55.2-59 59 Rear brakes

[Dyslexic Dog]

Ugh, I bought and am installing a Must. II 5 bolt 4 3/4 front discs. I would like to go to the same on the rear end but with the emergency brakes. Classic doesn't have one, and the front cannot be changed to the existing 6 bolt pattern.

So, what are my options other than having two different wheel patterns? New rear axle? What kind should I look for? Can I stay with drums and have the axle rebuilt to a 5 bolt pattern? Any help is appreciated. Short box side step 59

[dsraven]

what would your dream end result look like for this unit? possibly doing some highway driving? you may want to swap out the stock axle anyway then just to get some gears for the purpose. in that case I would recommend a ford 8.8 from a mustang or an explorer. they do come with disc or drum brakes. the mustang unit will likely have the center section in the middle-side to side- and the explorer will be offset to the pass side. they have larger axles, posi, and some 3.73 gears so pretty "middle of the road" for dual purpose city or highway use. the lug pattern is not correct either but it is a 5 bolt pattern so it is easier to simply redrill the axles and brake drums or rotors to the same pattern as the front. the park brake set up would be easy to modify and connect up to stock old truck stuff. if you are swapping the front end you will need a different master cylinder anyway so you could go with discs or drums out back, whatever you decide, but grab the master cylinder that will work with whatever set up you go with because they are different. I have the MII TCI front end under a frame I have sitting here and used the ford 8.8 from an explorer because they are easy to find at pick n pull. you could use the stock rear spring set up from the old truck if you simply cut off all the brackets from the ford diff and weld on some spring perches from a trailer supply place or summit racing etc.
what I did for the rear axle bolt pattern was I grabbed a spare rotor from an explorer. I was at the wrecker anyway so that part was easy. I cut the outside of the rotor off so all I had left was the flange that bolts up to the axle. then I had a machinist buddy lay out the new bolt pattern between the ford bolt pattern and drill some 1/8" holes. you could do this part yourself if you want to but I have easy access to a machinist so why not. when I got the flanges back from him I simply bolted the flanges back onto the bare axles, with the ford lug nuts so it is all up tight against the axle and centered on the axle because the old rotor fits the axle center perfectly. then i took a 1/8 drill and went through each of those predrilled holes in the old rotor. enough to make a mark on the axle flange but not so much that I made the guide holes go out of round etc. after that I removed the pattern piece and drilled through the axle with the 1/8 bit. then the ford studs can be removed and the axle drilled the correct size through the 1/8 predrilled holes to accept your new studs of the same size as the front axle. that way you will have the same sized lug nuts and lug nut wrench. I used some studs from an S10 I believe but don't quote me on that. go with something easily procured at any parts store.
the ford 8.8 is a pretty strong axle. a buddy of mine had a mustang race car and all he really did was install a racing diff cover with the bearing cap reinforcements. he ran a turbo 6.2l chevy in the car and had zero diff issues.

check here for more info

https://therangerstation.com/tech_li...8_8-axle.shtml

[Dyslexic Dog]

Originally Posted by dsraven

what would your dream end result look like for this unit? possibly doing some highway driving? you may want to swap out the stock axle anyway then just to get some gears for the purpose. in that case I would recommend a ford 8.8 from a mustang or an explorer. they do come with disc or drum brakes. the mustang unit will likely have the center section in the middle-side to side- and the explorer will be offset to the pass side. they have larger axles, posi, and some 3.73 gears so pretty "middle of the road" for dual purpose city or highway use. the lug pattern is not correct either but it is a 5 bolt pattern so it is easier to simply redrill the axles and brake drums or rotors to the same pattern as the front. the park brake set up would be easy to modify and connect up to stock old truck stuff. if you are swapping the front end you will need a different master cylinder anyway so you could go with discs or drums out back, whatever you decide, but grab the master cylinder that will work with whatever set up you go with because they are different. I have the MII TCI front end under a frame I have sitting here and used the ford 8.8 from an explorer because they are easy to find at pick n pull. you could use the stock rear spring set up from the old truck if you simply cut off all the brackets from the ford diff and weld on some spring perches from a trailer supply place or summit racing etc.
what I did for the rear axle bolt pattern was I grabbed a spare rotor from an explorer. I was at the wrecker anyway so that part was easy. I cut the outside of the rotor off so all I had left was the flange that bolts up to the axle. then I had a machinist buddy lay out the new bolt pattern between the ford bolt pattern and drill some 1/8" holes. you could do this part yourself if you want to but I have easy access to a machinist so why not. when I got the flanges back from him I simply bolted the flanges back onto the bare axles, with the ford lug nuts so it is all up tight against the axle and centered on the axle because the old rotor fits the axle center perfectly. then i took a 1/8 drill and went through each of those predrilled holes in the old rotor. enough to make a mark on the axle flange but not so much that I made the guide holes go out of round etc. after that I removed the pattern piece and drilled through the axle with the 1/8 bit. then the ford studs can be removed and the axle drilled the correct size through the 1/8 predrilled holes to accept your new studs of the same size as the front axle. that way you will have the same sized lug nuts and lug nut wrench. I used some studs from an S10 I believe but don't quote me on that. go with something easily procured at any parts store.
the ford 8.8 is a pretty strong axle. a buddy of mine had a mustang race car and all he really did was install a racing diff cover with the bearing cap reinforcements. he ran a turbo 6.2l chevy in the car and had zero diff issues.

check here for more info

https://therangerstation.com/tech_li...8_8-axle.shtml

I already have the 4 3/4 bolt pattern on the front. Can I keep everything the same?

