Posted by Merrill Fish on January 06, 1999 at 14:19:51:
In Reply to: Hydra-vac vs. Disc brakes ? posted by Mike on January 06, 1999 at 09:36:18:
Mike,
A hydra(o)-vac is basically a booster for the pedal, so it does not take as much pressure on the pedal to realize the same amount of braking effort. It changes nothing at the wheels where all of the work (except, of course, the guy pushing the pedal) is going on, it just makes it easier for the guy.
Last forum, I believe it was #8, (or was it on the M37 forum?), I had several postings about a process for venting drum brakes, which looks promising to me, and I plan on trying to utilize it on my trucks, both of which are restorable, so I don't want to change or modernize them too much. The claim is that this process will improve the performance of drum brakes to nearly the same level as discs, at about half the cost of a full disc conversion. Of course, if you are not concerned about original condition restoration issues, and have the jingle, time, and skills to make the conversion, disc brakes are the only way to go. Contact me by E-mail if you are interrested in the info on the company that does the drum venting procedure.
M