Disc conv. and shackle flip all around on my 70 K20

[Former member Yoder213]

little bit of help needed and ideas given

Well brakes went out last weekend.
First the
Blackbird customs D60 front disc conversion
DIY4x4 14bff rear disc conversion

then when that's worked out
DIY4x4 B-52 first gen front shackle flip
DIY4x4 rear shackle flip
with 52" springs up front and new ones in the rear (all my springs are grooved)

with the list i'll be able to put H1 take off tires on for about 700 a set. and
I think I should look into the crossover steering for the big tires as well as torsion bars (my 292 bored 60 over with Tom Langdons headers like to tap dance)

has anyone done similar? have any tips or tricks or red flags going off?
any help or criticism (not too rough now) would be greatly appreciated.

[special-K]

I'm not familiar with flipping the front shackles? They are already "flipped" compared to the stock rear shackles.

[ryanroo]

Crossover doesnt have much to do with tires. its more to help correct the function of the steering with a lot of suspension travel.

i am unaware of the need for torsion bars on a 70 K20. they dont have any.

i dont know what you are trying to do with a dana 60 brake kit on a k20. it should have a 44 front with drums. if you are trying to convert a drum 44 to disks, nothing for a 60 will fit. if your goal is simply disk brakes, i would hunt for a complete disk brake d44f or ten bolt. they can be had usually for the cost of some fancy aftermarket stuff for a conversion.

[Former member Yoder213]

I apologize for some incorrect verbage there.

What I'm doing to the front is not a "flip" your right, Special K. Its a modification that will allow me to put 52" leaf springs up there

And Ryanroo, your right, the crossover will be to improve steering geometry (with 33's I can feel it slacking in softer turf, I'm predicting 37" will make it much more apparent.) and by torsion bars I mean something to get rid of all my wheel hop.

Just going up a dirt, mountain road if I'm not light as a butterfly on the throttle I might as well be on an jackhammer, and none of the ladies like that for very long.

And the PO put 1ton stuff under it. already went to put shoes on and bought all the wrong parts before I asked him what he had done.

[ryanroo]

some pictures may help. if it has GM one ton axles, the brakes are adequate for 37s already. stock they should be disk/drum. i have a d60f/14ff in my FSJ and its stops great with 40s. the rear has been converted to disk. perhaps any issues stem from worn or leaky brake system parts. swapping rear disks is not a terrible thing for a truck that is going to see a lot of dirt and mud, but you loose any real effective way of having a parking brake on the axle. drums are very capable and dont necessarily warrant replacement with disks.

a torsion bar is a type of spring used in different types of suspensions. i think what you are looking for would be referred to as a traction bar or torque bar. that will help with the axle wrap associated hop.

[special-K]

People red magazines and websites and it makes them want to set out to change everything to the latest thing when as built is often more than adequate for their uses. I like to have cool stuff,too,but I'm to where I'd rather spend my money elsewhere then spend it all on bragging rights. My first 4wds were all drum with 37/14.50s and I never knew my brakes weren't good enough till 20+ years later. I always stopped as needed and never came close to rear ending anyone. I always figured if drums can stop a semi they must be a good design. Never suffered a frozen caliper either. I've had more than my share of those,especially now with the cheap crap Chinese cast iron they offer us now. I don't turn my 40+ yer old OEM cores in anymore so I can rebuild them and know I have good iron

[Former member Yoder213]

So I've been lying,

No D60

my model number says 44 56 and then I have some numbers stamped straight above the model number on the differential housing, all the diagrams I can find don't give me any relief in the double number or the number above the model number,

busting out the wire brush and getting the BOM

but has anyone seen this or other funny stuff regarding where numbers have been stamped? I've heard of them being under the bracket or over a foot away from the diff.