1965 C10 LWB Project Build Thread

[rbruno68]

I have a feeling I might go the same route as you. Start the lower control arm shafts in the A arm, but final torque on the truck.
Rob

[JohnIL]

Another productive weekend in the garage. I lost a couple of weeks to travel, but the brake conversion project is moving forward again.

When last we spoke, I was ready to dig into the manual to power master cylinder replacement. That led to new brake lines, new rear wheel cylinders, and new rear brake shoes. Brake work is always tedious. It's even more tedious when you don't have the right parts on hand. A few weeks ago, I starting accumulating components for this phase of the project. I ordered new wheel cylinders and brake shoes from my local parts store. I ordered copper-nickel brake lines and tube nuts from the Amazonians. While I was waiting for parts to arrive, I focused on mounting the new master cylinder.

The first (and biggest) challenge was the aluminum adapter plate that came with the kit. None of the holes lined up with the holes in the firewall. I chalk this up to minor stamping variations at the GM factory in 1965. The aluminum plate is very precisely machined. The tolerances are much too tight for an old pickup. I had to open all of the holes up about 1/8" to create enough adjustability to get all four of the mounting bolts to line up with the firewall. I wanted to sneak up on this modification, so I redrilled the holes in small increments. I feel like I redrilled those silly holes at least a hundred times. I had aluminum drill shavings everywhere. Once I finally got the adapter plate mounted, everything else fell into place. There is plenty of vertical adjustment in the spacer brackets to line up the brake rod with the factory pedal. So, I mounted the booster and master cylinder. I left everything just snug to allow for final adjustment later.

Meanwhile, the brake parts started arriving. My usually reliable parts store botched the order. I ordered three items: brake shoes, left wheel cylinder, and right wheel cylinder. Only one of those items was correct. They sent me two left wheel cylinders and brake shoes for a C20. Ugh. After two more trips to the store (40 minutes each way), I finally had the right parts in hand. The rear brake job itself only took about an hour (split over two days, of course). Between my son's G-body El Camino and his square body C10, I've gotten WAY too proficient with rear drum brakes.

Next it was time for new brake lines. I chose copper-nickel because it's easy to work with and it doesn't rust. I fell in love with this stuff while replacing the brake lines on the El Camino a few years ago. The challenge with the brake lines for this conversion is the wide variety of tube nut sizes needed for the various connections. Even though there are only two sizes of brake lines, I counted five different tube nut sizes. Unfortunately, I missed one. There is actually a sixth size. The connect where the front hard line connects to the soft line at each caliper uses a different size tube nut than anywhere else in the system. Curses, foiled again! So, I had to place another order for a handful of those tube nuts to finish up the front brake lines.

While I'm waiting for more brake parts to arrive, I fabbed up a vacuum line for the brake booster. I've always hated the looks of the black rubber hose snaking it's way from the back of the carburetor to the front of the brake booster. So, I bent up a hard line out of 3/8" aluminum. Even with a short rubber "coupler" hose at both ends, it looks much cleaner this way.

I'm particularly happy with the way the top end of the system (master cylinder, combination valve, and brake lines) turned out. This is the most visible part of the system. Unfortunately, it's also the most cluttered part. Most power brake conversion kits (this one included) come with a weird little bracket that mounts the combination valve to the side of the master cylinder. I've looked at that arrangement on lots of show vehicles and I've never seen one that I would call "clean". The little mounting bracket serves its purpose, but it places the combination valve front-and-center. With all the brake lines coming and going, the valve has a tendency to look like a baby squid. To minimize the squid look, I fabbed up a new bracket that mounts the combination valve on the inner fender, below the master cylinder and as far back toward the firewall as possible. It's only a few inches away from the intended mounting location on the side of the master cylinder, but it made a HUGE difference in the overall look. It also provided enough space for a pair of stress relief loops in the lines coming from the master cylinder. I think looks much more intentional this way. If you wanted to full "show car", you could hide the combination valve down on the frame, below the inner fender. I opted to keep it up in the engine bay to keep it accessible and protected. The combination valve (the same exact part#, by coincidence) on the El Camino is mounted on the frame, just below the driver's left foot. It's definitely hidden, but it's impossible to get to and it collects road debris like a magnet.

Before and after pictures of the master cylinder area included below.

I'm getting close on the brake conversion project. Once the last of fiddly bits arrive, I need to finish the front brake hard lines, tighten everything up, fill the master cylinder, bleed the system, fix all the inevitable leaks, and get the C10 back on the road.

[SCOTI]

Clean install & agree 100% w/the 'squid' description on the typical aftermarket prop valve installation bracketry.