I was just at the parts store picking up some new rear drums for the xB, and the young guy at the counter (whose first car was a ’62 Comet S-22) made a comment wondering about what was the last car sold in the US with front drum brakes. I could not pull a definitive answer out of my head (or ass), and I’m too busy to look it it up. So I’m going to let you answer it.
We’re talking about regular production cars, and we might want to separate passenger cars from light trucks. If you want to tell us about some obscure car being made in Kazakhstan that still has front drums, bring it on, for extra points.
GM’s X-body cars (Nova, Omega, Ventura, Apollo) came standard with front drums through the 1974 model year.
ditto
VW Beetle
That’s what I was going to say, but I’m just guessing. It was 1972 I bought a 1959 TR3 with front disc brakes and wondered why Americans took so long.
1974 model year Ford Mavericks and Mercury Comets had optional front wheel disc brakes, but the standard issue was 4-wheel drum brakes. Same situation on the Ford Pinto.
If we are talking about the US I’m going to say 1973 as it was due to laws changing. That is the last year you could get front drums on the American compacts and subcompacts. Dart, Maverick, Nova to name a few.
Oops guess that the Nova made it to 1974.
According to internet mythology, Novas (at least those made for the Mexican market) wouldn’t need brakes at all, so even outdated ones would give a solid level of redundancy.
Base Chrysler A bodies had drums to 76.
The relevant changes to the relevant regs took effect on 1 January 1976, in the middle of the 1976 model year. Front drums were still standard equipment on the Chrysler A-bodies (Dart, Valiant, Duster) in ’75 and in the first part of the ’76 model year; after 1/1/76 front discs were standard.
Nae idea about the US, but I’m convinced the last in the UK was the Fiat 126, from hazy memories of my 1989 Daily Express World Cars annual.
IIRC, there were a handful of cars with a sub 3 grand list price (GBP) which included the 2CV, Lada Riva 1200, FSO 125p, and the 126. Pretty sure they all had front discs except the Maluch.
As it was made in Poland by FSM maybe it falls into that Kazakh category.
“Put it in H, put it in H!”.
My hunch is that Plymouth Valium etal would be a contender.
Perhaps because the Valiums were designed to be driven at a sedate pace.
Hahaha! Nice one.
Ford’s brochure says 1976 Maverick front discs optional; for last-year 1977 the front discs are standard.
1976 Maverick brochure:
Are you sure the standard brakes weren’t non-power discs? Just curious.
Don’t you mean ” ’62 Comet S-22?”
Yes I did. But my fingers didn’t obey. Weird.
Part books are not a definitive answer, since the parts listed may only apply to Canadian or export models. With that in mind, Rock Auto shows front drums available for the following 6 cylinder models:
GM X body up to 1974
Maverick/Comet up to 1975
Dart/Valiant up to 1976
For imports, I’d say Jeffery Smith has it right:
Volkswagen Beetle up to 1977
I also checked the Checker Marathon, which appears to have gone to front discs in 1969.
I agree with Dave Skinner.
I would add AMC Hornet/Gremlin and Pacer up to 1975 or 76
And VW Rabbit up to 1975
Jeeps changed to front disk during model year 1976 (per the 1/1/76 legislation?)
And VW Rabbit up to 1975
I did a double look and thought it must be wrong. I looked at the Popular Mechanics car review from April 1975. The magazine stated on page 71 that the front disc brakes were standard.
https://books.google.de/books?id=9OEDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA70&lpg=PA70&dq=1975+volkswagen+rabbit+how+to+change+front+drum+brake+shoes&source=bl&ots=n4dCQi-K4_&sig=ACfU3U0YfKvXBOUu_LHU64MvX4OfdDIMng&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjizvCh3bLwAhWSG-wKHeZjBOIQ6AEwGnoECB8QAw#v=onepage&q&f=false
However, I did come across the eBay listing for front drum brake shoes.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/352661894680?fits=Model%3ARabbit%7CMake%3AVolkswagen&hash=item521c497618:g:ar8AAOSw07JgeKEz
The 1975 Base ($2999) Rabbit did have front drum brakes. And owners were not happy about them. Front discs became standard in ’76.
RockAuto’s online catalog is rife with incorrect info, so don’t rely on it ever.
Had to be 1969 on the Checker. Ours was a 1968, and it was drums all around. Fun times!
I too drove a 1968 Checker Marathon. Ours had non-power drum brakes. Sometimes I had to practically stand on the brake pedal to stop the car.
1985 Jeep DJ-5M was the last car with front drums, although many modern cars like the Toyota Tacoma, Scion iA, Honda Fit, Ford Focus still use rear drums.
https://driving.ca/features/feature-story/these-10-car-features-took-absolutely-forever-to-die
If we’re willing to cross Paul’s line of “regular production cars” drums lived on beyond the DJ.
