Question. What are you using for a pedal assembly? I want to put disc brakes all around and I know that the stock assembly is designed for drum. If you are using the stock assembly is it enough for disc brakes? Is anyone using hydraulic clutches? Thanks.
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A late model dual master will work with Ghia front disc and most aftermarket rear. Personally you don't need rear disc, most of your braking is done by the front brakes. And by using stock Ghia disc you won't have any problems getting parts years from now. That can't be said for aftermarket parts.
The problem I have with drums is that they require periodic adjustment, which took me quite a while to get the hang of. Disks, on the other hand, don't require adjustment.
Lane Anderson posted:The problem I have with drums is that they require periodic adjustment, which took me quite a while to get the hang of. Disks, on the other hand, don't require adjustment.
So do solid lifters.
Uh... We're talking brakes. Or am I missing something? (entirely possible)
OK, let me paraphrase for you:
The problem I have with solid lifters is that they require periodic adjustment, which took me quite a while to get the hang of. Disks, on the other hand, don't require adjustment.
Of course, neither of those have little brass thingies.
Must be that Southern heat.......
Yeah that, um, helps a lot there, Gordon. 
Must be a "Glenn and Gordon" kind of thing......
So Rod; On the brakes.... As Glenn states, just get a master cylinder for say, a 1974+ Superbeetle and run 1971-ish Ghia disks on the front with drums on the rear.
If you MUST have disks all around, call the folks at Bug City in Bristol, CT, and tell them what you're running (what make and model calipers all around) and I'm sure they'll have a suitable master cylinder for you. Bear in mind that not many of us are running rear disk brakes and we seem to be doing OK.
Actually you want a Standard Beetle master since i assume your cars are built on a Standard Beetle pan. Super masters are different.
My point about adjusting brakes is they're not the only thing that needs periodic adjustment. Valve lash, points, ignition timing and air pressure all need to be checked and adjusted. After all, we're driving cars designed in the 1930s.
Just a note- Most rear disc brake kits add 5/8" or so track to each side, so if tire clearance to the rear fenders is anywhere tight at the moment you might have problems. If your car is a swingaxle, you'll have to figure out if the car has short (early to '66, 26 11/16") , medium ('67 only- 27 13/16") or long ('68 and newer- 28 7/16") axles and tubes installed. Irs trailing arms can also be narrowed 1", so there are ways around the increased offset.
If you have early (wide 5) rear drums they can be machined 1/4" deeper to use the later brake shoes, which will help braking as well (if you're interested in this conversion I'll look up the info). As has been mentioned, Ghia front discs and beetle rear drums and shoes are more than adequate, unless you really like to push the car hard.
That's all I can think of for now. Al
I'm fine with the other adjustments, but brakes eluded me for a while.
Thanks guys. I will go with the disk up front and drums in the rear. I hope to start my build in a couple of months.
Lane Anderson posted:The problem I have with drums is that they require periodic adjustment, which took me quite a while to get the hang of. Disks, on the other hand, don't require adjustment.
I'll second that. 
One of the first upgrades I did on my VS was to replace the rear drum brakes. As I recall all went smoothly except for the E Brake cable. Took multiple over time adjustments to get it to work properly. I already had to 67 + dual mode master cylinder and that was all that was required.
I was mostly concerned about stopping before I started the projects to go faster.
