best way to upgrade?

what would you say is the best way to modrenize the brakes on on '62 econo? i have all drums and a single master. any ideas would be appreciated thanks!

Front discs and a dual reservoir master cylinder would be a big improvement. Several ways to go depending on your budget and abilities. You can bolt a 67 dual reservoir master cylinder, pedal and brake switch in. If using front discs you will have to change the residual valve to a 2 lb for the front. A good core and pedal is $150.00-200.00, then you will have to have it sleeved and rebuilt, another $150.00.
Another option is to use a Wilwood remote reservoir master cylinder and purchase the adapter bracket, this cost a bit more than the 67 master cylinder. You can also use a 77 Maverick manual disc brake master cylinder and either buy or make an adapter, by far the least expensive.
For the front discs you have a few choices.
You can purchase a bolt on kit from D & D brakes. You can also get a template from Roger Mingle and fabricate a caliper mounting bracket to use Chevy calipers and Dodge Intrepid rotors. TMS also sells a kit or you can modify AMC caliper brackets use AMC calipers and 2001 Mustang rotors. The last method is what I have done on most of mine.

Fred

thank you for the response. there is a large pick and pull nearby. the brakes seem alright but i am going to do something with them. i lost my brakes in a '65 polara one time going down boucherie rd with my whole family in the car. same type of brakes. i fixed that with the system out of a '77 dodge aspen. dual resevoir, and so on. any way thanks again and i'll look into that. steve

I would go for the D&D front disc brakes. You really don't need a dual bowl reservoir, just a 2 pound residual valve located as close to each wheel as possible. I had disc brakes front (D&D)and rear (Wilwood) and used my stock single bowl master cylinder with no problems at all.

thanks for the reply, i will source those D&D brakes and check into. it thank you

Ok,1st, Fred meant TSM not TSM. All Fred's choices are good ones but theres a new option as of today also. D and D now has a new conversion bracket that just flat out rocks,plain and simple. It uses a modern day dual master thats cheap and available everywhere. The bracket is top quality and its set up for a remote fill eliminating the need to pull the mat or carpet up to fill it. Chris took pics of it today so Im sure he will post it soon. Dennis at D and D also unveiled it today at Econo Northwest of the left coast while I had a sample model of it up at Baker's today along with a stock 61-66 style and pedal and a stock 67 with pedal. The D and D new version uses the stock 61-66 style pedal and pushrod and boot so it's very simple to install. All you need to supply is the remote reservoir and the lines to the master cylinder,D and D supplies the rest including a new mechanical brake light switch with attaching bracket to eliminate the old school pressure switch.

2nd,Mike,your single works just fine Im sure but the problem is what happens during a brake system failure. With a single chamber master cylinder,if any brake line fails or any wheel cylinder fails and you lose all the fluid,you are flat out screwed with zero braking ability. Having gone thru this recently,I can assure you it's not a good feeling. Fortunately for me it happened in my driveway and not out in traffic. With a dual master and a system failure,you will at least have either front or rear brakes,depending on which brakes (front or rear) have the leak. AT least you have some stopping ability. With as much money as you have tied up in your van I cant believe you dont have a dual system in it. If not for the money,upgrade to a dual for your own and your family's safety or for others you may accidentally plow into. How much is your or someone elses life worth? We sure dont wanna lose you mike:-)
By the way,I dont make a dime off of the D and D dual master bracket promoting. I just know a good product when I see one.

I have had that happen and you are right it is not a good feeling. I sold Vanishing Breed last year so I don't have to worry about it anyway. I am sticking with drum brakes for the 65 at least for now. May change my mind down the road though especially now that Dennis has that new set up. He told me last year he was working on it and would let me know when he had it perfected.

Wow I had no idea you sold Vanishing Breed. Where is it now?

so i went with the set up from dennis, should be a few weeks in the making but i'll post some pics of the install when its all done and over. thanks everyone for the advice, talk to you later.

Hmmm, I wrote "Ok,1st, Fred meant TSM not TSM" That doesnt make much senese does it? Fred had previously written TMS,hope that clarifies it better. Just a typo on Fred's part,then again on mine:-)

fmc56 wrote:Front discs and a dual reservoir master cylinder would be a big improvement. Several ways to go depending on your budget and abilities. You can bolt a 67 dual reservoir master cylinder, pedal and brake switch in. If using front discs you will have to change the residual valve to a 2 lb for the front. A good core and pedal is $150.00-200.00, then you will have to have it sleeved and rebuilt, another $150.00.
Another option is to use a Wilwood remote reservoir master cylinder and purchase the adapter bracket, this cost a bit more than the 67 master cylinder. You can also use a 77 Maverick manual disc brake master cylinder and either buy or make an adapter, by far the least expensive.
For the front discs you have a few choices.
You can purchase a bolt on kit from D & D brakes. You can also get a template from Roger Mingle and fabricate a caliper mounting bracket to use Chevy calipers and Dodge Intrepid rotors." TSM" also sells a kit or you can modify AMC caliper brackets use AMC calipers and 2001 Mustang rotors. The last method is what I have done on most of mine.

Fred

Thanks Tim.

Fred, could you possibly bring an adapted AMC bracket to MidSouth with you? I'd like to see what is involved. I will be using the the relocation bracket that you came up with years ago (then I recreated it and thought I had something new, lol). This will allow me to use a booster for power brakes (like on my 64 ChevyVan). Looking forward to meeting you in Sept!

Later,
Rip