Driving Classic Cars is fun, but stopping Classic Cars can be a little less fun. Allot of Classic and Vintage cars have four wheel drum brakes which can easily overheat from overuse and don't stop the best in even the most ideal circumstances. It wasn't until later years that car manufacturers started to at least provide disc brakes in the front, which significantly increased their stopping power and made them much safer to drive. However through advances in technology, discs have come along way. No longer are they solid but now there are cross drilled and slotted discs available not to mention larger discs available. The larger the disc the more surface area the brake pads can use and this means the faster your car stops. By using crossed drilled and slotted discs you cool the discs down faster and as I'm sure most drivers of Classic Cars know if your discs or drums are hot they don't work as well and on occassion stop working all together, unfortunately this usually happens when you finish cruising down a large mountain.
When clients come to Valigrunt with front discs that have thinned over time we recommend they do what we have done to our own classics and upgrade their systems to incorporate cross drilled and slotted discs in front or if they wish to keep the car more original go for some custom made ventilated drums, same as what Shane runs in his 56 Pontiac. Of course if you are substantially increasing the horsepower of your motor it is imperative that you proportionatley increase the stopping power of your car, the faster it goes the faster it should stop too. In extreme cases like this, full front and rear disc brake systems can be ordered and fitted to your Classic. So whether your choice is Ford, Chevrolet, Pontiac, Buick, Chrysler, Cadillac or any other number of older cruisers have a good look at your braking system and know that there are safer options out there to keep yourself and your pride and joy on the road.