VW beetles and transporters and Rabbits 🙂
US Type 2’s went to front disks in ’71. ’68–’70 (and maybe earlier) had twin leading shoe front drum brakes that worked fairly well.
I’m 99% sure VW didn’t even bother developing a front-drum setup for the Rabbit/Golf.
Beetle Convertibles were all-drum through ’79 which included new-car sales into 1980 since production of “1979” models was pushed up to the very end of the calendar year.
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/lit/79sbvert/back.jpg
At introduction VW sold an extremely stripped down version of the Rabbit so that they could advertise a $2999 starting price. Few were sold. In addition (subtraction?) to drum brakes, it had hardboard interior panels, 1 speed wipers, 1 speed heater, no rear defrost, and non-adjustable seat backs.
Has anybody seen this drum brake?
I wonder how the backing plate would bolt to the knuckle?
Would it be a drum brake specific knuckle, without the “ears” which mount the caliper?
How wide were the shoes/drums?
A rotor is practically in contact with knuckle, and less than an inch wide.
Going outboard brings up a clearance issue with the wheel.
Drum brake specific wheel?
I have the same ponderings about the mentioned K-Car drum brake.
Scroll up to see my response. There’s eBay listing for it, too.
The 1975 Base ($2999) Rabbit did indeed have front drum brakes. And owners were not happy about them. Front discs became standard in ’76.
Also had black painted bumpers, and no headliner on B and C pillars, only center roof section, no carpet, rubber floor covering only. The front drums were finned, they were really terrible brakes. No armrests either. Skinny cheap bias tires, I think they were 145-13 size instead of the 155-13 radials on all the other versions.
If we’re talking non-US, the Trabant had front drum brakes through the 2-stroke production, which ended in 1990.
For US market I would think the Beetle through 77 and the Rabbit through 76.
I doubt that many Rabbits were sold with drum front brakes, but you’re correct–disk brakes were optional.
Probably not many, no. I have come across one that originally had them, the owner was selling the drums and non power brake adapter as he had upgraded to discs. I don’t think anyone but the most hardcore Rabbit Swallowtail purist would keep the drums
The last car I ever drove with front drum brakes was a 1973 Dodge Dart Swinger. The brakes lacked power assistance so it’s probably not such a bad thing it had front drums.
My car had been completely restored mechanically so the brakes on all four corners were brand new and properly adjusted. In city driving it was just fine but I have never been a “hot” driver, so I don’t rely on brakes so much when I slow down.
It had been traded on one of the huge Mercury Cougar XR-7. A week later he came back for the Dart, and there was no way I was going to give it back.
I sold it to a girlfriend for $1200, a screaming deal even then. She then decided I had ripped her off because her other friends said $1200 was too much for a car that looked great, had a 1967 GT interior and drove perfectly.
I never saw or heard from her again.
I was definitely thinking it would have been the last of the ChryCo A-bodies. Looks like 1976 was the last year for drum brakes.
1975 Dodge Dart brochure: Listed under “Standard Specifications”. Brakes: 10″x2(some fraction)” drum (225 six)
1976 Dodge Dart (and Plymouth Valiant) brochure: Listed under “Standard Features”. BRAKES – Dual-braking system. Self-adjusting front disc-brakes with 8-cylinder engines.
The Super Beetle had drums all the way to 1979. Of course in most other markets, Beetles were available with disc brakes. The Transporters had disc brakes starting in the early 70s (72?) I think. My ’78 had them.
Front drum brakes are fine for one or maybe two hard stops. Beyond that without time to cool, every stop is a pucker moment. Mtn driving is fun. Especially without enough gears to gear down. 3 speed manual transmission for example.
Single circuit brake systems and drum brakes tried to kill me several times on my old Mustang. Drum brakes on my Beetle revealed their lack of ability to cool in heavy stop and go traffic.
Both reasons taught me that dual circuit brakes with four wheel discs was a worthwhile upgrade. Easy to forget how good the modern car really is compared to it’s antique cousins.
Joey21, What year Beetle?
I’ve read Beetles had “good brakes”, partly due to rear weight bias, rear brakes worked more.
In the early 1970s, our family car was a 1968 Beetle. A couple times a year, we’d make the 5 hour plus drive from Athens to Sparta to cover 240 km, 150 miles, car loaded with 4-5 people, roof rack loaded, winding mountain roads…Lots of turns, I would get carsick until I got older.
I always considered my father to be a good driver, but your comment makes me appreciate him more.
Today the trip takes less than 2.5 hours, as they’ve bridged and tunneled a terrific toll road.
@Tom ;
Beetles had very good brakes for their times, they stopped well from high speeds more than once but one was also expected to be a competent driver who knew how to use the gears to slow down on steeper hills .
