Sounds like you need a proportioning valve. Many brands out there, be sure to get one for front discs/rear drums.
For power steering, many of us here use either a CPP 500 box or the Borgeson 600. Unlike the 605 none of them are "finger tip" assisting, but provides what we need when parking, slow turning etc - still plenty road feeling on the highway - very much unlike a 605. I have the 500 box in the coupe and like it a lot. No issues for the past 8 years. The 600 is, I believe, a little quicker turning ratio.
The rear.. if stock rear is there and working, I would stay with it. It was behind 425 hp Chevys 61-64 and for a medium horsepowered 350 and street tyres it will hold up very well. I've got a 400-ish hp sbc in the coupe and beat on it from time to time, without any problems.
Others who wants beefier axles and discs - choose to put i.e a F**d 8.8. It's the same width, but also puts drive shaft a little to the right. If the car don't sit too low, it's usually not a problem. Can also swap axles, do a little welding to achieve centered drive shaft. I wouldn't, but..
Good luck👍

 

Hi. Helping my father get his 57 bel air going again. been parked 15 years since he popped a spider gear. He's close to 70, and has owned it since '79, been in family since '59. Not sure how techy this group is but I'll give it a go. I picked up this info from him.

1. 72 chevelle rotors/calipers with 73+ chevelle master/booster, connected to an OEM 57 power brake pedal. TWITCHY doesn't describe it. If you laid a pillow on the brake pedal it'll put you through the front glass. OEM rear drum setup. How can we alleviate this?

i have a hydroboost on my car, prop valve, and the tiny front calipers everyone complains about, and my pedal is similar. It is by far, the fastest stopping car in my fleet, and if someone else were to drive it, they would hit the steering wheel. but im used to it now.

There is the possibility a larger diameter master cylinder would help that. i kinda forget now, but i think mine ended up being a 1", when it was supposed to be a 1 1/8". but i have just been rolling with it thus far.

 

Do you have a picture of the booster/MC mounted on the firewall ? If it's just for cruising, forget the 9". Rear discs are hardly worth the trouble.

 

Most folks on this site agree that rear disc brakes aren't worth the trouble .They also say the same about rack and pinion steering,too much work for what is gained.I would suggest the 500 steering box from CPP and going with disc in the front and drums in the rear

 

That’s exactly what I did. I didn’t think rear disks were worth the effort

 

here's the booster. Be kind, the car's been sitting since 2009. You can see the steering box too. I don't know the original source of the box. He doesn't either, he said it bought it at a swap meet 40 years ago. Interesting about the rack feelings here. I did a crown vic subframe swap in my truck and it was 'night and day'. I admit did the rear discs mainly for visuals, haha.

As for the rear in this car, my father said it broke a spider gear and almost spit an axle out. Rear discs have been on his bucket list. I don't mind doing the work and I owe him a center section, so the question is, this rear, or is there something else that bolts in more modern?

 

I agree with the others that rear discs are on most cars for the visuals rather than function. The Versailles axle is about 58-1/2” wide where stock is 60”. That helps with big tires if you want that. The Versailles discs are a late 70s Bendix style very similar to the Caddy rear disc calipers that are used on many conversions. These are hard for some to set up and service, and you will see lots of complaints. I would only recommend them if you already have some rebuilt calipers on hand. On the other hand there are kits to use Explorer calipers and rotors on a 9” that work well.

While you could start over and put an Explorer axle under the car, i don’t think it’s worth it.

To deal with the touchiness of your brakes, going from a 1” bore master to 1-1/8” is a logical fix.

 

Given this car won't be much abused, and the $$ involved rebuilding 9" I would probably use stock rear/source another 55-64 and rebuild it. Many different kits for a rear disc conversion out there, CPP etc. Here´s also a thread where a member shows his 9" build.

 

Looks to be as mentioned a 605 steering box swapping that to either a Real CPP 500 which by the way is cast into the casing or Borgeson 600 box will give you a much nicer steering feel well worth the cost & not hard to do.

 

Wait.....does the AC work? thats whats really important here.

Disc brakes on a hot rod are really far down on my list of things to do. i dont feel its a big upgrade for anything other than road racing.

 

Wait.....does the AC work? thats whats really important here.

It did when the car was parked. Mid 90s Vintage Air kit. It uses the OEM dash sliders IIRC.R134 based. It blew very cold.

 

Currie has a Ford 9" rear end setup for our '55-57 Chevys with disc brake mounts already installed. You can order one direct, or get it from Summitracing.com. That's what I plan to upgrade to once I have my '57 on the road for a while.

Rob

 

Rear disk can be a real PIA hardly worth the expense and effort. A 605 box was not good 30 years ago and is easy to upgrade to a 500.

 

If you already have a 9” housing with 55-57 spring mounts and the typical big bearing ends, you can buy the Explorer brake kit from Currie, it’s bolt on for the housing you have.