The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Young guy needs help!

HELP!! I have a 65 C10, and the drum brakes just aren't stopping me that well. I live in the Ozarks, and the mountains are just too much for this master cylinder. I need a relatively easy (and cheap-I'm a college student) way to put disc brakes on the front. Are there any vehicles that have compatible parts that are easy to find? Or is there a kit that converts the fronts to disc? I've got 6-lug wheels, so I'm trying like mad to find something that will let me keep them. The cheapest kit I've found costs more than I paid for the truck. Any tips, tricks, or advice would be really appreciated. Thanks.

for the front you can go to a junk yard and find an early 70s chevy for disc brakes on the front (I just heard this from someone im not sure this is possible)

How well-maintained are your original drum brakes? Have you rebuilt the system lately? Are they well adjusted? Do you have any fluid leaks (wheel cylinders are notorious for leaks)?

My 63 C20 has the original drum system. Although it isn't used for mountain driving, those old brakes have plenty of stop if they are well-kept. It may be worth revisiting them before pouring a lot of money into a conversion.

Here is a tech tip on the subject that may help, if your drums really are beyond help . . . Disc Brake Upgrade.

Drive slower - stop faster.

I totally rebuilt the brake system a few weeks ago. New master cylinder, wheel cylinders, shoes, and lines. But the motor wasn't going at the time. Now that there is power (quite a bit-hooray) it won't stop it very well. I could try to adjust them out further. Is there a trick to find a good adjustment?
-Thanks

Swapping the entire front suspension from a '71 half ton is probably the cheapest way to put disk brakes on your truck, provided you can find the suspension real cheap. I have one from a '72 3/4-ton I got for picking it up, they can be found. '71 because it is the only year with both disk brakes and six lugs.

Unless you're driving this thing like it’s a race car or carrying far too heavy a load the stock brakes should be adequate under most circumstances. You might want to find a manual and make sure the brakes are properly adjusted.

I appreciate the info. It's got a newly rebuilt 350 that's been bored 60 and it's pretty hot. I drove it for the first time today, so I'm pretty pumped about it. The rear end is stock, and geared too low to do any race car stunts (although I think I could tow all of the NASCAR equipment with it. Ha) I'll keep an eye out for a '71, and meanwhile adjust the drums to an adequate degree. I guess that means I'll be knocking on a lot more doors and asking "what do you want for that (insert rust-bearing object here) Thanks again

You didn't mention if your brake drums are out of spec. If your drums had a ridge lip on the outside of them, then they might be out of spec. Brake drums that are too large get a reduced contact patch for the brake shoes and therefore don't work all that well. I just replaced my fronts on my 1 ton and that helped.

Also I got kevlar brake shoes from praisedynobrake.com which made a big difference.

Ramblin_Stew:

Sounds like a nice rig you have. Before doing the disc brake conversion, you might consider converting your four-wheel drum brake system to power brakes. I have done this conversion with a factory power brake booster on several '64-'66 trucks with great success. The pedal is much more responsive, with substantially less mash.

I see the complete factory power brake boosters on eBay quite frequently. If you go that route, make sure you get the entire assembly, including the push rod and aluminum wedge that attaches the booster to the firewall.

Good luck with your brake situation.

Thanks to all. These are great ideas and will keep me in the shop for days to come (which is where I'd rather be). Hopefully I'll see you all on the road. With any luck I'll be the guy going AND stopping. Ha. Thanks again to all.

Hey, Stewie,

I live in the Ozarks, too, and have mid-70s disc brakes w/ a power brake booster on the solid-axle front. It's the only way to go. The rig stops on a dime. If you're ever near Eureka Springs, give me a call and come by and have a look (479-253-5944). I got my basic kit from Chevy Duty and the (new) discs from Auto Zone for $25 each.
Regards,
Apache Kid