The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Disk brake conversion

once again I come to this site begging for help... thanks in advance.

'48 chevy 1/2 ton original - I want to add disk brakes and use my stock 16 wheels and add wide whitewall radials that look more or less stock-
I ordered a 6 lug conversion kit from brothers and was told it would work with a spacer on the lug nuts - then waited 6 weeks while it was on back order and when It finally arrived I called once again to confirm that it would work with stock wheels- this time I was told "No"...
I am a patient person but...
does anyone know a bolt on kit that does work with the stock wheels????

Jimmy

per an email I just recieved from brothers confirming this:

jim,
The original rims do NOT clear the caliper. They taper in too much, similar to a pie dish. If you need wheels that will work and look original, try
contacting Wheel Smith 714-556-3861

Thanks,
Dale
Brother's Trucks

-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected]
Sent: Wednesday, July 20, 2005 7:14 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Front disc brakes

You can have your centers put on new rims too. Maybe that would work in your case. Stockton Wheel is another place to check.

I had new outer rims welded to the original centers for my 52 MGTD at Stockton Wheel. My old rims would not clear disc brake calipers. The new outer rims now will clear calipers without any problems. It cost $95.00/wheel. They did a great job & I feel it was worth every penny.
Charles

Jimmy,

I had The Wheel Smith do mine. It was around $65.00 per wheel. They turned out great!

Here is a page with pictures of how they turned out.

http://www.59apache.com/happy.html

They used later model Chevy truck rims with deeper offsets to accomodate my disk brakes and welded them to my original wheels.

I hope that helps!

Now I may be totally wrong here but didn't someone here weld up the original rims then grind off the rivets and notch the caliper to make theirs work? Maybe I am just wishfull thinking here but I really seem to remeber this. However it wouldn't be the first time I remember something that didn't happen!

Brian,

I hope someone recalls the process you described above that would work for me just fine - I have a good welder friend- it sounds like a fairly easy project.

thanks- my Granddaughter is just fine- only spoiled rotten!
Jimmy

I used the Classic Perfomance Products kit and I just had to grind a tiny bit off my 16" wheels to make them clear.

In summary:

you should always ask God for help "before" beginning a project!
You dont know until you try.
The brothers kit fit nicely with just a little bit of grinding on the caliper...
Harvey from classic performance parts helped me detirmine the the kits were the same dimension (his and the brothers kit)
that's a good person--someone who will help you even if it means losing a sale.
thanks for all your advice...
one day soon the 48 will be on the road again with disc brakes!

Jimmy

try this
new clips and the know how
http://www.speedprint.com/Deves50/hubcapclips.php