C1 Drum Brake & single reservior Master Cylinder Safety

[Eric S.]

Aloha,

I was wondering how safe is original master cylinder and drum brakes for a daily driver?
In other words, how often should the master and wheel cylinders be overhauled to prevent leak?

Otherwise, I'll go the easy route disk/drum power booster master cylinder.

Thank you,
Eric

[Leif A.]

Re: C1 Drum Brake & single reservior Master Cylinder Safety

Eric,

Aloha!! Need to clarify a couple of things. You ask how safe is original master cylinder and drum brakes...if they are in fact "original" never been serviced I would say they are suicidal to drive, daily or otherwise. If you're asking is the original style master cylinder and drum brake system properly maintained is safe for daily driving, then my answer would be there is a small learning curve to adjust to the longer stopping distances of drum style brakes over a modern disc brake setup. Folks drove drum brake cars for years as daily drivers 50 years ago. IMHO, a disc brake conversion would be the safest route, but you didn't say how original you wanted to keep your C1. And, by the way, it'll cost you a fairly substantial amount of money for a quality conversion...Hawaii, No Ka Oi