If there's no interference, I don't think it's a problem.
There is a reason the two sides don't match and I wouldn't go any further until I figured it out. One of the parts doesn't exactly match its opposite.
Something is either bent, worn, damaged, etc. Keep measuring everything on each side.
1950 Chevrolet 3100 (Ol' Roy)
1939 Packard Standard Eight Coupe (The Phantom) | 1956 Cadillac Coupe de Ville (The Bismarck) | 1964 Ford Galaxie 500 coupe |1966 Ford Mustang (Little Red) | 1969 Pontiac GTO (The Dishpit) I 1979 Ford F-100 | 1976 Ford F-150 (Big Red) | 1995 Ford F-150 (Newt)
The spindle may not be drilled in the same spot on both sides. Or the caliper bracket may be drilled in different spots.
Wayne 1938 1-Ton Farm Truck Stovebolt Gallery Forums 1989 Silverado 1996 Mustang GT convertible When I die, I hope she doesn't sell everything for what I told her I paid for it!
Just thinking out loud here, but maybe the bracket on the passenger side got installed upside down??? It looks like the 4 mounting hole spacing is pretty close to the same top and bottom, but maybe not exactly the same. Looking at your pics, the passenger side top of the caliper looks to be pushed out from the rotor, where the driver side looks to have matching gaps at top and bottom of caliper to rotor. Can't see the back side mount relationship for the passenger side without another pic to try and further compare with the drivers side.
The very small gap on the 16" wheel may be okay, but any deflection of the wheel could cause some serious binding and metal shreiking - Ouch! Me personally, I'd go for a little more clearance.
BTW - Congrats on finding a cheapo wheel for testing.
~ Dan 1951 Chevy 3 window 3100 Follow this story in the DITY Gallery "My Grandpa Carl's Truck and How it Became Mine" 1966 Chevelle (Wife's Hot Rod) | 2013 Chevy Silverado (Current daily driver) US Army MSG Retired (1977-1998) | Com Fac Maint Lead Tech Retired (1998-2021)
If Dan is right and the passenger bracket is upside down, you’ll find yourself doing one of these 🤦♂️. Before you do, look both ways to see if there are any witnesses. Carry on.
First, I would like to thank everyone for their suggestions regarding my fitment issue on the passenger side of my brake conversion. Simply, user error, for some reason, I didn't have all bolts torqued down and there was just enough play that caused the wheel to not fit correctly. After taking some time off this project, starting with some fresh perspective, I figured it out.
In the end, though, I will need to buy 17" wheels for this truck as the 16" wheels are not quite large enough for my comfort level. I will post up some pictures soon with some new challenges I am encountering so stay tuned!!
Glad to hear you've figured that problem out. Looking forward to seeing your pictures as they go a long way towards understanding what may be going on and ensuing brain storming to see what might help.
What kind of appearance are you considering for moving up to the 17" wheels?
~ Dan 1951 Chevy 3 window 3100 Follow this story in the DITY Gallery "My Grandpa Carl's Truck and How it Became Mine" 1966 Chevelle (Wife's Hot Rod) | 2013 Chevy Silverado (Current daily driver) US Army MSG Retired (1977-1998) | Com Fac Maint Lead Tech Retired (1998-2021)
1939 Packard Standard Eight Coupe (The Phantom) | 1956 Cadillac Coupe de Ville (The Bismarck) | 1964 Ford Galaxie 500 coupe |1966 Ford Mustang (Little Red) | 1969 Pontiac GTO (The Dishpit) I 1979 Ford F-100 | 1976 Ford F-150 (Big Red) | 1995 Ford F-150 (Newt)
Phil Moderator, The Engine Shop, Interiors and Project Journals
1952 Chevrolet 3100, Three on the Tree, 4:11 torque tube Updated to: ‘59 235 w/hydraulic lifters, 12v w/alternator, HEI, PCV and Power front Disc Brakes Project Journals Stovebolt Gallery Forum
The little bits and pieces that you think you have but don't can be frustrating and slow you down. I set aside an hour here or there only to be foiled because I didn't have the right fitting(s). Anyways, 3/16" hard steel lines to the front discs, 1/4" NiCop lines to the rear drums. Residual valves in place for front and rear, all connections tied into proportioning valve and new, dual master cylinder.
