How to stop a pink elephant, brakes.

Starting the 354 hemi was one of the first orders of business when I began work on this classy Mopar. However before I could test drive it the brakes needed inspection and adjustment. Technology has certainly come a long way since 1956. These two-cylinder per wheel drum brakes are about as sketchy as I would want to have on a 5000 lb vehicle in traffic. I was able to rebuild the brakes at all four wheels. But after a few test drives the search was on to upgrade the system to front disc brakes. I found a kit on the internet allowing me to use their fabricated plate to mount rotors on the front and a list of parts for the rotors, calipers, hoses, proportioning valve. The instructions call for grinding off a small nub on the calipers as seen in the photo below. The fabricator also supplies a modified master cylinder. Fitment of the master cylinder is the only weak link of this system. It is mounted under the stock brake booster. the lid is now secured with two small allen head screws. These screws are difficult to reach and replace making checking and refilling brake fluid much more difficult than normal. As long as the system doesn't leak it wont be a problem. The brakes are certainly much, much better than stock. Well worth the effort.