The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Disc Brakes, Cheap

Anyone got creative with front disc conversions? The full kits sure are expensive, and I'm sure the right mix of other disc brake parts from other years will fit. I've got the 5 bolt patter on my truck right now. Any experience??

Try a search and you'll come up with lots of good information. Not too long ago the donor sources of the different parts was listed in a post.

The search button is below the 'post new topic' and 'post reply' buttons.

Good luck!

If you are planning to keep your stock front suspension then your choices are few. The kit is the only sure way I know to get discs on the straight axle. Anything else will be a guess and possibly unsafe. Put your money into a good brake system or later you will have to put more money into body repairs both truck and human.

I did the disc brake kit thing on my '59 Apache, I got the bushings/bearing inner races from a N.O.S. supplier and had them pressed onto the spindles. Then I went to Auto-Zone and picked up the mid - '70s GM rotors, calipers, and master cylinder. I got off pretty cheap . . . and the rig stops on a dime!

we're talking about just disc brakes, and not power disc brakes. I noticed the kits for just regular disc are about $375 or so, anyone have good luck with these kits? thinking about a conversion on my '50 later on. Mike

I am not sure if it is even remotelt similar but I have been looking at retrofitting my 61 with brakes and spindles from a 67-72 truck. I am told that I can gain front discs and a more common spindle for rims and stuff, because it would change to a 5 bolt pattern. Anyways, I am sure that your application is different but that is what I am looking at. Good luck!

Kyle

If my memory serves me correctly and lately it has not been to reliable. To get the 5 bolt pattern you are looking for you will have to go to a 70 or later, I know that my 68 C-10 has 6 lub hubs. Going to the 71 would also give you disk front breaks also. Ball joints and tierod ends are diffrent on the 70-72 so the swap can get expensive. If you have the option go with the entire 71 front end and it should be pretty much a bolt in job. I could be wrong thought and no doubt someone with a better and younger memory will correct me.

You did not mention if your 5 lug was via straght axle or IFS. In addition is the 5 lug truck or car? You can save by using used stuff but it helps a bunch if you have a doner car to get all the stuff from. I did the front of my 46 recently with some help from the guys here at Stovebolt. I paid $200. for the doner car and another 120.00 or so for the kit. Then I had to buy a couple of bearings, seals (40.00) and new pads. The 375.00 for a kit sounds like a good deal. I used a lot of other parts from the doner but like I said the 375.00 is a nice deal for the whole thing less MC.

Rick

Rick

The $375 was what I have seen on Chevy Duty's website for disc brake conversion, I believe on the orginal factory spindles. Rather than drum, just convert it to disc, which I feel would be safer braking in the long run (lotsa idiots out there driving now days!) Anyone here buy the outright kit from one of the parts dealers? Thanks, Mike

http://www.speedwaymotors.com/xq/aspx/paging.yes/dept_id.351/display_id.4622/qx/Product.htm

The cheapest I've found and from a well known supplier.

Tim

wow that is a great price. so what is the difference in power disc brakes and regular disc brakes? i'm sure i'll replace my booster/master and i was planning on purchasing one of the disc/drum ones. i'll admit i know very little about the differences in the braking systems.

My truck is so slow, it doesn't need better brakes.

I guess my background as a "hot rodder" helped me to adapt discs from a 70"s Chevelle to a straight axle front end. I picked up a wrecked Chevelle for hauling it off (no cost), spent a couple hours figuring out how to fit stuff together and put them on. I only used an extra inner bearing race to space the disc out from the spindle, everything else was factory pieces except the disc bracket which I cut out of cardboard for a template, then transferred to 3/8" steel plate that I cut out on my bandsaw and bolted it to the truck spindles. Total cost $0.00, total time to complete about 6 hours. Final result, it works fine. I can't see why anyone would pay nearly $400.00 for a kit you can make yourself for almost no cost.

In my case, it would be a matter on convience, by ordering the whole bolt on kit, and not chasing down parts here and there. I'll check around for prices when the time comes, and may check with my local "rodder" down the road. Heck, I'm always open to new ideas and suggestions, some of this is new stuff to me !! Mike

When I need extra braking power, I just roll down the window and throw out the anchor.

I did the CCP bracket kit for the front of my 51. I was able to get rebuilt calipers and new rotors locally for lots less money than CCP's full kit, so the $95 kit was my best choice.

My diffy is a 9" Ford from a Lincoln Mark V, which also had discs, so I have all disc brakes. I used the master cylinder from the Lincoln as well as the Lincoln proportioning valve. My pedal ratio calculates to about 10:1 using the stock pedal, so there is no need for a power booster. The brakes are solid, predictable, and are NOT hard to apply.

