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Your stock Bug like all passenger cars, do 75 / 80% of there breaking with the front tires. As the weight transfers to the front under hard breaking that's where all the work must be done.

Not so on the off road buggy. First off you have very little weight on the front tires and if the try to do much braking they lock up and all steering control is lost. Large wide tires on the rear adds to the problem.

The larger the wheel cylinder and wider the brake shoe means more braking.
The stock VW will have about 22mm wheel cylinder on front and 17mm on the rear. As you can see this is all wrong for the buggy with no weight on the front tires.

You need the large wheel cylinders on the rear and small on the front.

Now the front is easy, just use the 68 or later rears (113 611 053B) 17mm wheel cylinders and install them on the KP or BJ front end.

The rear brakes require some extra steps, if you are using a swing Axle trans. (Up to 67) First you must replace the S.A. backing plates with 68 or later ones, so you can install the 57-on ( 131 611 057 ) 22mm wheel cylinder.

On the rear ( IRS trans.) just install the big wheel cylinder or T3 Brakes.
Another advantage of the 68-on IRS rear brakes is that the brake shoes are about 1 5/8" wide compared to the 1 3/16" wide shoes used on the S.A. set up.

One step better is to install the Type-3 rear brakes (65 & earlier for 5-lug drums) Type-3 linings are wider ( 1-3/4") and the drums are larger in diameter and they already have the 22mm wheel cylinders. You will have to remove about .550" off the outside snout of the drum to use them on the S.A. short axle, but if you get the complete set up backing plate; drums and all it's an easy bolt on installation.

Now there are other set ups that can be made to work, like some type-2 and "Thing" brakes, but they are hard to find and the price can be high. ( We just got some Thing Drums in at a reasonable price)

Because Disc-Brakes Kits have steadily gone down in price it would probably be cheaper than the Bus or Thing brakes. And disk brakes on the rear is by far the best brake set up. But you will still need the smaller 17mm wheel cylinder up front.

To get better Pedal you might want to install a 2-psi residual pressure valve in the disc brake line. Remember the 10 psi is only used with Drum Brakes. Install the residual valve as close to the master cylinder as possible if it does not screw directly into the master cylinder. If your Master cylinder is lower than the brake calipers then you will need the residual pressure valve for sure.

Master cylinders work just the opposite as wheel cylinders. As the MC diameter gets smaller less pedal pressure is required. The larger the master cylinder bore, the more pedal pressure is required for the same braking.

The most common master cylinder used on buggies is the early type-2
(211 611 011J) 22mm which we have used with rear disk and 17mm front cylinders. If every thing is set up correct, there is plenty of fluid to do the job. But if the rotors are not true or the front brakes are out of adjustment you might be lacking on the amount of fluid the 22mm bore master cylinder will push.

That's why Neal and other brake builders offer several different MC bore diameters, 5/8" to 1"

Make sure the pedal comes all the way back after every time the brakes are applied. The brake rod must have a small amount of free play when the pedal is all the way back.
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If a brake drags slightly after a hard stop, check out the brake hose as it might be restricting the brake fluid returning from the wheel cylinder.

Use Dot-3 fluid (never Silicon brake fluid) and flush the system every two years. Hot & cold, sun and shade have a tendency to produce moisture in the brake lines much faster then if the lines are under a stock car. Flush the brake lines with brake fluid, dry air or alcohol. One drop of oil in the fluid will contaminate the fluid.

Never get oil on the linings and forget the "brake clean" as it just dissolves the oil and lets it go deeper into the lining. Race mechanics won't let you touch the lining as even the oil off your hands is not wanted.

Most-off road cars use the early 5-lug wheel because of it's superior strength compared to the 4-lug wheel.

If your running a Ball Joint front end you can use the 5-lug 66-67 front drums if you use the 68 and later inner wheel bearing.

We also prefer the press-in studs and nuts rather then the stock bolts. And many after-market wheels are too thick to use the stock stud.

The Steering brake or Cutting brake can be very useful when you have a very light front end.

Some prefer the Dual Handle when drag racing or running in the dunes, as you can apply both rear brakes at the same time. For off-road we prefer the single Handle, as when you grab it, it is always the correct Handle.

In a panic situation you better not pull the wrong handle. In rough terrain your body can move around quite a lot and you won't have time to look down to see which handle you have grabbed. After a short time pulling or pushing will become automatic just like pushing the clutch or brake.

Steering brakes are often blamed when other brake problems occur. To check if the steering brake is working properly just apply a slight amount of brake with the foot pedal and then work the steering brake. If it's tight and the handle doesn't keep moving then the problem is else where. The turning brake will not move a lot of fluid so keep the brakes adjusted up-tight.

Don't even think about using the stock emergency brake cable system as they will surely catch on something and jerk the cables off. The Park-Lock is installed in the brake line and works great.

One last thing is about adjusting the VW brakes. They must be adjusted a little different then most cars. Adjust them up until you have a slight drag and then hit the brake pedal hard to center the shoes and adjust again. You will have them about right when you stop 4 or 5 times and then after jacking up the car there is still a very slight drag when the wheel is turned.

To check if the brake bias is correct have a friend stand off to one side and then as you pass him apply the brakes gradually until you lock up all four wheels. If he thinks maybe the front end locked up every so slightly just before the rear wheels locked up. Then your about as close as you can get. Do this test on dirt or a gravel road if you have an off road car.

For a complete listing of brake lines, hoses and wheel cylinders.-->click

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