I am converting to manual brakes for room reasons
but want to know if they will have enough stopping power
at the track?
also going to use a s10 cylinder I have herd that there is no diff. in the manual or power mc's is that true?

 

If you relocate the pushrod on the brake pedal like you're supposed to, you won't really notice any difference.

I've converted to manual brakes and if I hit the brakes hard enough, I can still make the first turnoff at the end of the 1/4 mile. I usually don't push them that much and coast down to the end.

 

Also, you will need to switch to the S10 manual brake rear wheel cylinders. The stock Camaro cyl's are 3/4" dia vs the S10 manual's 7/8" piston. I would suggest you look at both of the 85 S10 master cyl's and use the one with the larger piston, you'll find it gives you better holding power if you stage really hard (3300-3500 rpm's, this is not the converter stall speed).

 

I did a non-power front disk brake conversion on the '57 last year (3850 lbs going down the track). It gave me fits all last year, and cost me the race in the National Finals when the car crept in the beams when I staged for the finals. The troubles started with a cheap master cylinder and improper proportioning valve. I slowly improved things while the season progressed, but it still wasn't right in November at Pomona.

The calipers came off my '86 Camaro donor car. I got some of the "better" non-fade pads for it, and found they need some heat to hold properly. This spring I put in the cheapest pads I could find, and it's holding much better in the beams now.

Whatever you do, stay away from non-US parts. My original MC was of Chinese origin, and I'm lucky I didn't kill myself. I finally got one from Master Power Brakes, and it's worked great. Same with the prop/combination valve. I finally trust the brakes again.

I was turned on to MPB http://www.mpbrakes.com by a post on TGO - now that I think about it, I can't remember if it was on the Brake forum or racing forum, but I believe I ended up getting the same MC as the TGO member did for his manual brakes. But, at any rate, the guys on their Tech Help Line got me going down the right track. Wish I could justify their rear drum brake upgrade setup...