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]

Originally Posted by 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?

Thanks for the compliments.

The proportioning block is in the stock location. It looks almost stock but it had a provision to remove a small spring loaded valve when the user wanted to switch to 4 wheel disks. Are you thinking this was an adjustable proportioning valve for adjusting bias on the rear brakes? I may still need to do that, just don't know yet. Need to drive more.

[Chevymaniac]

Are you thinking this was an adjustable proportioning valve for adjusting bias on the rear brakes? I may still need to do that, just don't know yet. Need to drive more.[/QUOTE]

Yes, i thought you had an adjustable one installed. Did you get your current one at the parts store?

[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.