Grinding brake calipers

[matapalo]

Hi, I'm a new member from the San Francisco Bay Area. Can't tell you how happy I am to have found this site, the accumulated knowledge from all the members here is just incredible!

I just got an really great deal on a set of 15x10 inch black rock crawler wheels with 325/65 R15 BF Goodrich AT's for my '72 3/4 ton 4x4 Suburban. After searching through the old posts here, I knew that I needed to grind down the front brake calipers to make the rims fit.

The calipers themselves needed only minimal grinding to clear the rims, but the caliper hold-down brackets needed a lot more grinding. After taking them down to about 1/8 inch thick, I just decided to cut part of the brackets completely off on the advice from a neighbor. The way he explained it, the part of the brackets I cut off serve more as guides for mounting the calipers, and don't play into the structural integrity of the brakes themselves. Made sense to me. I've included some photos of before and after I cut the mounting brackets down.

Before I take it down Devil's Slide on Hwy 1 at 50 mph with my girlfriend and 2 dogs I thought it would be smart to get some expert advice from you guys on the safety of what I did. Brakes are the last thing I'd want to compromise on the vehicle just because I got a deal on tires & wheels!

Thanks in advance for any help!