stock steel wheel with disk brakes

[NCD1966]

I have been looking for disc brake kits for my 66. I'm leaning towards keeping the 6 lug pattern, and would like to keep the truck as original as possible using the original 15" wheels.


I will evently change the wheels to some chrome OEM steelies in the future. But really dig the original black steelies with wide whites on these trucks and would like to run these for a few years.

All the disc brake kits say will not work with stock drum wheels. Is there a way to modify the wheels or brakes to make it work without looking like a hack job?

[Indian113]

I believe the stock wheels won't clear the calipers,you might be able to space the wheel out to get the clearence you need. I bought chrome smoothies for disc brakes for my 64 so I wouldn't have to buy them twice

[NCD1966]

yeah I been doing some searching on this. I guess Ill run the drums for awhile until I get some factory looking chrome steelies that will work with disc

Thanks

[markeb01]

You just need to get stock steel 6 lug disc brake wheels. The back of the disc brake rim provides more clearance than a drum brake rim. From the front with hubcaps in place it takes a real enthusiast to detect they are not original. Here are a couple of photos of mine when it had 6 lug disc brake wheels, 15x6 in front and 15x8 in the rear.





Although the early wheels had 3 hub cap retaining bumps and the disc brake wheels have 4, any original 10 1/8" hubcap will fit. Here's a shot of a 54 Chevy passenger car cap on the rear wheel:



The caliper interference occurs with the tapered backside of the drum brake wheels. Almost all steel wheels prior to disc brakes had a cylinder shaped front side and a conical/tapered shape to backside of the rim for ease of installing the tire. When disc brakes came along, they simply made the back of the wheel cylinder shaped like the front, providing more clearance between the back of the wheel rim and the caliper.

Although the photo below is an early Rader mag, it uses an original drum brake rim. I've marked the tapered area that normally causes the caliper interference:



And the following link shows a line drawing in the center of the page illustrating a drum brake rim on the left and a disc brake rim on the right. The wheel on the left is demonstrating a reversed rim, but to understand the stock configuration - as drawn, the back of each wheel is facing the other. The tapered shape that causes the interference is obvious on the left wheel:

http://www.rallyamerica.com/taperchrome.html

[Indian113]

Thanks for the explanation and pictures Mark,I knew they wouldn't fit just not the reason for sure

[jocko]

markeb01 - any details on what those 15x6 stock disc brake wheels came on/years, etc?? We've exchanged a few emails on exactly this before - i'm still wanting to keep my stock steelies too - unfortunately already powder coated the stock 15x5.5 non-disc brake wheels, but really, really want to put disc brakes on the truck... I have rallies in the garage - but want to use a stock steelie (disc brake wheel) with powder coat and the 59 imp caps I have on the current stock wheels. Any info mucho appreciated sir!
- jocko

[markeb01]

I don’t really know what my wheels came from since I bought them from a wheel supplier based on size and lug pattern. The following eBay listing however shows a wheel that looks exactly the same, claiming it fits these vehicles:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/73-78...Q5fAccessories

BLAZER/JIMMY (full size) 73-82 4x4, 15x6, 1/8" offset
BLAZER/JIMMY (full size) 83-87 15x6, 1/8" offset
BLAZER/JIMMY (full size) 88-91 15x6
CHEVROLET 10 PICKUP 73-87 4x4, 15x6, 1/8" offset
GMC 1500 PICKUP 73-87 4x4, 15x6, 1/8" offset
SUBURBAN 10 73-87 4x4, 15x6, 1/8" offset
SUBURBAN 10 88 4x4, 15x6
SUBURBAN 1500 73-87 4x4, 15x6, 1/8" offset
SUBURBAN 1500 88-91 4x4, 15x6

Fyi - I also have a pair of 1960 caps similar to yours. Although I apparently never took a photo of them on the truck, they did fit these disc brake wheels.

And here is a related thread. Post #5 has some interesting information and a close up photo:

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=424398

[jocko]

thanks very much markeb01 - good info. I contacted the ebay guy, will see i he has more than just one available. But this should also be a fairly common junkyard wheel I would think (unless you trucker lovers have hiyaka'ed all of em already....) So I may do a little junkyard crawling this weekend.

I think the caps should work on either the deep or shallow wheels as depicted in the thread you sent.

Another thought - although they have a different offset and look a little different - I believe the lug pattern matches and they fit disc brake wheels - the 89-98 chev truck 6-lug wheels have been popping up on older trucks lately. Not what I'm looking for since they are more like rallies than stock steelies - but they do look pretty good on older trucks. There was a beautiful 72 cheyenne at carlisle this year with 91-92 rallies on it - looked so right folks were making multiple double-takes until they realized what was not quite stock.
thanks again.

[NCD1966]

good info mark, thanks

[BarnFind]

I used 67-72 Chevy truck wheels. Like said in earlier posts, it is hard for the average bear to tell the difference.

[raycow]

Those ebay wheels will definitely work. If you are salvage yard crawling, look for 71-87 4WD trucks. 88-up wheels have the same bolt pattern, but the center hole is too small and the offset is wrong.

Ray

[jocko]

excellent, thanks all!

[NCD1966]

BarnFind...those wheels and tires look great!

Thanks for the info guys. Now I need to hunt down some wheels

[blacknorange]

hey barn find nice truck i wanted to know if you are running front disc and if you are what size back spacing are your wheels. thanks

[BarnFind]

Thanks ! Yes, the front is a CPP disc brake set up with 2 1/2 drop spindles and 3in drop coils. The wheels are stock 67-72 gm truck wheels. They are very similar to the 60-66 wheels, they just have a different shape on the inside that will clear disc brake calipers. Sean

[Rogue]

If you run poverty caps, you can't tell if its 5 lug or 6!
A lot easier to go 5.

[NCD1966]

I forgot about this thread.. I decided to go with 5 lug setup. Just because I have more wheel options.

[blacknorange]

thanks barn find!

[Regular Jim]

Hi Guys,

This is the first post but I couldn't find an intro section, or I am completely blind... I am Jamie and have recently acquired (legally) a 66 C10 shortbed stepside. I am doing some work to it and one of the mods is installing disk brakes as it is to be my daily driver.

I have purchased but not installed the CCP brake kit with 2 inch drop spindles and I too want to keep the 6 lug stock rims. I have been reading through all your posts and couldn't find the answer but I was wondering if flipping the rim centres would work? From what I can read it would eliminate the angle that stops the rim from working with the calliper. I am in Australia and these trucks aren't very common here so going to scrap yards trying to find later model disk brake rims is basically out of the question. The only other option is buy bigger rims which I don't really want to do as I like my hubcaps.

Anyones wisdom would be great.

[markeb01]

In the states those were called reversed rims back in the 1950's-60's. It was very popular and common. Drill out the rivets (or spot welds), turn the centers around and weld them in backwards. It makes the rims looks cool, and they will clear disc brakes.

[Regular Jim]

Great, thanks for the reply markeb01.
Posted via Mobile Device

[Chevy Fleetside]

If you have a source for wheels from a 73 to 87 stock 4x4 wheel. They are 6 lug and will clear the disc. I believe they are hard to find though.

[akaupp]

They can be found, but people are proud of them and ask high prices. I spent 2 months searching for a set at a decent price and ended up spending $75 for 4.

Originally Posted by Chevy Fleetside

If you have a source for wheels from a 73 to 87 stock 4x4 wheel. They are 6 lug and will clear the disc. I believe they are hard to find though.

[jaychillz]

Does anyone know where I can get my hands on one wheel that is Disk brake compatible? Have been searching but have not been successful.

[rvrfoot]

Call brothers truck.