1956 GMC F370/374 LCF Brake Upgrades

[DoctorGlenn]

I'm in the process of planning the major upgrades to the rollback carrier that I just bought (see my earlier thread). The truck has a 21,000 GVWR and is equipped with the Bendix Hydrovac for braking assist. I know these can be rebuilt but lets face it, they're 60 year old technology and I plan on using the truck for hauling, so an upgrade is in order. I'm thinking Hydroboost would be a good way to go. The truck already has power steering, I could get a dual circuit system out of this, and I'm sure I could package everything under the floor in the current master cylinder location. And while I can find vendors and information for doing a swap, everything seems to be geared towards cars and pickups and so far I've come up empty handed on making the swap on a 2-ton truck. That leaves me with some questions.

First, almost all of the information I'm finding assumes an upgrade to disc brakes at least on the front. Some forums say that using Hydroboost with four wheel drums makes the braking extremely touchy. Hydratech doesn't recommend it saying it causes excessive grabbing and left to right front brake pull. But over on BinderPlanet all seems well with the setup. Does anyone here have any experience upgrading a truck like mine? Or is there some option out there to upgrade my front brakes to discs from a later model medium duty truck? That's actually something I'd be interested in to get the better braking and if that is possible, would I be able to keep the 6 on 8.75 bolt pattern wheels I have now?

Again, thanks for any thoughts or information you might have.

- Glenn