I am restoring a 67 vert with non power 4 wheel drums. I was wondering if anyone has experience with Stainless Steel Brake Company. They sell drum to power disc conversion kits through Jegs and Classic industries. The complete kit seems to have everything. Is this the way to go? Does anyone have suggestions? Do you recommend changing the rear to disc also? Is it necessary? Please let me know.
Thanks in advance.
Mike

I went with this company instead after hearing all the negative things about SSBC:

http://mattsclassicbowties.com/

Click on "Disc brake kits" on the left, 67-69 Camaro/Firebird, disc brake conversions. I just ordered my kit. I went with the 11" Booster, stainless flex lines, front/rear disc conversion, and new hard lines. They seem to be the cheapest kit around using pretty much stock GM parts. So replacing pads and rotors shouldn't be an ordeal.

Thanks I will check them out. I never would have found them. What kind of negative things have you heard aboput SSBC? Did you order the rears also? 11" Do you have the 14X7 stock wheels?

Converting to rear discs isn't really necessary unless you want it, most of your stopping power comes from the front brakes anyway.

If you do some searching on the net and look around the junkyards some you can put together a complete front disc set-up for a fraction of the price of the aftermarket kits.

Thanks CT,
I will probably go with a new set up. I am so far into it anyway $$ why stop now.
I would be interested in anybodys experiences with SS Brake Co or others.
Mike

Mike , looks like you do not belong to the L list??!
There`s been alot of discussion on the L list about SSBC, even one of the SSBC staff has been posting on the list...several people have stopping problems, seems to be a master cylinder problem.. .you may want to join the list
web page ,post your question there , since I have not followed it closely , just noted the complaints

Hi,
I followed your link but I couldn't find the section you were talking about! Can you be more specific? Thanks,
Mike

if you find the link, go down the page about 50% to 2/3, you`ll see 4 RED text areas , "to subscribe" etc...the regular subscription is email as they happen...its a LOT! if you want the "digest" version , I`m on it,comes once,twice a day, sign up under "for reduced amount"......then when you sign up on that you`ll get it next day...thats when you are on the "L" list, thats where you can ask...

Several members of this site and the PY site have installed and tested the SSBC kit and feel that the power booster they supply is way too small.

I archive the mailing list (in Digest Form). If you want I can email you all the ones relevant about the SSBC problem.

it looked to me like a combination of too small a booster, with a master which is volume/split for a different system.
seemed like either an 11" booster or the correct master could overcome the fault of the other.

I will be doing some pressure testing on different 1.125" and 1" masters this spring.

Their manual brake kit should work ok, because they use a master which is smaller than the pedal ratio calls for. I cant see it working as well on a 70+ though. Guess I'll find out.

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I archive the mailing list (in Digest Form). If you want I can email you all the ones relevant about the SSBC problem.

--------------------
G.J.</font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Hey GJ,
If you can do that it would be great. I appreciate your time.
Thanks,
Mike

Mike,

I've been following a the comments on camaros.net because there are many common features between the bird and the camaro. There was quite a bit of discussion there concerning the SSBC brake kits. The rear parking brake doesn't install and work correctly for that kit. Those who have it working had to modify it to make it work. Each new purchaser complaining to SSBC is greated by tech support as though they are the first and only person ever to experience a problem.

Then, add to these Camaro SSBC customer's comments that there were a number of folks on the firstgenfirebird email list who installed the ssbc system and found it didn't give them good stopping power, it's hard to justify buying their kit. When one buys a kit, one expects the parts have been engineered to a working solution for their specific application.

SSBC never provided their customers a remedy for the brake problem. It was the other way around with customers telling ssbc what the remedy was. I don't know that this ever got incorporated into the SSBC product line. The pattern of customer support seems to leave you with the same level of support you get by pulling random parts from junkers and hanging it all together.

Brake choices are more complex if you don't want to increase wheel size. Then the choices become more limited. Wheels don't fit over the caliper assemblies from later model GM cars where the disc is larger, caliper larger and wheel offset different. Later generation Firebird brakes don't seem to swap in either.

