Brother's keeper - '58 Stepside build

[Black_Sheep]

Still alive and kickin'

[joedoh]

Originally Posted by Black_Sheep

Still alive and kickin'

beautiful!

[59chev]

Great to see it out on the road.. Helps keep me motivated on my build.

[Black_Sheep]

Originally Posted by 59chev

Great to see it out on the road.. Helps keep me motivated on my build.

That’s why I keep posting, to help inspire folks with ongoing projects. There are rewards for all the long nights in the garage, skinned knuckles, etc...

[oldman3]

Sweet...Jim

[Jason 56]

Sweet rewards for all the hard work!

[Black_Sheep]

Bump to avoid dropping to page 4

It's been a good year in spite of only making a few shows. The upside is that I spent a lot more time driving than I did cleaning. It's snowed a few times so the truck is parked for the next 5 or 6 months. There's a short list of things to do before giving the truck a good detailing and throwing the cover on it.

Just wanted to let you guys know that I'm still alive and kicking...

[Joe Pass]

Happy safe Holiday.....

[Black_Sheep]

The reman Raybestos calipers I put on a while back are being replaced because the driver’s side developed a leak. My wife said I should put new ones on instead. Here’s my project for this evening...

[oldman3]

Mark, let us know how everything goes. I've been thinking about changing my D-52 calipers to the wilwood, would like your feedback...Jim

[Black_Sheep]

Originally Posted by oldman3

Mark, let us know how everything goes. I've been thinking about changing my D-52 calipers to the wilwood, would like your feedback...Jim

Jim I screwed up and bought the wrong caliper for my rotor thickness. I reordered the right size but it's going to put me behind a couple days. FYI these have 2 x 2" pistons so they should have great stopping power

[6DoF]

i'm super interested to hear what you think about this calipers change! i have done a bunch of D52 caliper research for my jeeps and the '55 over the years. even thought the dual piston wilwood actually has smaller surface area, everyone says they feel better due to the better force distribution and "tighter" pedal.

i've run JB6 and the small wilwood in the rear of a jeep, and JB6 and the 1-tons on the front of jeeps. never got my hands on the D52 JB7, and i'm really thinking next time i'd get the large wilwood for the front to try. my '55 is getting the 1-ton front and JB6 rear, but i'd also love to try the 76-78 cadi rear d52.

Total piston area (sqin):

Front:
JB6 D52 -- 6.78
wilwood dual -- 6.28
79-85 K20 JB7 -- 7.82 (metric banjo)
GM 1-ton (slide mount) -- 8.90

Rear:
wilwood dual -- 2.46
Cadillac ('76 -'78) Eldorado E-brake Calipers -- 4.55

[Black_Sheep]

Originally Posted by 6DoF

i'm super interested to hear what you think about this calipers change! i have done a bunch of D52 caliper research for my jeeps and the '55 over the years. even thought the dual piston wilwood actually has smaller surface area, everyone says they feel better due to the better force distribution and "tighter" pedal.

i've run JB6 and the small wilwood in the rear of a jeep, and JB6 and the 1-tons on the front of jeeps. never got my hands on the D52 JB7, and i'm really thinking next time i'd get the large wilwood for the front to try. my '55 is getting the 1-ton front and JB6 rear, but i'd also love to try the 76-78 cadi rear d52.

Total piston area (sqin):

Front:
JB6 D52 -- 6.78
wilwood dual -- 6.28
79-85 K20 JB7 -- 7.82 (metric banjo)
GM 1-ton (slide mount) -- 8.90

Rear:
wilwood dual -- 2.46
Cadillac ('76 -'78) Eldorado E-brake Calipers -- 4.55

I’ll be sure to post my impression when I get the truck back on the road. I have enough miles on it to make a valid comparison.

[oldman3]

Hey Mark, did you finally get the new calipers installed? How much difference did it make? Thanks ...Jim

[Black_Sheep]

Originally Posted by oldman3

Hey Mark, did you finally get the new calipers installed? How much difference did it make? Thanks ...Jim

I took it for a drive last weekend to break in the pads per Wilwood's instructions, so I haven't worked them too hard yet. They do have a nice "feel" while braking normally so my initial impression is good. I really need to put some miles on it but the weather has not been cooperating.

FYI, I used middle of the road Wilwood DP-10 grade brake pads and SS brake hoses.

[oldman3]

Thanks for the info Mark...Jim

[Black_Sheep]

Jim now that they're broken in with a few hundred miles of normal driving, I couldn't be happier with the new brakes. They are noticeably better than the stock calipers with BAER Sport pads. The ratio of brake torque to pedal effort is very linear and totally predictable. Brake balance feels really good and it stops perfectly straight with no hands on the wheel. Well worth the roughly $500 price tag.

The only downside is they aren't visible with my choice of wheel...

[oldman3]

Mark, thanks for the review. That makes is easier for me to make the change. I was on the fence and this makes it happen..Jim

[Black_Sheep]

Getting ready for Back to the 50’s next week, after taking care the PM stuff and a new power steering belt I made a support for the heater hoses. The truck still needs a little cleanup but it’s been running good.

My weekend starts on Thursday...

[youngrodder]

Nice stand off bracket. This will save your paint from getting marred up.
I hope you had a nice time at the show.

Marc

[Black_Sheep]

It's been a long time so here's an update to keep my build thread from dropping off page 10. The truck is running better than ever, so I'm running out of things to do except enjoy it. I did finally figure out how to orient the turn signal cam so they now cancel reliably. I also changed the weights in my TH400's governor to dial in the upshifts, I couldn't be happier.

[youngrodder]

It's so nice once you get past the chasing issues stage and get them really dialed in mechanically. They become so much fun to drive.

Well done.

Marc

[oldman3]

Glad you get out and enjoy it, still beautiful ride...Jim

[joedoh]

still gorgeous!

[57FleetsideC4]

Great looking truck. Enjoy it!! Steve