alfa GT Veloce 2000
1929 Indian 101 'bobber' project.
'40 Indian Sport Scout bobber
VW T5
!920's Racing Cycle
1920's Premier cycle
A few vintage Heuers
Hi All,
I agree as far as there is nothing wrong or inadequate with drum brakes when they are in good nick, one issue which can encourage fade is over enthusiastic adjustment that is to say the shoes are not backed off far enough from the drum so when everything gets a bit warm and expands they start to rub and get warmer still and rub more and get warmer still..... you get the picture , I would suggest at least six clicks from a "locked" drum up to ten for the Fangio's amongst us , sadly drums are expensive to replace and can suffer badly from wear and corrosion after fifty or so years service but to convert to either a "C" or one of the after market wide five disc kits intended for VW's is not cheap either , as far as dual circuit is concerned its a good idea if carried out in conjunction with a complete check over of all the pipes and if you don't know how old the flexi's are stick a new set on, they are cheap in comparison to thre brain damage they can cause, as far as how effective dual circuit brakes are if a circuit should fail, and if you have done a decent job it should not, the answer is not very but better than nothing, Lastly one big advantage "C" brakes do have is that they are cheap and easy to fix , Bill.
I am a person of simple pleasures so if you don't have any simple pleasures to offer me, beer, pizza or Porsche bits etc kindly leave me be, XX.
Hi,
I also bought the CSP front and rear disk kit for my roadster.
Put only the front because we are building a new engine and making the swap this winter, rebuilding the gearbox and putting brake rear disk at that time.
How did you lower it? can't seem to find any thread for a T6
-Macs speed shop-
V dubs and Porsche tubs
87 924S (Now dead or is it?)
62 356 (Working on it!)
66 912 (Sadly gone - but have you seen the price of it!!)
Apal speedster (Sadly gone)
BSA Bantam in bits
A35 Race car in the making (peanutracing)
i just extended the stock adjuster slot with careful use of a die grinder with a thin cutting disc (the 2" type) and a chisel/file (essentially just like they used to do on the track, back in the days!) it's essentially more like a vw-style sway-a-way adjuster now, the slot has more adjustement than stock, giving an extra 2"-ish of drop. it goes down about another inch at the front, but any more than the current height causes the tyres to catch when pulling off the driveway!
here's a picture (sorry about the grease - i should have cleaned it before rather than after!) - the crude arrow shows the extended travel
you have to be careful not to damage the central sleeve, but by rotating the wheels you can make sure the bolt is out of the way while you cut.
i also fitted shorter oil dampers and the ride and handling is really nice now.
), so back to the plot...my question is this:
