Larger brakes?

[LMREESE]

Is it possible to add larger brakes to my 67 c10? I find myself hauling a big load a good bit of the time and our mountains here are are giving my factory brakes a workout. I have never been worried about stopping but on long grades, my brakes are pretty smelly when I get to the bottom.

[Mike C]

I assume you still have the factory drums? The factory disc setup is a very good brake system and if your goal is better braking, I would do a 6 lug disc conversion.
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[LMREESE]

Yes currently I have the factory 6 lug drums.

[70']

Yes you can. I just installed a disk conversion kit on my 70 from AZ Pro Performance. Call Travis down there, he knows exactly what you need, but I will warn you, it ain't cheap. I sunk $1700 into my rear disk conversion, and the front is going to be about the same for you. My truck has disk up front already so I'm going to get off a little cheaper than you up front. That being said, you will throw $3500-4000 at it on all 4 corners if you do it right.

[LMREESE]

Is it possible to go with larger drum brakes?

['68OrangeSunshine]

Originally Posted by LMREESE

Is it possible to go with larger drum brakes?

Yes. I have a '71 GMC Jimmy 4x4 and the rear end blew out 5 years ago. I pulled the rear off my '67 K/10 Suburban. Both were 3.73. The GMC had larger rear drums with fins. The '67 had unfinned drums -- same as all around on my '68 C/10 Stepside. I changed out the brake shoes to fit the wider drums, used a spare pair of drums for the GMC I had, and it worked good.

[Stu Pidd]

I'm thinking about swapping in 8-lug axles from a 3/4 ton to the C-10 just for the bigger brakes. I sometimes tow quite a bit of weight, but don't need the heavy springs/rough ride of a C-20.

I already have the whole front assembly w/discs, so it's just a matter of swapping the front and purchasing & installing a rear axle.

[LMREESE]

Originally Posted by '68OrangeSunshine

Yes. I have a '71 GMC Jimmy 4x4 and the rear end blew out 5 years ago. I pulled the rear off my '67 K/10 Suburban. Both were 3.73. The GMC had larger rear drums with fins. The '67 had unfinned drums -- same as all around on my '68 C/10 Stepside. I changed out the brake shoes to fit the wider drums, used a spare pair of drums for the GMC I had, and it worked good.

So all you did was add wider shoes and drums and used the same wheel cylinders and etc?

[Mike C]

There is no need to do the rears, they are sufficient in most instances. A front disc conversion will absolutely amaze you and should be able to be done for less than $1000.

My '69 scared me to death to drive around in tight traffic because the drums, but the disc conversion cut the braking distance in half I bet. My rears tended to lock up quickly with the drums, but none of that since the disc conversion.

['68OrangeSunshine]

Originally Posted by LMREESE

So all you did was add wider shoes and drums and used the same wheel cylinders and etc?

Yup.

[PanelDeland]

I did front disc conversion for about $1000, with new ball, joints, tie rod ends and drop spindles using all new parts. It's about $600 for spindles and front brakes then another $300 or so to add power and new MC. Your drums are probably overheating on the downgrade causing them to fade.