Wilwood Disc Brake Conversion

The original 1967 front drum brakes are looking tired

If you’re planning on driving your classic car in modern traffic, the stock drum brakes have to go. Relying on 50 year old technology to stop a performance-built vehicle is a massive safety risk. Drum brakes lack the cooling capacity of discs, meaning that under hard or repeated braking, they can quickly “fade” into uselessness. To address this, we opted for a Wilwood 140-15272 front disc brake kit.

When it comes to braking upgrades, the front wheels are where you get the most “bang for your buck.” Since the front brakes handle the vast majority of the stopping load, upgrading them provides the most significant safety increase for the least amount of investment. While doing all four wheels would be great, not every budget allows for a full conversion, and for a street car, the front discs do the heavy lifting.

The new Wilwood rotor mounted and ready for the caliper.

The performance gains of a quality kit like Wilwood are immediate. You get a significantly firmer pedal feel and, more importantly, a car that stops in a straight line every single time. This specific kit was a smooth install because it came with its own lines and fittings.

Pro-Tip: Before you click “buy,” double check your kit number for compatibility with your specific spindles and wheel size. Most Wilwood kits require at least 15-inch wheels to clear the calipers. Additionally, when it comes time to bleed the lines, start at the wheel farthest from the master cylinder (rear passenger) and work your way in. If you aren’t 100% confident in your ability to upgrade the brakes or bleed a brake system properly, seek a professional.

Full assembly check. For this build, the stock master cylinder and proportioning valve were sufficient, but your setup may require an upgrade to balance the fluid demand.

The finished product: high-performance Wilwood calipers.

The result is a night-and-day difference in both safety and driver confidence. We did some testing after and the stopping power and distances were drastically reduced. If you’re still running four-wheel drums, do yourself a favor and at least swap the fronts.