Gave her a full brake service & check over this morning. Something I always do when I get a new-to-me car...but that's assuming they're working and don't have more important issues to resolve first.
De-glazed/de-rusted the front rotors and pads, lubed up the pins. Same idea on the rear, with the addition of checking the wheel cylinders weren't leaking.
The fronts appeared relatively recently re-done. Lots of meat on the pads, rotors were flat/not lipped, though it looked like the right side had been working harder than the left. The rears hadn't been off in forever. Lots of dust and rust. All better now.
I can now stop the car without the booster. Much better.
Previously, it took...a long distance - like 30-40 or even 50 feet to stop it from 30km/hr. Down-right dangerous. I can now make normal, forseen stops without much effort. If I stand/jump on the brake pedal, I can lock up the wheels - with their under-pressured tires- on wet pavement. There's the sensation of actual deceleration now...enough that when you are braking hard, it helps by throwing your own weight against the brake pedal.
I'll probably want more braking power if I am carrying any weight, but for now, I can jump ahead to some more realistic driving tests.
Oh, I forgot to mention...with the front end off the ground, I opted to wear in the brakes a bit. The motor had no problem, in first gear, overpowering the brakes (though I didn't stand on them).
But, more important to me was checking top speeds in first and second, unloaded. 35km/hr in 1st, and 65 in second. the difference from first to second is a rather large 1.8:1. Anyway, 65 means I can go about everywhere in town in 2nd gear. But first I need more torque, as even with working brakes, I didn't get much over 35 in 2nd gear. Thus field control is next and foremost on my list.