...... but my '84 westy has *never* been able to do that.....
I drove an '85 Westy for about eight years (before it was totaled about
a year ago) and now drive a '90.  THE DIFFERENCE IN THE BRAKE SYSTEM IS
LIKE NIGHT AND DAY!.  My understanding is that the big improvement came
in '86.  My '90 has adequate brakes.  In my '85 I had to be very
carefull in traffic to leave plenty of room between myself and the car
ahead, my stopping distance was that bad.  I can drive the '90 like my
car and not worry about not being able to stop in a reasonable distance.
The improved braking was worth the cost of the upgrade to the post '86
vehicle.