Disc brakes with 15" rims ?

[67chevemall]

Hello ... I am wondering when GM switched to Disc brakes up front did they leave the 15" rim as stock. Or did they have to switch to 16" rim to fit the discs...
It is probabaly the spindles not the disc brake that is the issue.

I am going to put drop spindels and disc brakes on the front. I hear I won't be able to use my 15" rims once I do this....

I have 18's that will work but really like the 15" rim with MT's and dog dish look too.

If I can't use my 15" rims once I convert I will have to drink a case and think about this....

Thanks for any info in advance..

[Bert W]

Some of the Chevy Truck Gurus will correct me if I am wrong. Our trucks (67-72) switched to factory front disc brakes in 1971 and they used 15" 5 lug wheels. My 89 Chevy has discs up front and 15 inch wheels also.

[67chevemall]

Cool...so it must be the 2" drop spindle that screws up the 15" rim fitting on there with disc brakes??

[69c10step]

I have not done the swap, but saved this picture from a post a while ago - it may help you determine ...

[stsalvage]

funny thing about back in that time 17 inch rims are un heard of on are chevy trucks from the C10--c20's 15 was standard all the way up from 1957--1995.

1967--72 only had 4 wheel choices 15 inch for 1/2 ton and 16 and 16 split rim or 16.5 and drop spindles did not come around for are trucks until 1984-87 then the truck faze really kicked off

[bubba353z]

I have the CPP drop spindle kit w/ 12" rotors, and 15's I bought fit fine. If you go to a 13" or larger rotor, then 17's are needed to clear the calipers.

[cdowns]

the 71 and 72 trucks i had with drop spindles and stock 71disc brakes had no problems clearing 71and up style wheels

earlier drum style wheels as pictured above dont clear disc brakes// was a pretty commn problem for all manuractures back in the day even had problems with some of the earlier mag wheels too

[67chevemall]

Originally Posted by bubba353z

I have the CPP drop spindle kit w/ 12" rotors, and 15's I bought fit fine. If you go to a 13" or larger rotor, then 17's are needed to clear the calipers.

Right on! Thanks man..Now I can rest my brain and order the stuff.

[CC69Rat]

I have 2.5" McGaughy's dropped spindles and 1.25" HD rotors (73+ swap) with 15x6.5" Van rallys on my truck now. No problems at all.

[67chevemall]

Ya the CPP site (which has copyright or would paste it) says "May not fit with factory wheels" hummmmm I hate guessing with 20% off returns....plus shipping.

6370SWBK6OE 1963-70 O.E.M., 6-lug, drop, kit Photo/Info $599.00

This is the kit I am looking at...

[mrein3]

If you're talking 6-lug rims, look at the 4x4s. '71-87+ (not sure where the plus sign ends) should fit.

[67chevemall]

All ready have the rims...I just hope I can use them after spending the $600 bucks...

[bubba353z]

Contact Aaron at CPP - maybe he can tell you if your wheels are OK to use.

[67chevemall]

I sent an email, may have to call if no reply soon....

[leddzepp]

if you are running 5 lug wheels, 15 in. will clear disc brakes with dropped spindles. i have 2.5 dropped spindles and 1 full coil cut out of my oem springs for a total of 5 inches of drop up front. 5 lug rallies and oem steelies (both 15") clear with no issues.

if you are running 6 lug 15" wheels you need to get 71 and up wheels as mentioned above that were designed for use with discs.
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[chevjayfsd]

I've got 5.5 up front using 2.5 spindles... No issues on a 15x7 rim.

[67chevemall]

I am running stock 6 lug drum brakes with bags.... Need the drop spindle for the truck to sit right and even tire wear.

[1970 CST Short Wide]

Originally Posted by 69c10step

I have not done the swap, but saved this picture from a post a while ago - it may help you determine ...

Even with having the "wont fit rim" with a small 1/8 " wheel spacer mine work fine

[67chevemall]

Ahhhh the secret is out now! Wheel spacer brings it out far enough to clear the caliper?

I was day dreaming about shaving some metal off the caliper but a wheel spacer is brilliant.

[KRUSTY 51]

I'm running 15'' rims with the CPP disc's all 4 corners...yes their 4x4 rallies and it's got 2.5 dropped spindels. sorry for the old pic.

[fastwillie 696969]

15 inch with cpp gm d52 calipers and slotted rotors no problems with disc

[jocko]

Originally Posted by 67chevemall

I am running stock 6 lug drum brakes with bags.... Need the drop spindle for the truck to sit right and even tire wear.

Your stock wheels will NOT fit over disks. 67 drum brake 15" wheels are not the same as 71-72 stock 15" wheels due to the taper on the inside of your stock wheels.

If you want to run a spacer that may help you clear - but it may not... For the folks that mentioned a spacer worked - you'd need to verify that they spaced a non-disk brake tapered inner 67-68 15" wheel to know if that's the right spacer for you.

What you REALLY need if you want stock steelies and disk brakes and 6 lugs is a 71-87 K10 wheel. It's a true 15" 6 lug disk brake factory steelie (rally wheels fit disks, but you said you want steelies, so steelies are not rally wheels, so I'm not talkin about rallies - but they are an option - some folks were posting rallies, sounds like you only want steelies, correct?).

Keep in mind, even if you have disk in the front only - you really need 3 disk brake wheels minimum if you want to have a spare that will work on all 4 wheels. I'm looking for a set also, and they can be hard to find, but I'm not in a rush, waiting til someone offers 5 then will pounce on ebay or a seller here... But anyway, these are what your really need based one what you said you're wanting to do with your truck

[67chevemall]

67 drum brake 15" wheels are not the same as 71-72 stock 15" wheels due to the taper on the inside of your stock wheels

Thats the info I was missing! Thanks.

I have 15X9" steel rims with the dog dish cap. I think they were custom made in the 70's when Pro Track 50 tires were around. The rear rim is 15X12 which makes me think he had them both made up. I am not sure what year the rims are though...

How do I tell if they are 67-70 or 71+ rims...what does the taper look like?

[67chevemall]

Originally Posted by 69c10step

I have not done the swap, but saved this picture from a post a while ago - it may help you determine ...

I'll take a rim off tonight and compare it to this pic.....

[jocko]

Here's a great thread by another Markeb01 - shows where the taper is on an OLD mag wheel - but it will give you the general idea where it is on a stock steelie and why it interferes.
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=430426

Now, compare that with the wheel in this thread: http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=502441 and you'll see the difference. The inset on the inside of the wheel around the outer rim goes straight back toward the center rather than tapers back toward the center. You can picture where the caliper goes and see why a tapered inner rim would interfere. (best way to "see" the difference is look at the profile of the wheel where the 3" mark is on the tape measure (in the pic where he shows the 6: width) - that is the area where it clears the caliper.

If you've got 15x9's, then all bets are off (I was thinking you had stock 15x6's from 67) - but looking at these pics and the thread above will help you figure out if they'll fit disks, hopefully.

I've been looking for these wheels (i.e. some stock 15x6 6 lug wheels for my 66 that will fit disk brakes - in other words, 71-87 K10 steelies) forEVER and finally tracked some down. I drove 6 hours round trip this morning to buy 3 from a company in chino that restores old hubcaps (and also sells wheels). They only had 3! And I did some comparing and bought the other 2 off 69Beauty (link above), so hopefully I'll have a matched set with a spare to boot. 4 wheel disks here I come... Unfortunately, now I'm broke. Anyway, hope this helps.

If you've got 15x9's made after 1971, they probably will be fine - but look in the general area outlined in these threads and you should be able to tell if they are tapered or not now. Good luck.