[dsraven]

it depends what you have for a rear axle I guess. maybe you can simply take the axles to a machine shop and they can remove the old studs, weld the holes closd, then mark and redrill the flanges for the new pattern. otherwise try a gear vendor to see if there is a swap axle shaft available for your diff.

[bobinbc]

Remove the old truck axle and install one from a 70-81 Camaro or Firebird...
If you want to have rear discs get one from a later S10 4x4 Blazer

[mr48chev]

To be blunt, no one who installs a MII front end keeps the stock rear axle or stock trans.

You could have a machine shop re-drill the stock axles if you keep the stock engine and trans but you still have to look at what you want to do with the truck when all is said and done.

S'10 BLAZER or 4x4 rear axles are easy to find and not spendy with either disk or drum. They usually have 3.70 gears and if you swapped in an S-10 T-5 trans it would give your stock engine reasonably comfortable road speed. Even a full syncro Saginaw 3 speed that is a direct bolt in with the S-10 blazer axle would work pretty nice. I ran that trans in y 48 for over 20 years with a used Hurst shifter but a bit of linkage juggling will let it go column shift. Or the older 55- early 60 3 speed is an easy hookup to column shift.

Now, Exactly what are your plans for the truck engine and trans wise?

[Dyslexic Dog]

I'm installing a 327 with a 4L60 transmission. I was originally planning on rebuilding the original rear end. Obviously rethinking that now. Also, after thinking it through, I'm not sure I really need to install am emergency brake.

I kinda stumbled into a mess with the tranny too. Didn't totally understand the electronic control to it. Does the aftermarket dash setup take care of any of the inputs I needed or do still need a control box?

[dsraven]

if you install a rear axle with drum brakes you definately need a park brake because it is part of the brake adjustment. if you install a rear axle with disc brakes you will still require a park brake to be legal to drive. it won't pass inspection without a park brake.

[mr48chev]

That pretty well says S=10- 4x4 or llate 70's Camaro/Firebird rear out of a car with an Overdrive trans. Simple and not expensive.

For that trans you need a Stand alone controller to get it to work. That is "work" as function at all. This is one example and they explain things pretty well but if you google stand alone shift control for 4L60 a number of examples https://www.usshift.com/?gclid=EAIaI...SAAEgJ37vD_BwE

Make sure that the trans came out from behind a first generation small block and not an LS engine as you have to buy a spendy converter to get those to work. I found that tidbit out while hunting for the info on the controllers.

Classic parts (and some others) sells a set of axle seats/spring pads that fit the spring and axle and locate the axle right for 20 bucks and shipping
https://www.classicparts.com/1947-54...ctinfo/93-317/ A guy would have more than that in hunting down the tubing and making his own. They also sell the whole kit with U bolts, shock brackets and all that is drop shipped from the manufacture but takes about a 3 week wait. It isn't exactly cheap but everything is there to install the rear on stock springs outside of shocks and it saves a ton of trying to figure out how to make things work and fit. https://www.classicparts.com/1947-54...ctinfo/93-311/

[mr48chev]

Western Chassis is selling that same or a quite similar rear axle swap kit for the same price and the photos sure look the same. https://westernchassisinc.com/1947-5...onversion-Kit/

There may not be a delay from them but I would quiz them on the shipping cost.

[Dyslexic Dog]

Originally Posted by mr48chev

That pretty well says S=10- 4x4 or llate 70's Camaro/Firebird rear out of a car with an Overdrive trans. Simple and not expensive.

For that trans you need a Stand alone controller to get it to work. That is "work" as function at all. This is one example and they explain things pretty well but if you google stand alone shift control for 4L60 a number of examples https://www.usshift.com/?gclid=EAIaI...SAAEgJ37vD_BwE

Make sure that the trans came out from behind a first generation small block and not an LS engine as you have to buy a spendy converter to get those to work. I found that tidbit out while hunting for the info on the controllers.

Classic parts (and some others) sells a set of axle seats/spring pads that fit the spring and axle and locate the axle right for 20 bucks and shipping
https://www.classicparts.com/1947-54...ctinfo/93-317/ A guy would have more than that in hunting down the tubing and making his own. They also sell the whole kit with U bolts, shock brackets and all that is drop shipped from the manufacture but takes about a 3 week wait. It isn't exactly cheap but everything is there to install the rear on stock springs outside of shocks and it saves a ton of trying to figure out how to make things work and fit. https://www.classicparts.com/1947-54...ctinfo/93-311/

Thanks for the info. I keep opening my wallet to solve the next issue and I need to stop and smell the roses. Starting to reassemble and obviously the drive train is the first step. Make sure it stops before I spend money on the body.

[bobinbc]

If you are using an OD trans stick with the S10 4x4 rear end. Late 70's Camaro / Firebird didn't come with OD and used high rear end ratio's (numerically low 2.56, 2.73, 3.08 most common)
82-92 Camaro/Firebird came with OD trans and better ratio rears but they are too wide 63" +/-

You should be able to get all the parts locally to swap it in at any trailer supply place or spring shop. Shipping = $0

4L60 trans only needs a simple lock up kit https://www.ebay.com/itm/TCI-376600-...NA44:rk:6:pf:0

If it is 4L60E then you need expensive controller. Easy way to tell is 4L60/700r4 has 4-pin plug and a TV cable. 4L60E doesn't have a cable and has 18 pin plug with 5 or 6 wires.

[hogfarm]

Originally Posted by dsraven

if you install a rear axle with drum brakes you definately need a park brake because it is part of the brake adjustment. if you install a rear axle with disc brakes you will still require a park brake to be legal to drive. it won't pass inspection without a park brake.

Yes you need E-brake,some picture of what I used