front axle opinions

My 72 cj5 is torn down to the frame and I am in the process of putting it back together. My original axle needs new brakes and I am debating wwhich route to go. I can rebuild the drum setup fairly cheap, or I can swap disc brakes onto it from another dana 30 from an 80 cj5 that I have.
I do some light mud play and sand dunes mostly, my tires are 35" baja claws ( they actually measure about 33"). Opinions anyone???

 

I think everyone will agree that disks are the way to go, especially since you already have the hardware available. I'm getting ready to make a similar move on my CJ.
You will also need to remove the residual pressure valve from the front hydraulic circuit. You should be able to use your stock MC, but opinions and experience vary widely. If you don't have power brakes now, expect pedal effort to be higher since pads & disks don't self-energize like shoes & drums will.

 

Discs are better. But for me drums are good enough. And I like the novelty of old stuff so I actually prefer NT drums, big ol'e manual steering wheel, heaters that barely work... Maybe I'm the wrong guy to make recommendations like this

 

I would swap the discs over. Its worth the extra work.

 

And, if you don't do power assist, use organic pads. They stop a lot better than metallic without the assist.