I am still looking for the answer to the brake dilemma for my car. The drum brakes on my new 68 bird faded on the third stop and alternately pulled to one side or the other during high speed stops. In fact, with those brakes, you had to release them a second so they would hold again. You could stop faster by doing that then just pressing harder. The third stop from 45 to zero faded them pretty badly. Of course, back then, other cars had similar brakes. Mixed in with today's traffic, you need better brakes or you need to drive accordingly.

I've looked at the Corvette brake kits. There are kits with the c4 or c5 vette brakes. You can also buy the corvette parts from a gm dealer or online seller. Your wheel hubs need to be turned down at a machine shop to fit through the center of the rotors, but otherwise they go in pretty well. The trouble seems to be wheel fitment problems with even 16" and larger wheels for some brake kits. It is an interference issue between the caliper and the wheel that causes problems.

With the ssbc kit, the issue seems to be an improperly specified master cylinder. You could buy the kit and swap this part out with the one folks here found worked okay.

I've had disc front/drum rears on an Impala (B body?) and they were significantly better behaved than the bird's brakes but they don't compare to the newer ABS stuff. So, it's your call. I think the disc/drum is an okay setup. The four wheel kit costs quite a bit more. Many of the four wheel setups don't have the parking brake setup worked out correctly. Whatever you buy, be sure to get templates for them to check if your planned wheels will fit.

I'm wondering if the more expensive products like Wilwood or Baer have a better out of the box "bolt up and forget it" performance.

Maybe someone here has spent the extra $$ and knows?

all this tells me it is better to leave things alone and leave it the way it came from the factory.even my cars with 4 wheel drum stop good

That's why i moved to a city with less stop and go traffic,well not really LOL four wheel non power drums are cool,as long as i can drive my bird once again! Then i start thinking disc upgrades. Hmmmmmmm :)good stuff to read up on here.

David

unless you plan on racing your bird full time you can get by with plain power drum brakes.it is alot cheaper to convert to power drum than 4 wheel power disc.think of all the other inprovements you can make with the savings

one of the first things i did to my car was a front drum to disc conversion( came w/ new booster,prop. valve, and master cyl as well). replaced all the brake lines, and replaced the rear two wheel cylinders.
the best money i have invested into the car !!! the way i look at it, what good does it do, to put the money into the car to go fast, if you can't stop it. safety first here.
the total cost was under 1200. including the front end allignment you will need, down to the brake fluid.
http://mattsclassicbowties.com/en-us/dept_48.html

A properly working four wheel drum setup is safer than a botched disc install with master cylinder issues. So there is a lot of sense in what Terry says here. Of course this applies to leaving the stock wheel size in place too. If you change to larger circumerance wheels, you put more work on the original brake system than it was designed to take.

If you install a new system, you need to be absolutely sure you have it properly balanced front to rear. You also need to be sure you have plenty of pedal left with a new configuration.

The original brake lines on a 37 year old car should be replaced. Brake fluid retains water that causes the lines to rot from the inside. They become very brittle, even if not rusted. Brake fluid is one of he most neglected maintenance items on a car. Loss of pedal is not something you want to find by accident.

Thanks everybody for your suggestions. The fact that the kits being sold aren't 100% confuses me and makes the decision harder. Safety is my first concern. I am not racing but with 350+ horsepower, I may cheat a bit here and there. Has anyone done or recommend the Conversion to power brakes with the original drum setup as 69 firebirdman suggested? Other than that I may look into the Matts classic bow tie as Flynnstone suggested. (I assume that rebuilt calipers are ok?) Or I may look at wildwood or Baer as firebird - red suggested.
Thanks again,
Mike

The bowtie kit looks like a good price. Hard to beat by much unless you use used spindles and bend your own lines. Looks like it could be the same master SSBC uses, but with the big booster. I wonder what application the new Delco valve is made for and what its specs are.

I'd be interested to hear how the install goes. Did you finish yours Flynstone? Any pics on the way?