Ft. Brakes replacement 70 C30 Dump

[2 Stovebolts]

One of the brakes started sticking after sitting for about 2 weeks. Decided to pull the wheels to see what was going on....Nothing obvious jumped out, so probably wheel cylinders or hoses....Shoes were actually in good condition....After disassembly I soaked backing plates, steering knuckles ect & power washed. I replaced wheel cylinders with Chinese Junk...no not a boat... which proved to be a mistake.... In hind site should have rebuilt the cylinders. Also replaced hoses (US Wagner) I painted all the new hardware, I sprayed Cosmoline on all the nickle parts, along with never seize...all threaded bolts and hardware...want to make it easy for the next guy! While at the L/F I noticed the steering rag joint actually falling apart, so that got replaced....and while everything was apart I scraped, wire brushed any suspension and frame..inner & outer...Brushed on Rustoleum rusty metal primer, and the top coated with gloss black....And finally replaced the correct 1 ton hub spacers that were removed by the previous owner....It had C20 hubs.....Now someone might say that this brake job was an overkill.... which I tent to agree but its really preventive maintenance.....A clean dirt & rust free undercarriage, is just as important under the truck as on top.....
Oh by the way...The Chinese wheel cylinders were so poorly designed that when I went to bleed the brakes it was impossible to get the wrench on the bleeder as it was to close to the brake hose....I had to remove the cylinder take a die grinder and carve out a nitch so the box wrench would clear....

[68bowtie]

Looks good. Nice and clean.

[LockDoc]

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Good job on the rebuild. I ran into the same problem with the replacement wheel cylinders on my '72 C30. I wish mine had a dump bed on it. Keep us posted on the progress.

LockDoc

[Chevyland]

When running those c30 trucks for years in the 80’s 90’s and early 00’s
It seems like we used to have a hard time now and then getting brake parts for them
You could get anything for c10’s and 20’s
But c30 parts weren’t as prevalent.
I’ll tell you what though.
Not one of those trucks Ever got painted underneath.
Heck, I don’t think I ever even did a brake job
By myself
No

[68panelman]

Falls into the category of "well while I'm here",.. and then the back and forth to the auto parts store is the usual for me

[57taskforce]

“While I’m in here” resulted in a body off build for me. I know I’ve got issues!

[2 Stovebolts]

chevyland....Well brush painting the undercarriage, or the dump body is just part of routine maintenance like owner ship of a wooden boat, or a large water vessel...keeping every thing preserved as much as possible especially in the north east....Wheels are a big issues with this era C30 trucks....do you recall what tires you ran? See my before & after pics...When I went to look at my truck for purchase I was totally confused...Was this a C20 with duallies on the back and a used C30 fender that someone never changed the emblem?? The truck had a fresh low grade paint job.. No.. the data plate decoded it as a C30.......Now I've been accused by several, that I've been too hard on the ole boy who had this truck...so I'll keep my emotions in check....but yet this is just another mess that had to be dealt with....OK all 6 tires were mismatched in sizes, along with being dry rotted....The front were 16.5 the rears were a couple of different sizes as on one side, one tire was larger than the other, so the inner tire never touched the pavement.... The front were tubeless & the rears a combination of tube & tubeless...At that point I was so focused on the front, I didn't pay too much attention to the rears....My attraction to this truck was simply the 292. had it been a V8 of any kind I would have ran like hell....Once I got the truck home & had a chance to digest my findings. I called the guy who sold me the truck to ask if he could ask the 'boy wonder', he got the truck from, if he still had the C30 hubs..the reply was, he got rid of them....Now why on earth would you remove the c30 hubs to replace them with C20 hubs???? I know, he didn't want to buy tires so he found a C20 with decent tread and did a Rube Goldberg.....probably in some field, and when he was done he just got in the truck and drove away leaving the hubs & budd wheels behind along with some beverage cans, and fast food wrappers....That whole episode must have been some site to watch....LMAO......but its no joke as I had to deal with it....Thankfully my connection in Long Island 'Chevy Dave' a great guy who breaths Chevy, to the point of having a bowtie tattoo on his arm, how dedicated is that! with his preference for trucks, came to the rescue with replacement front hubs....Dave has a very small yard packed to the gills, along with his small mobile home which is used for storage & office.... Now Dave wasn't all that excited to sell me the hubs.. but he did....as now he has a vehicle he cannot move, & I know he can't get the wrecker in there......So now you see, how the mindless irresponsible decision,of someone has yet affected another person..... and my condescending comments are too harsh.....Tools are as useful and beneficial as they are a means of destruction....and we all heard of the saying 'Fell into the Wrong Hands" ...Moving onward & upward....By the way if anyone is interested in a 'Billet' grille...PM me.....

[35boulder]

Nice looking truck. That dump will handy. Good luck down the road.

