Steve's tinkerings

[snj8198]

It's been in the family for years.

I've been playing with a few different boot configurations and didn't find what i was looking for so I've decided to stay with the current set up. The boot and shifter i have will work when i install the twin stick so long as i adjust the rod lengths a bit. I'm wanting to go with a 40-20-40 split bench so i'll recess the jump seat a bit for clearance. It should work out.

Have you sprayed yours yet Larry?

[DirtyLarry]

Originally Posted by snj8198

It's been in the family for years.

I've been playing with a few different boot configurations and didn't find what i was looking for so I've decided to stay with the current set up. The boot and shifter i have will work when i install the twin stick so long as i adjust the rod lengths a bit. I'm wanting to go with a 40-20-40 split bench so i'll recess the jump seat a bit for clearance. It should work out.

Have you sprayed yours yet Larry?

That should work. If anything else, the AA shifter will make a good billyclub to keep under your seat.

Nah, not yet. Got to finish up the floor repair first. The Rhino appointment is loosely scheduled for Friday the 28th.

[MTCK]

Very cool truck. Great bumpers - should keep Bambi out of the radiator.
Posted via Mobile Device

[snj8198]

Originally Posted by MTCK

Very cool truck. Great bumpers - should keep Bambi out of the radiator.
Posted via Mobile Device

Thanks, they do pretty good. The front push bar is actually a large L shape of 3/8" that services as the backbone for the whole bumper. I cut the tip of the frame horns off so the L brackets actually engage the frame a full 10 inches. If i hit something big enough to bend the bumper i'm going to have bigger issues somewhere else.

[snj8198]

I addressed my worn out rear brakes yesterday.

Off with the old



On with the new



The conversion was fairly painless. First i pulled the drum and backing plate off. From the front of the drum i used an air hammer and drove the studs out freeing the hub. Bearings and seals looked good. The rotors used in the conversion are 1973-1987 3/4 ton fronts found on Dana 44's and Corp 10 bolts. I lined up the new rotors to the hubs and rattled the wheel studs back in replacing any that looked ruff.

Next I bolted the DIY4x caliper brackets to the backing plate brackets on the 14 bolt positioning them 45* to the rear. Then i installed the new disk/hub assembly and torqued the spindle nuts.

Calipers used are also from 73-87 3/4 ton fronts. I used non ebrake calipers which there are two to choose from. The difference is the banjo bolts used for the hoses. From what i found 73-78's use SAE banjos and 79-87's use metric. I used 7/16" SAE here. Load the pads in the caliper and bolt them on the brackets using the supplied hardware.

I had one slight hiccup in the process here. One of the DIY brackets was bent too shallow by about 1/16" which ended up being enough to not allow the caliper to clear the mounting tabs and slide over the rotor. I made sure the piston was pressed all the way into the caliper but it still wouldn't fit. So I made a quick trip to the local alignment shop for shims. A 1/16" alignment shim behind the caliper bracket bolts brought the bracket into position for the caliper to properly fit over the rotor.

Lastly I installed my brake lines, bolted in the axles, bleed the brakes, and slapped the wheels back on.

Currently i am running a 1 ton brake booster/master cylinder combo and an aftermarket proportioning valve that is designed for both disk/drum and disk/disk combos. I may have some questions about this later today as there might be proportioning bugs to work out. I'll monitor the braking action as im running errands. I'll address that as i experience it and seek advise. All around though i hope the conversion performs as well as it looks.

[swamp rat]

The one thing stopping me asside from having the spare cash is the proportioning valve and plumbing it. My luck it would become a headach!

[propanemudtruck]

Nice work, would you mind, how much did the swap cost total?

[snj8198]

Originally Posted by propanemudtruck

Nice work, would you mind, how much did the swap cost total?

$90/rotor x 2
$45/loaded caliper x 2
$65 DIY4x brackets
$50 hoses and misc

= umm.. carry the two.... about $385. Forgot shipping on the brackets so closer to $400.

This would not have been an economical swap if but for two reasons:

1: Both the shoes and drums were completely shot and needed replacing. A quick guess on price for New Napa Premium Drums, shoes, and adjuster hardware kit would be roughly $275-300 for both sides.

2: There was no proportioning valve in the truck when i bought it years ago so i put in the disk/drum disk/disk prop valve in anticipation of replacing the rear drums with disks when they wore out.

[Chevymaniac]

Really nice job on the truck, i like how you made the truck even better than stock and yet it is still a capable dialy driver without going extreme.

Where did you mount your proportiong valve and how difficult was the mod?

[snj8198]

no i ordered away for it. It's been so long and i don't have the receipt but regardless it looks just like this critter:

http://www.classicperform.com/Store/...ods/PVKU-4.htm

IIRC there is a valve and spring under the black boot that a guy can remove or tinker with that switches this prop valve from disk/drum to disk/disk capable. But I gota do my homework yet before i go monkeying with mine since i lost that receipt and there is not a part number on mine.