My first plan was to use the front disc brakes from the Lincoln on the front by fabricating a bracket and machining some adaptors, but I didn't have enough time since I had to be out of my rented shop in a hurry. Time is money and at the time I had more money than time.

Good points here! too bad someone couldn'g come up with the parts needed, which are available at local parts dealers (autozone, o'reilly etc) or online dealers, and post it to the 'tech tips' section of the 'Bolter. That way you could have a parts list, and instructions on installation. Probably would be cheaper and as good as the high dollar kits. The bottom line with me is always minimal cost!

I used the $95. Cpp 5 lug basic bracket kit on my 54-3100....They furnish the brackets, bolts, and required spacers, and info on what you need to purchase locally. You'll use mid-70's Camaro rotors and will need to get the CPP $30. bearing conversion kit. They have detailed instructions on their website. You can check locally for the cost of mid-70's rotors, calipers, brake hoses and brake pads.

The lower end of the disc install is the cheap part. I fabricated my own master cylinder bracket, used a mid 70's Corvette manual disc/disc master, Wilwood adjustable proportioning valve from Summit for $39.00 and 2 residual valves for $16.00 each. With a roll of 3/16 line material and brake fluid it came to about $375.00. If you had to buy the bracket it would be another $79.00.

I am running a 5 lug Camaro disc differential and with 4 wheel discs you don't need power booster. I've got power on my hot rod truck and they are too twitchy. The Wilwood adjustable proportion valve is a must as I've yet to see a kit valve that matches your vehicle and driving conditions....and they are sometimes a bear to get bled properly. I can adjust my brake bias from inside the cab behind my right foot.

If you can do the plumbing by yourself you'll send an hour tearing out the old stuff, 2 hours at AutoZone trying to find someone who knows a rotor from a caliper, and about 6 hours getting everything else plumbed in. I made all my lines and started with a fresh system. Upgrading to a dual master with old lines, solid and rubber, is
going to bite you later on down the road.

Was it worth it? You betcha!!!! She'll stop on a dime (figure of speech) haven't run over a Ricer since I upgraded and recommend it as the first upgrade you make before you hit the road. I've got some pics in my album. Hope this helps.

i purchased my disc brake bracket on ebay from 5569bob they were $39 shipped to my house not worth my time to make them. instead of having the spindels machined i purchased bearing adapters from buffalo for $49 shipped to my house and the inner bearings and bearing races for $25.00. it would have been easier to purchase the basic kit from cpp for $85.00 sice i already had the calipers and rotors.

Robin58, I didn't mean to mislead anyone about the ease of making parts. My brackets took a piece of steelplate about 8" X 10", bought at a scrap metal yard for $2.00. My bandsaw is a Harbor Freight special, cost less than $100.00 I have been a full time mechanic, and now a full time hobbyest. I rebuilt the cylinders with kits from NAPA, didn't include cost because sthe drum brakes needed rebuilt so it was one or the other, therefore no cost. Brakes are important but not a mystery, any mechanically inclined guy with a lick of sense can do the rebuild, installation. I have had about 20 hot rods over the years and always done my own brakes, never had a problem. The fun of hot rods is doing it youself, as inexpensively as possible. I'll put my brake job against any full time professional brake man any time, just because you feel inadequate to work on your brakes don't put down a guy that can do his own. In my life I have done over a hundred brake jobs, never had a problem. Several were adaptations of one car to another that didn't have hydraulics to start with.

I have a '68 GMC C10 with 6 bolt drum brakes all around, and a leaf spring rear suspension. The rear axle assy is a swap out by a previous owner and I have not been able to find drums for it anywhere...They are a slotted type rivet, and are breaking off, so I need to replace it, plus the 3rd member is worn out.

I picked up a '76 C1500 Chevy with good axles front and rear. The front suspension looks the same, the rear has wider springs (heavy half).

Does anyone have any info on feasibility and challenges in putting the front and rear suspensions from the '76 under the '68??? I've done searches on this and other forums but have drawn a blank...

TIA,

Ut Smitty

Just a note: Many of the early 70's GM cars have the same brake calipers and rotors. The ones I used are from a 1974 Olds Cutlass. Same part number as the Camaro.

Does anyone know how to go about upgrading the front brakes to disc and keep the 6 bolt pattern? I have a '57 3100.

If it is a matter of fabrication I can handle that IF I knew where to start as far as what parts would work. Thanks!

yes you use 1973 and up full size blazer front rotors on your hubs and use the blazer caliper or full size impala look at ccp website

Thanks for the advice. Is there a date range on the rotors, or am I safe with any 6 bolt from 1973 to ??? Also, any advice on the calipers, is there a difference in the stock blazer and impala?