disc or drums pleas help

[JMARQUEZ_13]

I'am having a hard time deciding if i should wait off doing the disc conversion and put my money into other stuff i will need to do so i can get my truck back on the road. What do you guys think? Conversion total would be $2,250 including the boss 338 in a twenty.

[JasonBird]

hey there Josh,
i know the feeling...i have a 67 with all drums. i think that i have decided to hold off and just get all of the drum brakes working good and see how it goes. it's more important to me to get the sheetmetal fixed, all of the suspension and drivetrain running well. make sure all of my mechanical stuff is safe and operating correctly first and then i can start to do some of the custon stuff...lowering it, converting to disc brakes, power steering etc. my $.02 worth....

Jason

[bigsnookmaster]

Just remember BRAKES are the most important part of your truck! I would do the brakes before I do the rest. I run 4 wheel discs and will never have it any other way. .02

[JMARQUEZ_13]

I think that is the way i"am leaning towards because i can get the truck done if i dont do the breaks.

[RenoKeene]

I'm with Greg...did all the suspension FIRST....you'll love those disks when the little princess on the cell phone pulls right out in front of you!

[treveiger]

why not put a 73-87 front end on the truck to get disk breaks? i think power breaks would be something to look into because the stopping will be 1000 times better an it isnt hard to do.
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[too much stuff]

Originally Posted by JMARQUEZ_13

I'am having a hard time deciding if i should wait off doing the disc conversion and put my money into other stuff i will need to do so i can get my truck back on the road. What do you guys think? Conversion total would be $2,250 including the boss 338 in a twenty.

Nobody says you have to buy the wheels right now to do the conversion...

[lolife99]

Originally Posted by too much stuff

Nobody says you have to buy the wheels right now to do the conversion...

X2.
Skip the freakin 20's and get your brakes working.

[1970 CST STEP]

Originally Posted by lolife99

x2.
Skip the freakin 20's and get your brakes working.

X 3!!! More important than wheels/tires

[JMARQUEZ_13]

Well it sounds like the right thing to do is brakes. I guess i will just have to wait on wheels and tires.

[dave2953]

It never ceases to amaze me how many times I see a vehicle sitting on the side of the road with a set of nice wheels because money was spent on looks rather than making the vehicle mechanically sound. You can swap to disc brakes relatively inexpensively if you do as mentioned above and find a donor truck. Personally, rims would be the very last thing I would worry about.

[Longhorn Man]

on top of the facts mentioned above, if you set up the suspention first, then you can get the wheels for that suspention. Even if you spent the (much) added cost of 6 lug disks, the track is wider when you convert, and the wheels you stuffed in the fenders will be smacking the fenders.
Also, it is human nature to put things off. If you get your ride all pretty and running good, and then start having fun putting dead bugs on the grill... you are WAY less likely to pull it all apart and do a big mod like this. When the truck is apart, it's a fairly simple small mod. But when it is all done, fresh paint, everything bolted in its proper location, then it is VERY easy to say "Eh, the brakes are good enough." This is the main reason my one ton STILL has drums. It's easier NOT to do it.

Do it now.

[treveiger]

Originally Posted by Longhorn Man

on top of the facts mentioned above, if you set up the suspention first, then you can get the wheels for that suspention. Even if you spent the (much) added cost of 6 lug disks, the track is wider when you convert, and the wheels you stuffed in the fenders will be smacking the fenders.
Also, it is human nature to put things off. If you get your ride all pretty and running good, and then start having fun putting dead bugs on the grill... you are WAY less likely to pull it all apart and do a big mod like this. When the truck is apart, it's a fairly simple small mod. But when it is all done, fresh paint, everything bolted in its proper location, then it is VERY easy to say "Eh, the brakes are good enough." This is the main reason my one ton STILL has drums. It's easier NOT to do it.

Do it now.

Longhorn is a smart man listen to him. Its funny how things can be put off unit last minute or never. My daily driver right when i got it the wipers stuck straight up when off and it blocked my sight horribly but i "got use to it" and after several years and even a warning by a cop and nagging from my family i still didnt fix them but after i started dating this girl she kept teasing me about it and so did her friends and finally went and bought the 63 dollar part and installed it in less than a hour it was a simple fix but it didnt bother me but it shoulda been fixed once it broke.

[Longhorn Man]

yep... good enough for now ends up being good enough.

[JMARQUEZ_13]

ya thatmakes since might as well do brakes while its all taken apart i see its way easier to get too everything that way, and i would porbably keep putting it off if i go the other way.

[brad_man_72]

gas is expensive, once you start driving the wheels off of your truck you might not be able to afford any other mods

find a parts truck, I got everything I needed to swap from drums to disc 4 wheels and tires for $600, sold engine and trans then sold the bondo to the srap yard at the price of steel.

brakes brakes brakes brakes brakes brakes.

[Chris4x4Gill2]

I am (was) in the exact same situation you are. I went ahead and did the disc conversion (already had factory front discs) becasue the old drums were in such bad shape it was going to require replacing everything anyway. I'm happy knowing that even though she is still in need of paint and bodywork, she will run strong and stop on a dime. That means I can drive it in the mean time without worry.

[ChevLoRay]

Brake upgrade/conversion was the first thing I did. Never regretted it. Still don't. Wheels? You will probably change your mind several times by the time you are ready for them. Don't get stuck with a wheel design that you may not be in love with then, as you are now.

[treveiger]

What parts from what vheicals can you use to convert to rear disk breaks? i thought you had to buy a aftermarket kit...
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[profe56]

I think treveiger is right you dont need to spend a lot of money, why don't you swap 73-87 disc brake system, I did it.
CPP has an article how to do it.
the only xtra parts you'l need are ball joints, brake lines and outer sleves as well as an special adjusting sleeves.
But again see the article how to swap 73-87 disc brakes, it has a lot of pictures.

[djw32]

I added a hydroboost unit to my brakes. One of the best investments I have ever made.

[Shyguy]

Originally Posted by dave2953

It never ceases to amaze me how many times I see a vehicle sitting on the side of the road with a set of nice wheels because money was spent on looks rather than making the vehicle mechanically sound. You can swap to disc brakes relatively inexpensively if you do as mentioned above and find a donor truck. Personally, rims would be the very last thing I would worry about.

Just a little off thread, but not much. One of my grandsons bought a '63 Impala that was running. The first thing he did was paint it, the second put in a super great sound system, the third real expensive tires and wheels and the fourth was have it towed home from work because it broke down because he had not done any mechanical maintenance. I sure hope he learned something from this experience.

[treveiger]

Originally Posted by profe56

I think treveiger is right you dont need to spend a lot of money, why don't you swap 73-87 disc brake system, I did it.
CPP has an article how to do it.
the only xtra parts you'l need are ball joints, brake lines and outer sleves as well as an special adjusting sleeves.
But again see the article how to swap 73-87 disc brakes, it has a lot of pictures.

Do you have a link? Whats CPP?
Thanks.

[lolife99]

CPP = www.classicperform.com

[treveiger]

thats awesome thanks!!!