I've never had an issue with G body brakes that are correctly maintained. The factory calipers and rotors with manual master cylinders are still used on dirt stock cars to this day, some guys also use the calipers on the rear. The rear drums work fine as well but you need to be sure the backing plates are in good shape and not rotted around the wheel cylinder hole. In 1995 I rear ended an s10 Blazer with my 1980 Cutlass because a wheel cylinder tore away from the backing plate. The guys hitch tongue hit my header panel right between the grills... Otherwise the brakes are solid in performance for street use. If you're going to autocross then upgrading the brakes would be a good idea. I would like to eventually swap to disc brakes in the rear when I upgrade the rear end. Mostly because parts stores don't stock the shoes and drums.
My 17 year old son just started driving the Cutlass last week and says the brakes feel stronger and more responsive than the modern vehicles he's used to driving. I think the big reason for upgrading to larger brakes is the use of large wheels, when you look through a 17 or 18 inch or bigger wheel the factory rotors look strangely small and the drums just look really bad, in that case I would spend the money for better looks.
My 17 year old son just started driving the Cutlass last week and says the brakes feel stronger and more responsive than the modern vehicles he's used to driving. I think the big reason for upgrading to larger brakes is the use of large wheels, when you look through a 17 or 18 inch or bigger wheel the factory rotors look strangely small and the drums just look really bad, in that case I would spend the money for better looks.
