You would be well advised to follow Craig's guidance- - - -once stovebolters get beyond the 1/2 ton "Cowboy Cadillac" stage and get into full grown trucks that actually work for a living, they're pretty much on their own for doing modern upgrades. The parts are out there- - - -but it's going to take some (usually a lot) of ingenuity to make them work together. There's really nothing wrong with a well-restored original drum brake system, particularly one with a Hydrovac power booster, but some of the parts are getting scarce. The big rigs were routinely used at their maximum load rating (or more likely big overloads) for untold millions of miles with original brakes and steering. My grandparents ran several businesses in the late 1930s and early 40s hauling coal, ice, beer, and dynamite all over the southeastern United States. Their 34 and 35 Chevy 1 1/2 ton trucks had mechanical brakes, and pulled trailers with NO brakes at all.
A quicker, and probably less expensive alternative would be to drop some type of vintage sheet metal onto a retired motor home chassis- - - - -lots of low mileage rigs are out there at bargain price estate sales from old geezers who didn't last very long after retiring and becoming "snowbirds".
Jerry
