Topic: disc brakes

[old47]

i have a 1947 dodge pickup rat rod. i have drums on the front as of now! this is the factory front axle. i have a 9" ford axle in the rear. but no brakes are on  it as of now. what i am wondering is if i need to put the drums on the back or disc. and if so what will fit that rearend. and what will fit the front axle.

[obama]

I would go with drums on the back, unless your going to change the front to disc. 85% of your stopping power comes from the front.  If you decide to go with disc at some time, your back will still be OK, and can be switched to disc after that. Problems between front and back can be addressed by a valve to reduce pressure to the rear.

[Greybeards Customs]

the easiest thing is just do drums on the rear if your fronts are functional if not then look into a disc set up . It all goes back to " how much do I want to spend " . Let us know which way you go

[old47]

hey guy's! !st of all i am very pleased to be here. I really would like to have disc all the way around. but as of right now i will settle on the drums. what year will fit . i do not know what year the 9" is. it has no front shocks and has the dreaded death wobble. very scary to drive. the back is springs and coil overs. the rear end does not have the braces put in yet for the torq. or torq arms. i have plans on doing a bag system, and found some good deals so far. thanks for all your help and advise. i will try to get pictures the next time i go to the shop.

[ratt71]

If you can get a measurement on the rear there is websites that can give you a real good idea what the rear is from to help figure out your brakes and as far as the front gos for switching to disc like they said its all in how much you wanna spend,if you have access to some spare parts you might b able to do it for under 100$ I put them on my 37 Plymouth by using gm metric hubs the inner wheel bearing was the same, I had a 1/2 inch spacer machined for behind the hub and went to a local bearing company for the outer wheel bearing. It took a little time and gas but was still a lot cheaper than the average 250$-300$ kits. Just a thought hope it helps

[old47]

cool!!! and thanks guy's. i will do the drum settup.