1969 Mustang Coupe

[JipJopJones]

Drums aren't that bad. People make them out to be WAY worse than they are. It can be a bit freaky in the wet if they catch you off gaurd, but I have manual drums all the way around on my truck and it still stops fine. (Plus no break dust on the rims!!! )

[Clegko]

Originally Posted by JipJopJones

Drums aren't that bad. People make them out to be WAY worse than they are. It can be a bit freaky in the wet if they catch you off gaurd, but I have manual drums all the way around on my truck and it still stops fine. (Plus no break dust on the rims!!! )

The only time i've had problems with 4 wheel drum brakes is if you, for some reason, have to do either multiple panic stops (IE: On the highway in a short amount of time) or on the snow/ice. Though, that last one could very well by my own fault, as i've never really had to drive a car with 4 wheel drums before an ice storm hit 2 days after my DD died.

ANYWAY, back on topic. As for mufflers, may I suggest some simple (and cheap) glass packs? Friend of mine had a '68 Stang with the 302 in it and a set of Cherry Bomb glass packs on it, and it sounded fantastic. Even at highway speeds, it was comfortable. Not too loud, but loud enough that you could hear a mild burble. WOT was a bit... overwhelming, however.

[Spectre]

Drum brakes also suck if you have to go through water that's axle deep or more - you have no brakes until the drums drain out.

[Nabster]

The drum brakes are fine. They are very easily capable of exceeding the traction of the tires on the road. The driving I do doesn't require heavy braking, so they are just fine for the car. Years down the line when I go through and update the suspension and steering they'll get upgraded to discs anyway.

As far as the mufflers, when I get those switched, they'll either be Flowmatser 50's or Magnaflows. I do not want glasspacks (although mother has mentioned more than once "Let's get some Cherry Bombs on it"). It sounds now like it has 3 times as much power as it does, so I'll be fixing that next year.

And for recent developments, I'm putting out feelers for a full engine rebuild, the shop I'm probably going with now is saying they can easily get it to 290+ HP at the wheels while keeping it fairly stock and not doing any crazy modifications (original factory rating was 220 HP crank). Sounds good to me.