Next step is to connect the master cylinder rod to the brake arm, and since the new master cylinder is bigger and mounted to the frame where OEM m/c was, I need to offset the linkage about 1". My plan is to weld in a thick bushing to the brake arm, run a 3/8" Grade 8 bolt thru that and clamp down. See the last picture of that set up and if any brake gurus think it won't work, please tell me now!
After that, I will take m/c off, bench bleed, reattach, bleed all 4 corners and, barring any leaks, can wrap the brake system up. After that, I think I can mount the cab back onto the frame before shoulder surgery takes me out of action for 6 months...
I have a couple questions on your pedal adapter design:
1 - What is keep the bolt secured to the pedal arm itself? As shown it looks like it could allow for some flexing/twisting of the bolt which really needs to be rock solid as it needs to act as a pivot pin for the yoke on the M/C rod.
2 - Any thoughts on protecting the yoke ears where the one side directly contacts the bolt threads? Repeated brake activation (the yoke is supposed to pivot/rotate at that point) can cause excessive wear to the yoke which could lead to misalignment and possibly binding in the future.
3 - What will keep the adapter assembly from loosening up during operation? The way I see the existing design, if you tighten up everything to help hold the bolt in the brake arm hole and keep everything from twisting/flexing, it will then be too tight to allow the yoke to pivot around the bolt shank like it needs to. A lack of yoke pivoting could cause your brakes to be either difficult to engage or even bind up preventing complete disengagement if the pedal won't return to the rest position.
I have some alternative suggestions, but would like to hear your thoughts/ideas first. Not trying to put down your design, just looking at it from a safety/functionality aspect as any problems or failures with this could result in a loss of braking capability.
~ Dan 1951 Chevy 3 window 3100 Follow this story in the DITY Gallery "My Grandpa Carl's Truck and How it Became Mine" 1966 Chevelle (Wife's Hot Rod) | 2013 Chevy Silverado (Current daily driver) US Army MSG Retired (1977-1998) | Com Fac Maint Lead Tech Retired (1998-2021)
Not trying to put down your design, just looking at it from a safety/functionality aspect as any problems or failures with this could result in a loss of braking capability.
You are not, I posted the pictures and asked for comments, I thank you for your response...
Originally Posted by Gdads51
I have a couple questions on your pedal adapter design:
1 - What is keep the bolt secured to the pedal arm itself? As shown it looks like it could allow for some flexing/twisting of the bolt which really needs to be rock solid as it needs to act as a pivot pin for the yoke on the M/C rod.
My plan is to weld the bolt and bushing to the arm so that it is fixed...
Originally Posted by Gdads51
2 - Any thoughts on protecting the yoke ears where the one side directly contacts the bolt threads? Repeated brake activation (the yoke is supposed to pivot/rotate at that point) can cause excessive wear to the yoke which could lead to misalignment and possibly binding in the future.
Great question and one I have thought about with no real solution yet, unless I find the perfect bolt or make the perfect pin with a hole at the end for a cotter pin?
Originally Posted by Gdads51
3 - What will keep the adapter assembly from loosening up during operation? The way I see the existing design, if you tighten up everything to help hold the bolt in the brake arm hole and keep everything from twisting/flexing, it will then be too tight to allow the yoke to pivot around the bolt shank like it needs to. A lack of yoke pivoting could cause your brakes to be either difficult to engage or even bind up preventing complete disengagement if the pedal won't return to the rest position.
My plan was to use a prevailing torque nut along with Blue Loctite to prevent it from moving and having it just "tight enough"!
@Gdads51, you can take it from there and would love to hear your idea(s) or anyone else's for that matter...
Great idea for welding the bolt and bushing to the arm to lock them in place.