[68panelman]

Looks so much better now with the correct wheels.
Chevydave, been to his one yard a few times in the early nineties, Commack, or Northport, Greenlawn LI? Well one of those towns..
Keep up the great work

[2 Stovebolts]

Chevy Dave...he's now in Kings Park....Just a great down to earth guy...could spend a whole day with him, with the purpose of only making a quick stop....Don't get to LI much now that I'm as far east as you can get.....Next step on the restoration is replacing all the sheet metal with exception of the cab, as I want to keep the clearance lights...The roof is specifically formed for those lights....so it will be rockers & cab corners....Oh and the dash...How can we forget that !!!...I have already collected all OEM rust & damaged free sheet metal...with original paint....Plan to do a color change as well.....This is not going to be a show truck, but a driver....and actually it gets a lot of thumbs up just using it for chores...Don't really need to go to any car/truck shows.... Thanks for the encouragement.....

[LockDoc]

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Looks like the same color as my '72. What transmission does yours have?

LockDoc

[2 Stovebolts]

Just the standard 4 speed with first as creeper....What wheels do you have....Late model - (80ies) or split rim?

[68Gold/white]

Job well done!!! I have a personal saying, NO corn cob engineering! (I am from Iowa, I can say that...LOL). I put some non name brand wheel cylinders on the front of my buddies 72 GTO, years back had same stupid deal, with the grinding needed.

[2 Stovebolts]

Actually that whole wheel cylinder was an issue...The bolts that hold the wheel cylinder to the backing plate were specific, that took a 12 point wrench, or socket...Naturally they were rusted beyond unscrewing, and all the points were rounded.......Out come the torch & vice grips......Then could not get these same replacement bolts so had to use 1/4 inch with 3/8 head bolts which caused another problem of the head of the bolt striking the steering knuckle.... And the fun continues.... By the way the wheel cylinder kits were also China, so either way its not a win/win...Some times I feel like I'm in Cuba trying to repair a 55 Chevy.....

[LockDoc]

Originally Posted by 2 Stovebolts

Just the standard 4 speed with first as creeper....What wheels do you have....Late model - (80ies) or split rim?

I don't know what year they are but they are not split rims.

I Don't know if you would be interested in what I did for a newer transmission in my C30 but it has worked out well for me for all around driving, towing, and hauling, and a pretty easy install.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=673588

LockDoc

[Chevyland]

2 stovebolts
You definitely like things right

Here’s one I had for a while,
I only bought it because I wanted the original 292 for another truck.
Check out the custom front bumper
Is that heat stove pipe original ??

I never even looked at the brakes
It started
And it stopped

[Chevyland]

Originally Posted by Chevyland

2 stovebolts
You definitely like things right

Here’s one I had for a while,
I only bought it because I wanted the original 292 for another truck.

Is that heat stove pipe original ??

I never even looked at the brakes
It started
And it stopped

Barely
I guess that was the reason for the massaged grill
And new custom bumper

[2 Stovebolts]

chevyland...lol...Necessity is the mother of invention !!! on that front bumper....Actually that is basically what my grille looked like when I bought my truck....previous owner slapped on the billet grille with plastic ties....took care of that in an instant !!! What's up with that air cleaner? CA smog?

LockDoc....Thanks for the thread regarding the transmission....I most likely will go that route when I change the clutch...but for now the clutch is fine.... which is a wonder......Rims/wheels...I know the proper name is not split rim, but its a rim with an outer ring....What is the correct terminology for that wheel?....I have to say I could not salvage any of the rear wheels on the truck....You should have seen the sledge hammer distortions,.... for certain there must have been a wobble going down the road....Took quite a bit to locate wheels that did not have hammer blow marks.....I located a parts truck and went equipped with the porta power & acetylene torches...I used the mini ram as I heated the wheel around the hub......they popped right off......Why would you want to kill yourself swinging a sledge hammer under a truck?..... Keeping it positive here, don't want to comment on a 'better way' to do things......

[Chevyland]

They are called split rims
They do take a bit of hammering and crowbar ‘ing
We ran the all the time back in the day
But changed them out over time
Because of this

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=s2exMOT0-9M

Many shop will not work on them anymore
The ones that do, use some sort of cage now when inflating

[2 Stovebolts]

I really didn't want the original tube type split rims...but due to the 1/2" studs and having to be hub centric I had no choice...Had the wheels sandblasted, power coated and bought 6 new radials....Thought about wheel adapters, but wasn't excited about that either, besides the wheels would have stuck out from the dump body... Got lucky with the front, using the 80ies wheels that are hub centric, then I had a machine shop make bushings to take up the slack between the 1/2' studs & the 11/16 hole in the wheel...at least the fronts are tubeless..... I bought the tires from a truck/tractor tire dealer, No Tire Rack for these! They didn't even flinch about the split ring....They actually sent to wheels out to be sand blasted & coated....yeah they got top $$$ but it was worth it....Wonder how things are out in the field with the C20 with no front wheels..... Despite my misery...I laugh like hell....