Affordable BIG Brake Upgrades for the 1963-1987 C10

[DKN]

Since there seems to be a lot of interest for a complete 13” truck brake kit for under $1k I thought that I would share some info on it for you.

There is a new 13” brake kit shipping very soon. The projected retail price is under $1k for a complete front kit and about $1.5k for the complete front and rear kit. Yes there is a rear kit already finished and in stock. These are all new parts. We made a new drop spindle that will not require any machining. We made this spindle so that you can use what ever brand brake kit you want. CPP currently is producing a 13” kit. Wilwood is making a 13” and 14”. We will be sending sample spindles to Baer and Kore3.

We made our kit with a PBR caliper. It is similar to the PBR Corvette caliper but it is stronger, has larger pistons, uses a larger pad, 1/3 the cost, and has more wheel clearance. It is a GM OE caliper. There are about 15 million sets produced already. The total piston area in our caliper is the same as the piston area in the original HD truck caliper.

The Corvette piston areas are 57% (40mm) and 52% (38mm) of the original HD truck caliper. This much loss in piston area means the system need about 2 times more brake pressure to work like it did originally. (I realize the rotor is 8% larger.) In most cases the rear brakes end up skidding before the front brakes can offer any noticeable stopping power. This is one of the major reasons we do not use a Corvette caliper.

We have been road testing the front and rear kit for more than 60 days now. It works great. We have also track tested the kit. The stopping distance from 60mph is 1/3 less than with the same tire and wheel on a new set of heavy duty brakes.

I don’t have pictures yet, but you can read more about this in Classic Trucks magazine. There is a color picture of the brake sitting on the ground on the cover of the February 08 suspension buyers guide issue of Custom Classic Trucks.

The link will show you the car kits; the truck kit is basically the same except that it will fit a truck, not a car.
http://www.classicperform.com/NewPro...igBrakeKit.htm

I know that this is a long post, but I keep getting loads of PMs asking about this, so here you go.

Danny Nix
CPP

[lolife99]

DKN,... thanks for posting. Sorry about the not so friendly welcome in the other thread. I have never purchased anything from CPP,... but am interested in this kit for my '86 swb. Please post part # when everything is in stock and ready to ship. Let your people that answer the phone know,.... that we are a tight knit group of truckers. We usually hang together and get the word out quickly if there is a problem with anything truck related out there. (also,... we let each other know when a good deal comes along!) Just let me say welcome to the best forum on the net. Thanks for sticking around. And,... we really like pictures!

[Rokcrln]

Welcome to the board. Looks like this will be a great up grade to our trucks. I have been driving mine on a daily basis and I am thinking about a break up grade. If you need any testers for you let me know I think Low Buck http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=223158 would be a great test bed for your set up

Keep us posted for when they are ready to ship.

Kevin
LFD Inc.

[68 short step]

so when will this kit be available, the rear are 2 piston calipers too right?
also sign me up for a tester truck......

[bagged74]

are you using a GTO caliper instead of corvette?

[stunna]

does the price include the spindles too?

[DKN]

This kit is coming quickly, about 6 weeks or so. The only hold up is the foundry/machine shop, everything else is already built and in stock.

The rear caliper is a single piston with built in parking brake. We use the caliper with the integral parking brake because there is no “kick back” caused by the clearances and slop in the C-clip axle. This gives a better feeling brake pedal.

We use a GM 6 lug truck/SUV caliper and pad. GM sold over 1.5 million sets per year. They are found on the 6 lug Chevrolet, GMC, and Cadillac vehicles from 1999-2006. These vehicles require a bigger/better brake since they are heavier vehicles with a large towing capacity unlike the light weight Corvette.

The $1K price includes new spindles and new aluminum hubs as well as all the rest of the parts you need to finish the install.

As for the part numbers: It would be best to call. Our kits are very complete, and the part number varies by the year, and brake set up. This is done in order to accommodate the different parking brake cables, boosters, ball joints, tie rods, hose configuration, hard lines, clutch cylinders etc. We make these to be direct bolt on kits. You do not need to buy different ball joints, etc.

Danny Nix
CPP

[SBTork]

welcome to the site, it's good to see someone from cpp here, i've always like their/your products. I think I may have to call on a set of these once my '86 gets further along.

[smashingchuck]

WOW. That setup looks awesome. Are the lower control arms available to work with air bags, similar to ART's StrongArms?

[tvblazer78]

Sweet! please post a pic of all the parts for a front and back kit so we know what is in it.

Thanks,
Trav

[DKN]

Originally Posted by smashingchuck

WOW. That setup looks awesome. Are the lower control arms available to work with air bags, similar to ART's StrongArms?

Yes the upper arms are the same. The lower arm kits are either coil or air bag.

http://www.classicperform.com/NewPro...ubularArms.htm

All of our arms ship fully assembled with bushing, shafts, ball joints and bump stops installed.

Danny Nix
CPP

[smashingchuck]

In an effort not to take this thread anymore off topic, I've sent you a PM.

[gringoloco]

Nice. I have a few questions if you don't mind answering them:

- Will the spindles and brackets be available seperately?

- What rotor are you using? Is this an off the shelf replacement item?

- How much does this narrow the front track width?

- What diameter wheels are needed to clear?

Thanks -Chris

[Brad]

Originally Posted by gringoloco

Nice. I have a few questions if you don't mind answering them:

- Will the spindles and brackets be available seperately?

- What rotor are you using? Is this an off the shelf replacement item?

- How much does this narrow the front track width?

- What diameter wheels are needed to clear?

Thanks -Chris

I'm curious also. I'm very concerned about being able to buy replacement rotors in 5-10 years off the shelf rather than finding out your company is no longer making rotors for this. Seems many folks are coming out with the big brake kits and getting solid info on the rotors is more than a bit fuzzy which is the major obstacle for me in purchasing anyones kit. I'm willing to buy a kit in the whole, but with the condition I can get a replacement rotor at any LAPS at anytime. Otherwise I'll just stick with my OEM disks. JMHO.