Pawpaw's 55 GMC.......my new project

[dsraven]

do you have a high school in the area with a metal shop? sometimes the teacher will give kids a project like that to learn skills with a torch or whatever. they could cut it out for you, learn a thing ot two and you get a cheap (likely) part that you can finish yourself.
send the cut pattern biggger than you need, lol.

[jwilson645]

Well I got my 3/8" plate and cut the brackets out. Not happy with them. These are straight pieces and to use the 3/8, they really need a bend in them for the caliper. The inside pad won't fit between the rotor and bracket without grinding. I currently have the bracket ground down to 5/16" so that the pad fits but it still needs more so the pad doesn't ride against the rotor so much.

The 15x6 wheel is also rubbing the caliper even with the 3/16 spacer. Have to grind there too and maybe up the spacer. I won't do that though until I resolve the bracket issue.

[dsraven]

Looks good. If anything I would say put a wheel on and see if you need to trim the bracket ear so it doesnt rin the tire.
Try a welding fab shop, they usually have smaller pieces laying around.
Good idea to mock up in what you have laying around. Also makes a great pattern to have should you or somebody you know wanna do it again.

[57tailgater]

A couple of comments:
1) The 6 lug kits are designed using later model square body caliper and rotor hats for 16" wheels. If you are using 15" wheels, you need to make sure they are designed for disc brakes (yes there are differences) and clear the calipers. There may also be a need for a thicker wheel spacer.
2) That bracket you are working on, note in the kits there is an offset in the bracket which offsets the caliper mounting further inboard a little. Again for wheel clearance.
3) The 5 lug kits have early 70's Camaro components which work with the 15" wheels better.

[jwilson645]

Originally Posted by 57tailgater

A couple of comments:
1) The 6 lug kits are designed using later model square body caliper and rotor hats for 16" wheels. If you are using 15" wheels, you need to make sure they are designed for disc brakes (yes there are differences) and clear the calipers. There may also be a need for a thicker wheel spacer.
2) That bracket you are working on, note in the kits there is an offset in the bracket which offsets the caliper mounting further inboard a little. Again for wheel clearance.
3) The 5 lug kits have early 70's Camaro components which work with the 15" wheels better.

I appreciate the info. I have 78 k10 rotors mounted on my original hubs(with roller bearing conversion) and 72 c10 calipers and test fitting 15x6 wheel vintiques series 62 with 4" bs. https://www.summitracing.com/parts/wvi-62-5606334

A 15" wheel SHOULD clear. I just need to find the right one or use a larger spacer. I know 3/8" will do it but then that will need longer wheel studs. I'd like to stay at 1/4" or less. I can grind some off the corner of the caliper since it isn't rubbing much. I just have to iron out the bracket issue. I will probably just go ahead and order these https://www.speedwaymotors.com/Weld-...cket,3348.htmland build them the way that they were done in this thread https://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/...d.php?t=797504 since this is where I got the rotor and caliper info to begin with.

[Jason 56]

Looking good! Looks to be a good starting point. I’ll be following

[jwilson645]

While it was raining Saturday, I managed to get the driver side fender patched. Both have rust though along the edge where the brace is on the back side. You can see in previous picture that one had had filler put over the rust holes. All that was ground out and I did some hammer & dolly work to straighten the dents so it'll only need a skim coat not instead of the 1/4" thick stuff that was on there.

[dsraven]

did you also need to replace part of the inner rear brace as well? mine has the same issue but im not there yet.

[jwilson645]

Originally Posted by dsraven

did you also need to replace part of the inner rear brace as well? mine has the same issue but im not there yet.

I did. The brace was only brazed on in 2 spots, the top and bottom. The rest was simply held on by the folded over fender edge.

[jwilson645]

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[dsraven]

have you ever tried a shrinking disc for the final metalworking after the hammer and dolly? they work great. basically, they hit the high spots only and heat them up from friction, then you use a wet rag to cool those spots down fast and the shrink, levelling the surface. onlt needs to get hot enough to cause a little steam when the wet rag is rubbed accross. some have used a fabric iron for the same theoretical purpose. there are videos on youtube. wray shelen (? spelling) sells a good one and also has a video.

[jwilson645]

Originally Posted by dsraven

have you ever tried a shrinking disc for the final metalworking after the hammer and dolly? they work great. basically, they hit the high spots only and heat them up from friction, then you use a wet rag to cool those spots down fast and the shrink, levelling the surface. onlt needs to get hot enough to cause a little steam when the wet rag is rubbed accross. some have used a fabric iron for the same theoretical purpose. there are videos on youtube. wray shelen (? spelling) sells a good one and also has a video.

I have not tried one, although I've seen Wray's videos before. I watched some of Carl Fisher's (Make It Kustom/ Jap Hands Kustoms) videos this morning on the hammer & dollying since it's been quite a while. He's good at explaining g and demonstrating if you haven't watched him on YT before.

[dsraven]

yup, I have seen make it custom's stuff. always good ideas and shows how to get stuff done without buying a garage full of spendy tools.

[dsraven]

I have the shelen disc kit with the larger and smaller discs. they work great for the final metalworking. a slapper also helps, I made one from a piece of leaf spring i found on the road a few winters ago. Calgary has such smooth infrastructure, NOT!

[dsraven]

sometimes the slapper gets used as a dolly as well, depending on the profile needed.

[jwilson645]

Front discs and steering are together. Started mounting the Blazer tank yesterday.

[jwilson645]

Updates.....

[jwilson645]

Engine

[jwilson645]

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