Mopar Muscle Car
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Article: Tom Flessner’s ’71 Plymouth Fury Magazine: Hot Rod (November 2001) SSBC product: Standard front drum to disc brake conversion kit A154 and standard rear drum to disc brake conversion kit A155 |
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| Q&A With The Owner What was the single best improvement you made to this car and why was it the best? Hands down, the brake upgrade. The four-wheel 11-inch drums it came with were probably great in 1971, but it was the stuff nightmares are made from when commuting here in SoCal. White knuckles would be an understatement. I tried everything: new drums, linings, springs, wheel cylinders, master cylinder, and I almost put it under a dump truck on the 55 freeway one morning. I came home, called Stainless Steel Brakes, and ordered a four-wheel-disc conversion. The four-wheel discs changed how I drive it; my life with the Fury changed from an episode of Fear Factor to honking along at 70 or so and getting on the brakes, finding myself stopped about 60 feet from what would have been under a truck. My dad always said that tires and brakes are all you’ve got when things get tough out on the road. Thanks, Dad. |
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Article: What's Stopping You? Magazine: Hot Rod (June 2000) SSBC product: Standard front drum to disc brake conversion kit A154 and standard rear drum to disc brake conversion kit A155 |
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| Stainless Brakes for Your C-Body Mopar Can you imagine a panic-stop in a 4,100-pound, four-wheel-drum Mopar C-body from highway speeds? Better hope your insurance is paid up. Mother Mopar was among the last of the car companies to realize that disc brakes should be standard equipment; as a result, bum brakes make plenty of potent machinery all the scarier... As measured with the G-Tech meter, our "before" 60-0 distance was a miserable 230 feet (we later discovered heat-cracked shoes on the year-old brake job). Additionally, it acted like a dancer at your favorite go-go bar: butt up and shakin' it side to side... also, watch out for skid marks. The rears locked up if you so much as considered applying the pedal. To be fair, our numbers reflected the second hard consecutive stop for the stock 11x3 drums, but this simply illustrates a point about their repeatability, or lack thereof. With Stainless Steel's four-wheel disc system in place, our Fury stops cold in 135 feet flat, and will repeat those numbers all day long. That's five and a half car-lengths' improvement--assuming a car-length of the C-body's 18-foot size. Furthermore, the rear discs help apply more clamping force to the rear of the car, helping to minimize brake dive. |
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Article: A Binding Proposition Magazine: Mopar Muscle (February 2007) SSBC product: Standard front drum to disc brake kit A153 |
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| Econo disc brakes the right way Stopping a car is overrated, right? I mean, all we need to care about is making our cars go faster... When the average speed in the U.S. during the early- to mid-'60s was approximately 35 mph, it may have been sufficient. Now, however, the inadequacy of the early braking systems is downright scary during freeway jaunts in traffic or busy downtown areas... Sure, you can go to a salvage yard or swap meet and hope to find all the parts necessary, but... Sometimes, all you really end up with is a pair of expensive spindles because everything else is only usable as a core... The owner of our test car is more than happy she no longer needs to plan to stop a mile in advance. She also knows the car will go straight when she hits the pedal instead of violently darting to the right. All-in-all, a good investment of money and a day's work ... click here for the rest of the article |
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Article: Stopping The Titanic Magazine: Mopar Muscle (May 2006) SSBC product: Rear disc brake conversion kit A155 |
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| Getting your C-body stopped with Stainless Steel Brakes' rear disc conversion Our parts arrived quickly, and we were impressed with their quality. Our kit consisted of two 10.5-inch vented rotors, two cast-iron calipers with single 45mm pistons and built-in parking brake, dust shields, brake lines, adjustable proportioning valve, and all the hardware required to complete the installation... The new rear discs offer several advantages over the factory drum units. Of course, the biggest advantage disc brakes have over drums is greater stopping power. Even the modest 10.5-inch rotors and fairly small 45mm pistons in the calipers provided with our kit provide far greater stopping power than the 11x2.5-inch drum units they are replacing. The resulting reduced stopping distance, especially in a loaded vehicle, will definitely be noticeable... Stainless Steel Brakes continues its dedication to providing true bolt-in brake upgrade kits that are second to none in fit, finish, and performance. We're impressed with the products, and when this project gets back on the road, we're sure we'll be impressed with the performance as well ... click here for the rest of the article |
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Article: Bolt-On Brakes Magazine: Mopar Muscle (October 2002) SSBC product: Standard front kit A153 & standard rear kit A155. |
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| Upgrading to four-wheel discs with Stainless Steel Brakes' bolt-on kit We found that Stainless Steel Brakes Corporation (SSBC) offers bolt-in conversion kits to upgrade drum brakes to discs at either end. The promise of improved braking captivated our interest. We like the idea of retaining our original front spindles for an easy installation, as well as the double-drilled wheel bolt pattern, which would allow an upgrade from the Duster's small bolt pattern... With four wheel discs, the stops became controlled and predictable. Unlike single-purpose lightweight drag brakes, off the strip, the SSBC kit has the capacity and durability to deliver the goods under "performance street" duty. This was definitely the hope for our dual-purpose Duster. |
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Article: Stoppin' A Big One: C-Body Disc-Brake Conversion Magazine: Mopar Muscle (July 2001) SSBC product: Standard drum to disc brake converison kit A154 |
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| With Some Help From Stainless Steel Brakes, We Eliminate The Big Mopar "push And Pray" Syndrome Stainless Steel Brakes has been making quality brake parts for the aftermarket industry for years, and with their help, we decided to upgrade a C-monster for stopping. Emap’s Corvette Fever tech guy Andy Bolig provided his 383-powered ’66 Monoco for the project, proving that not all Chevy guys are useless. The overall installation of the Stainless Steel Brakes’ disc-conversion kit was basically a bolt-on project ... click here for the rest of the article |
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Article: Bringing It To A Halt: Disc Brake Installation Magazine: Mopar Muscle (October 2000) SSBC product: Standard front drum to disc brake conversion kit A156 and standard rear drum to disc brake conversion kit A155 |
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| Stainless Steel Brakes Gives Our Paddock Project Charger Some Much Needed Whoa To Go With Its Go Imagine this scenerio: You put lots of money and time into restoring your Mopar, and on the maiden voyage someone turns in front of you. You slam your foot on the brake pedal, but the car actually feels likes it’s going faster. Will you stop in time? Mike Paremski, who’s handling the Paddock Project Charger at his shop, Michael’s Auto Body in Winter Haven, Florida, had this exact thought. To ease his mind while driving the ’69 Charger, Mike decided a disc brake conversion was in order ... click here for the rest of the article |
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