I’ve always driven my Beetles close to flat out and often fully loaded, the only ones that I didn’t like the brakes on were the non U.S. standard models with mechanical cable brakes .
It’s a very simple thing t up grade any older Beetle to the 1965 > drum brakes, they’re much wider and stop far better .
Turning the brake drums is and was always a serious No-No because it made the drums too thin to properly dissipate heat causing heat fade and eventual failure .
Older truckers will remember “fanning” the brakes going down steep grades so they didn’t fade away completely when the drums got too hot and expanded .
VW designed front disc brakes for the Beetle in the 1967 model year but never put them on Beetles, only the Karmann Ghia .
Oddly enough the much heavier Typ III’s got front disc brakes in 1966 where they were badly needed .
-Nate
Agree on the Super Beetle convertible in ’79. Transporters got front disc brakes in ’71, along with brake booster.
In a 1971 road test of the Ford Pinto, Road & Track wrote, “Ford’s knuckles should be rapped for designing a new set of old-fashioned drum brakes. They were grabby … and could not be depended on to do the same thing every time.” They went on to say that the $32 price of front disks was reasonable, but they should have been standard equipment.
If we’re just going by cars, and not anything truck/SUV based, my vote is for the 1979 VW Super Beetle Convertible.
Last car I owned with front drums was a 1970 Vauxhall Viva HB – they worked fine as I remember.
On the domestic side of the ledger, the AMC Gremlin, Hornet and Pacer featured standard drum brakes through the 1976 model year.
I had a 76 Datsun up with drums all around. Worst braking system I have ever encountered. Quite often, I had to pump them to stop. It required manual adjustment. There was a rubber cap that I would pull off, I would use a screwdriver to click the “teeth: to tighten. My dad told me that he had to do the same think a 1940’s or 1950’s Ford he had.
I had a 76 Datsun up with drums all around. Worst braking system I have ever encountered. Quite often, I had to pump them to stop. It required manual adjustment. There was a rubber cap that I would pull off, I would use a screwdriver to click the “teeth: to tighten. My dad told me that he had to do the same think a 1940’s or 1950’s Ford he had.
Obscure cars you asked? My first thought was the Hindustan Ambassador, built until 2014, but most or all models (different sources say different things) received front discs in the early 2000’s. Pakistan’s Suzuki Mehran, built until 2019 idem dito. So I guess the winner is the Tata Nano. Until 2018 all drums, pretty sure about that.
The base model K-Car (Aries/Reliant) were sold in 1981 with front drums as standard. I’m not sure about after 1981 as we had an ’81 Aries with four-wheel drum brakes (plus 4-speed manual, 2.2L engine, with the AM/FM radio and light package as upgrades) for about 14 years (bought new).
According to the brochures, front disc brakes were standard on the 1981 Dodge Aries and Plymouth Reliant. The two- and four-door sedans had manual disc brakes as standard equipment, while the wagons featured power disc brakes as standard equipment.
Some great responses and information here. Off the top of my head with the question, I said “it’s gotta be something AMC”. 🙂 Considering that they were the poorest of the American companies in the 70’s when all those regulations happened, and the re-use of a lot of things like those door handles, I would have to think that if the legislation didn’t happen, that AMC would have otherwise been using front drum brakes all the way until Renault bought them out.
Much as I hated our family Rambler, I have to give AMC credit for being one of the 1st US automakers to offer dual-circuit master cylinder brakes as standard equipment. Yes, discs were optional, but their drum brakes were quite a bit safer than their competition until legislation forced other manufacturers to adopt similar systems.
AMC did offer front disc brakes as standard equipment beginning with the 1977 model year.
What about pickups and vans? They were usually years behind other cars.
If you include light trucks/SUVs the Land Rover Series III had drum brakes when last sold in the US in 1974 and at the end of production in 1985 (the Ninety with coil springs and front disc brakes came out in 85 but series III production continued to fill contracts)
Winner is 77 Jeep CJ
Runner ups
Chrysler 76 Dart/Valiant
Ford 75 Maverick/Comet, not 76
GM 74 Nova/Ventura/Omega/Apollo and 75 Chevy Luv
AMC 76 Pacer/Gremlin/Hornet
Jeep 76 Cherokee/Pickup and 77 CJ
Note: Checker had standard front disk brakes as early as 72.
The last car that owned with drums was a ’70 Mustang six cylinder coupe. That was six years ago. Non power brakes that stopped the car okay, but required a bit of pressure. I’d owned and driven a lot of big premium American cars with assisted drums and they stopped fine. Drivers my age were aware of the need to “conserve” their brakes on long downhill runs.
Pikes Peak:
“Put it in H !” . . .and the logo was a bumblebee ? Poor Homie . . .
Gotta go with the ’79 Super Beetle convertible, as others have noted, most European versions had disc, but the USA was not deemed worthy for some reason.