Brake conversion

[Skymortar]

So my seventy has been sitting for 30 years. I have a 72 front set up I'm going to put wilwood D52s on. The rear drums need a complete rebuild so I'm going to go ahead and convert to disc. I want to use wilwood back there also. Who's the go to for complete kits? Thanks

[DeadheadNM]

Not sure this helps but I recall mike updated his his with Wilwood and might have had some clearance issues initially - good build thread read regardless: http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=628612

Not sure about the rear disc conversion I’m unsure of a source. Some vendors have kits and function of the parking brake can be complicated to restore with some apparently.

[Skymortar]

Thanks deadhead, l check those out

[twp1]

i bought the little shop disc set up and I liked the way they fit! Also got the emergency brake cables from inline and fit perfect. thread 1972 blazer rear disc brakes.

[Skymortar]

Thanks twp. I emailed summit and they took four days to tell me they didnt have anything. I emailed little shop and skyler was back to me in thirty minutes with all the information I needed. Rear wilwood conversion is on the way along with rotars for the front. I had already bought wilwood d52s for the front. Thanks again for the referral. Cant wait

[chaileyk5]

Interested in how this turns out - be sure to update when you get them installed

[Blazerowner]

Any update? I was looking at this:

https://www.littleshopmfg.com/lsmfg-...k10-c10-6-lug/

[hemi43]

Disc on the rear will be a waste of money unless you just want the look, IMO.

[Blazerowner]

I hear you on that, but I don’t like the Drums. Not a fan of working on them and I figure why not switch to disc.

[hemi43]

Originally Posted by Blazerowner

I hear you on that, but I don’t like the Drums. Not a fan of working on them and I figure why not switch to disc.

Here's something to consider;

Disc brakes are OK if the truck came with them, but converting an older rear diff to disc brakes could be a costly mistake. I realize this mod had been done thousands of times, but I guarantee you a high percentage of these swaps are causing the owner headaches.

Here's the main issue! Our 12 bolt diffs use a "C" clip to hold the axle in place, but unfortunately these still allow the axle to float side to side a bit. This is fine for drum brakes, but not for discs. As you're driving down a winding road, that axle will move side to side and push your caliper pistons further into their bores. When you apply the brakes, the first press of the pedal will be spongy because the pistons now need to travel further. There's no fix for this unless you use a Ford 9", or use "C" clip eliminators (which cause other issues).

The other problem is the parking brake. Unless you're using an OEM caliper, you will need a separate mechanical caliper to act as a parking brake.

Rear drum brakes are simple, cheap and never give you problems. IMHO

[Blazerowner]

I haven’t heard of that with the movement causing spongy brakes. That’s a concern for sure. The kit I was looking at has a small internal drum e-brake. Ive been on the fence on it since I did rebuild the drums when I had the axle rebuilt.

[A1971Blazer]

Originally Posted by hemi43

Disc on the rear will be a waste of money unless you just want the look, IMO.

Originally Posted by hemi43

Here's something to consider;

Disc brakes are OK if the truck came with them, but converting an older rear diff to disc brakes could be a costly mistake. I realize this mod had been done thousands of times, but I guarantee you a high percentage of these swaps are causing the owner headaches.

Here's the main issue! Our 12 bolt diffs use a "C" clip to hold the axle in place, but unfortunately these still allow the axle to float side to side a bit. This is fine for drum brakes, but not for discs. As you're driving down a winding road, that axle will move side to side and push your caliper pistons further into their bores. When you apply the brakes, the first press of the pedal will be spongy because the pistons now need to travel further. There's no fix for this unless you use a Ford 9", or use "C" clip eliminators (which cause other issues).

The other problem is the parking brake. Unless you're using an OEM caliper, you will need a separate mechanical caliper to act as a parking brake.

Rear drum brakes are simple, cheap and never give you problems. IMHO

Also consider the front disc brakes do about 80-85% ± of the stopping...
when you add rear disc you must proportion them correctly to reduce their braking percentage, else the rear wheels will simply lock up.