My suggestion, following your plan to weld those in place would be to source a bolt with a longer smooth shank so the yoke can ride/rotate on that surface, yet allow the use of a lock nut and flat washer(s) on the threads beyond the yoke to secure from lateral movement. That would resolve the excessive wear on the yoke.
Depending on what you find for a suitable bolt, it may need to have the threads extended down the shank (if the existing threads are not close enough to the outer face of the yoke to tighten down enough) and possibly over long threads (extending beyond the needed length to use a washer and lock nut) may need to be cut of to shorten the bolt?
Others may have an alternative suggestion or solution.
~ Dan 1951 Chevy 3 window 3100 Follow this story in the DITY Gallery "My Grandpa Carl's Truck and How it Became Mine" 1966 Chevelle (Wife's Hot Rod) | 2013 Chevy Silverado (Current daily driver) US Army MSG Retired (1977-1998) | Com Fac Maint Lead Tech Retired (1998-2021)
Great idea for welding the bolt and bushing to the arm to lock them in place.
My suggestion, following your plan to weld those in place would be to source a bolt with a longer smooth shank so the yoke can ride/rotate on that surface, yet allow the use of a lock nut and flat washer(s) on the threads beyond the yoke to secure from lateral movement. That would resolve the excessive wear on the yoke.
Depending on what you find for a suitable bolt, it may need to have the threads extended down the shank (if the existing threads are not close enough to the outer face of the yoke to tighten down enough) and possibly over long threads (extending beyond the needed length to use a washer and lock nut) may need to be cut of to shorten the bolt?
Others may have an alternative suggestion or solution.
Thanks for the input, I understand what you are explaining...I will keep you posted on what I find and ultimately use...
but, having said all that, surely I am not the only one who has had to solve this problem, I did see someone modify the frame bracket so that the dual master cylinder is in the exact same spot as the original m/c, absent of that, what have others done?
I think that welding a solid 3/8 rod to the pedal and use a washer, hole and cotter pin to secure the clevis to the pin. That would be much better than using a bolt. Or like Dan suggested, get a longer bolt that has a smooth shank long enough to get past the clevis, and cut additional threads if needed so a nut can be run close to the side of the clevis. A prevailing torque nut and locktite would work, although I'd still use a washer between it and the clevis.
Looks like a good setup otherwise.
Kevin 1951 Chevy 3100 work truck Follow this saga in Project Journal Photos 1929 Ford pickup restored from the ground up. | 1929 Ford Special Coupe (First car) Busting rust since the mid-60's If you're smart enough to take it apart, you darn well better be smart enough to put it back together.
I think that welding a solid 3/8 rod to the pedal and use a washer, hole and cotter pin to secure the clevis to the pin. That would be much better than using a bolt. Or like Dan suggested, get a longer bolt that has a smooth shank long enough to get past the clevis, and cut additional threads if needed so a nut can be run close to the side of the clevis. A prevailing torque nut and locktite would work, although I'd still use a washer between it and the clevis.
Looks like a good setup otherwise.
I think the 3/8" rod idea is a great one!
This forum is for guys like me that know just enough to be dangerous but really need the help of the seasoned professionals out there such as yourselves, lots of ways to skin a cat and I enjoy hearing about all of them, thanks for the suggestion...
A bit late to the conversation, but I’d like to add my two cents!
Adding to the long bolt idea, I would turn the end down to 5/16-18 making it into a shoulder bolt. This way you could torque the nut and washer down without restricting the clevis movement.
If you do go with just the nut on the 3/8” rod/bolt, I would drill a hole straight thru the nut and rod/bolt to add a cotter pin.
Phil Moderator, The Engine Shop, Interiors and Project Journals
1952 Chevrolet 3100, Three on the Tree, 4:11 torque tube Updated to: ‘59 235 w/hydraulic lifters, 12v w/alternator, HEI, PCV and Power front Disc Brakes Project Journals Stovebolt Gallery Forum
@Phak1, Actually, I will be using a shoulder bolt, just need to get correct measurements. This time of year is very busy work wise, so I have had to put this project aside for now. Shoulder surgery coming up so progress will be very slow in the coming months...
