1971 front brake calipers and hoses

[JerryIndy2112]

I have had truck on stands for over a month. I got new rotors, calipers. I got factory calipers from O'brian auto parts. They were $20 each, cheap. Passenger side hooked right up to existing brake line. Drivers side had a different connection to brake line. Called O'Brien and they said to take it to local outlet. I did. They say both types of connections have same part #, so they cannot say weather I sent it back that I would get right connection. So I ordered new brake line to fit different caliper. New brake line is shorter. Not too big an issue, but it will also not fit into bracket that holds the end going to solid line. I have pictures.

Right side is new hose. Any idea were I can get drivers side correct caliper?

[JerryIndy2112]

Sorry left is new hose.

[SavageC20]

The calipers can be purchased at NAPA or Rock Auto. So the issue you're having is that the new caliper will not bolt up to your old hose? Or the new hose won't bolt up to the brake line on the truck?

As far as the hose not fitting in the brake line bracket you may have to modify the hose end with a hacksaw. Reference this: http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=770755

I ordered a set of brake hoses for my truck from GMC Pauls because they swear that it will fit into the stock bracket. I have not installed them yet but hopefully they will fit.

[rcazwillis]

I recently rebuilt the front of Zane's 71 and the hoses were the same as the new ones you show. The hoses attached to the new NAPA calipers without issue. The hoses I received from NAPA were too short and I sourced correct ones from one of the on-line vendors. Don't recall who.

[JerryIndy2112]

Yes Savage, you are correct about my issue. The calipers I got had 2 different connections for the hoses.
Talking with a parts counter guy, he said many Chevy brake parts will not work with GMC. He said GMC had beefier brakes. Don't know if that is why, or my truck being one ton. Does not help that online pictures are not always correct.

Jerry

[michael bustamante]

71-72 should have the same hoses. calipers look similar to 73 ad up but I believe are different. I wonder if you have a 73+ caliper

[SavageC20]

Originally Posted by JerryIndy2112

Yes Savage, you are correct about my issue. The calipers I got had 2 different connections for the hoses.
Talking with a parts counter guy, he said many Chevy brake parts will not work with GMC. He said GMC had beefier brakes. Don't know if that is why, or my truck being one ton. Does not help that online pictures are not always correct.

Jerry

As far as I know the 71-72 brakes interchange between Chevy and GMC. I didn’t realize that your truck was a one ton. I’m not familiar with the one tons. They could have different setups.

[JerryIndy2112]

Well, the calipers and hoses I have are not 1973 on. I looked online at several sources and the '73 up use same round, indented type. So I am going to take hoses to NAPA to see if they have a solution and some clarity to situation.

Jerry

[71CHEVYSHORTBED402]

1971, and perhaps the 1972 as well are different calipers and hoses than later models. The casting of the calipers for the hose fittings are different. The later caliper avoids the issue of trying to locate the old hoses. In other terms, part houses sell the later hose, and the later calipers are more common.

Here are the caliper casting numbers for a C-10. Not sure on larger models.

1971 (possibly 1972 as well) C-10 calipers are 5471172-3.

Later model C-10 calipers are 5474176-7


The hoses in the picture of the OP are for two different types of calipers. The one on the right is for the old caliper, the one on the left is for the later caliper.

As far as the connection that fits into the bracket, the new hoses do not fit right. The fittings on the new hoses have four flat sides. The brackets (and correct fittings) are two flat sides and two rounded sides. It's not that they won't work, they just won't fit cleanly as intended. Personally, I'm going to see if someone can make brake hoses with the correct fitting.


Here's a nice source that can clarify what calipers fit on your truck. They show the casting numbers.
http://www.cardone.com/find-parts/ve...ckup&year=1971
http://www.cardone.com/find-parts/ve...ckup&year=1972

[JerryIndy2112]

I went to NAPA this morning and took both hoses and pictures. Guy looked at it and my spid. Said you have a model with JB8 brake code. He did not have the caliper in store. He ordered it and it is on it's way. I have spent a lot of time sorting this out. So glad to put it right.

Jerry

[JerryIndy2112]

Today is Wednesday April 17.
Went to NAPA to pick up the brake caliper I ordered. It was not the right caliper either. So guy behind the counter started looking up other calipers. Finally found a picture of one that looks dead on.
The caliper he found is for the 71 3/4 ton Van. Everything looks right. He ordered it and will be here tomorrow.
I have the original sales receipt for the truck. It was bought in 71 from a dealer in California. It was bought with the Camper included on it. Has anyone seen a dealer do this kind of modification? The engine block is a Chevelle block. 1970.
It does not have the Chevelle serial numbers on the block that I was told they all had. I seem to have a FrankenTruck. I am curious, how much is GMC, how much is dealership, how much is previous owner? I just keep getting surprised by how much is not standard on this truck.

Jerry

[bmxbang]

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...=681834&page=2

I had to get an adapter for mine check this thread out. 67chevyredneck's post helped me out a ton. Hopefully what you have going will work though!

[JerryIndy2112]

The problem I have is brake line to caliper fitting. The round and indented brake attachment is different than my old caliper and hoses. I did buy a hose to try to make it work but hose was short and would not clip in to bracket. That is issue talked about in your thread.
My issue is about where hose connects to caliper. I originally ordered both calipers and passenger side hooked right up to my older hose. The driver side caliper had round indented style and would not connect to my hose. That is how I ordered a new hose to find it did not fit either. I prefer both sides be the same. So now I have correct caliper comming

[bmxbang]

Originally Posted by JerryIndy2112

The problem I have is brake line to caliper fitting. The round and indented brake attachment is different than my old caliper and hoses. I did buy a hose to try to make it work but hose was short and would not clip in to bracket. That is issue talked about in your thread.
My issue is about where hose connects to caliper. I originally ordered both calipers and passenger side hooked right up to my older hose. The driver side caliper had round indented style and would not connect to my hose. That is how I ordered a new hose to find it did not fit either. I prefer both sides be the same. So now I have correct caliper comming

I totally understand now, I jumped the gun without reading everything

[Kemp16V]

When I changed my calipers, I found out that 1971 trucks use the brake hose with the big square brass block at the end of the hose. 1972 trucks use the round fitting at the end of the brake hose. Most of the caliper rebuilders show 71 and 72 calipers as the same part number and when you order one its just luck as to which style you get. But for some reason the 72 calipers seem to be more plentiful. I ended up getting two 72 style calipers for my truck and had to change to the round style brake hose. When I changed my calipers I also cound not find anyone reproducing the 1971 style brake hose. I recently found a place on ebay that does make the correct 1971 style brake hose.The ebay store is Brake Hoses Unlimited. They make the hose in braided stainless steel and also in rubber.

[JerryIndy2112]

That is information I was looking for Kemp. I will do a search. Thanks so much.

Jerry

[maynardogle]

I am in the middle of a 1971 brake rebuild, and this thread was very helpful, but didn’t have pictures of the calipers. When I started, I went to my parts guy he sold me reman calipers that are designed to take the round end hose fittings. My old calipers, casting numbers 5471172 and 5471173 work only with hoses with the rectangular brass block fitting. When I went back to my parts guy and showed him how the old calipers He dove into his old parts books and still came up empty. He suggested I change to the new style hoses to mach the reman calipers. I looked at other threads and found that the new style (72?) hoses are not long enough for 71 trucks and there are other reported figment issues. Finally I gave up on that idea and found a rebuilder who will rebuild my old calipers for $65 each. I dropped them off today. Here are pictures of my old calipers and the remains I returned.