Brakes

I currently have 9" brakes with single resivoir master cylinder. I just got a 69 cj-5 thats extremly rusty but has 10" brakes and a dual master cylinder. The backing plates look to be in real good shape. I know everyone talks about an 11" swap but the 10" is free. I was wondering if the 10" would be a worth while upgrade?

 

I wouldn't waste one dime on the 10". Save your lunch money and do the disc upgrade (That is where the real difference in opinion lies around here; to drill 11" drums, or go discs, that is the question.)

 

I'm a huge fan of 11" and disc brakes on the early CJ's, but the 10" will definitely be an upgrade IF they are in working condition. If you have to buy a bunch of parts then step up to the bigger brakes, don't throw good money after bad. The dual reservoir master cylinder is always a good upgrade. Nickmil

 

the biggest downfall of the 10 inch brake setup is locating small parts of the adjusting hardware if they are missing or beyond use. if you cannot reuse some of it, and you don't want to manually adjust the brakes on a regular basis, I recommend bypassing the 10" for a set of 11". the hardware for the 11" setup is available at any flaps and the difference in braking ability is a + $.02