Brakes are one of the major concerns of early-model trucks. When restoring a truck today, an upgraded brake system should be mandatory, and with today's aftermarket disc brake conversions, you'd be foolish not to make the investment when upgrading your brakes. We have been working with the team at Classic Performance Products in Anaheim, California, while they upgrade a '67 Chevrolet 1/2-ton pickup frame with CPP suspension components on all four corners, and in this last installment we'll swap the front and rear brakes.
A quick recap to show the build from beginning to end
Totally Tubular Part I
We covered the installation of CPP's Big Tube rear suspension featuring 2-inch-diameter trailing arms with urethane bushings. The track bar (Panhard bar) eliminates any lateral movement of the rearend housing. A pair of shorter progressive coil springs and gas-filled shock absorbers were installed. A flat frame crossmember replaced the factory crossmember to allow more ground clearance following the lowered stance. The crossmember also has oversize 3x5-inch oval exhaust pipe holes, allowing the exhaust to be tucked up inside the framerails. The CPP rear suspension lowering kit allows a 6-inch drop.
Totally Tubular Part I I
The '67's nose was dropped by installing CPP's tubular 1 3/4-inch upper and lower control arms. The lower A-arms' lower spring pocket features a one-piece stamped steel spring pocket that is completely flush with the bottom edge of the lower A-arm for maximum ground clearance. A pair of zinc-coated control arm cross-shafts with self-locking hardware maintains continuous alignment. New CPP tie rod ends and adjusting sleeves were installed, along with new pitman and idler arms and a power steering box. Body roll was eliminated with a thicker-diameter sway bar. To achieve the 5-inch lowered stance up front, a pair of CPP 2-inch drop spindles and 3-inch-shorter progressive coil springs were installed. Up front, we also installed a pair of Totally Tubular engine mounts and a Totally Tubular transmission crossmember.
Totally Tubular Part I I I
In Part III, we will be following Jeff Wise and Danny Nix as they install CPP's four-wheel disc brake kit. The large 12-inch brake rotors are cross-drilled, chamfered, and slotted before they are zinc-plated. Cross-drilling increases the rotors' ability to cool down between stops by exerting heated gases that build up inside the rotors' metallurgic molecule structure due to friction during stopping. The rotors' cross-drilled holes are chamfered to eliminate cracking that can occur when rotors develop stress concentrations during the drilling process. Slotted rotors will reduce brake fade during stopping and maintain a clean brake rotor surface as the brake pads sweep the rotors' surface. A complete set of inner and outer wheel bearings, seals, castle nuts, cotter pins, and spindle dust caps are included in the kit.
This front view of the '67...
This front view of the '67 Chevy pickup frame with CPP front suspension components includes CPP upper and lower control arms with ball joints and urethane bushings, 2-inch drop spindles, 3-inch-shorter coil springs, gas-filled shock absorbers, L&R tie rod ends, tie rod adjuster sleeves, power steering box, pitman arms, idler arm, front sway bar, sway bar, and end links.
Jeff Wise removed the front...
Jeff Wise removed the front brake rotor that had accumulated decades of crust and rust.
The CPP front caliper pistons are among the largest available with a 2 15/16-inch bore and a piston area of 6.8 square inches. A pair of zinc-plated backing plates helps deflect debris from interfering with the brake rotor and caliper. The rear calipers are big and incorporate an integral parking brake. Rear calipers feature a 2-inch bore and have a piston area of 3.1 square inches. The rear brake lines are all pre-bent for exact fitment, connecting with flare fittings to either rubber or stainless braided Teflon brake hoses with banjo fittings connecting to the calipers.
Knowing the crew at CPP are early risers, I arrived with pre-dawn fresh doughnuts and coffee. After unpacking my camera bag and inserting an empty flash card, I was ready for action. CCT
FactoidClose Quarter Canine Flatulence Winter is rapidly approaching, and it's that time of year when Fido's traveling arrangements must be moved to the truck's cab. To avoid the unpleasantness associated with a dog's gaseous exuberance caused by fermentation in the large intestine, veterinarians advise a diet low in vegetable carbohydrates. At Custom Classic Trucks, we suggest the addition of power windows.
Here we can observe the immaculate...
Here we can observe the immaculate CPP upgraded front suspension components (covered in our earlier tech articles "Totally Tubular Parts I and II")
Here are the CPP front and...
Here are the CPP front and rear disc brake conversion kits for '62-87 1/2-ton GM trucks.
A zinc-coated backing plate...
A zinc-coated backing plate was then bolted and secured to the front spindle.
Jeff then proceeded to align...
Jeff then proceeded to align a new CPP 12-inch cross-drilled,...
...vented, and zinc-coated...
...vented, and zinc-coated rotor onto the CPP 2-inch dropped spindle.
After the rotor was aligned...
After the rotor was aligned onto the spindle,...
...a castle nut was snugged...
...a castle nut was snugged up using a pair of slip-jaw pliers, then secured with a cotter pin.
A special dust cap installation...
A special dust cap installation tool was used to evenly distribute the impact...
...while installing the dust...
...while installing the dust cap onto the spindle.
The single-piston front brake...
The single-piston front brake caliper was then aligned and mounted to the spindle.
A banjo bolt was used to thread...
A banjo bolt was used to thread the banjo fittings on the rubber brake hoses.
After the banjo bolt was installed...
After the banjo bolt was installed into the brake hose's banjo hose fitting, it was then threaded and secured into the brake caliper's brake line fitting.
A C-clip secured the front...
A C-clip secured the front brake hose to the mounting bracket located on the framerail.
Moving to the rearend housing,...
Moving to the rearend housing, Jeff removed the brake drum, exposing the rear brake shoes and backing plate assembly.
The rear differential cover...
The rear differential cover must be removed to gain access to the rear axles,...
...which need to be removed...
...which need to be removed from the rearend axle housing. This allows the rear brake shoe assembly to be removed.
After loosening the center-locking...
After loosening the center-locking pin bolts, the locking pin was pushed out halfway. The rear axles were then pushed inboard to relieve the tension on the C-clip, which was then removed.
After the C-clip was removed,...
After the C-clip was removed, the axles were pulled from the rear-axle housing.
The rear brake shoe assembly...
The rear brake shoe assembly was unbolted...
...from the rear-axle housing...
...from the rear-axle housing flange and removed.
After the rear brake shoe...
After the rear brake shoe assembly was removed, the CPP rear disc brake caliper mounting bracket was secured to the rear-axle housing flange.
After the CPP rear disc brake...
After the CPP rear disc brake caliper mounting bracket was secured, the rear axles could be reinstalled.
Continuing with the build,...
Continuing with the build, the rear axles were inserted into the axle housing.
After aligning and reinserting...
After aligning and reinserting the center locking pin, the C-clips were reinserted.
To eliminate any differential...
To eliminate any differential fluid leaking, a new gasket (supplied in kit) was sandwiched between the differential and the cover.
The differential cover was...
The differential cover was aligned and the 12 bolts were secured.
The rear disc brake's 12-inch,...
The rear disc brake's 12-inch, cross-drilled, slotted,...
...and zinc-coated rotor was...
...and zinc-coated rotor was aligned over the rear axle.
Next up, the CPP rear disc...
Next up, the CPP rear disc brake caliper pads were spread and then slipped over the rear brake rotor.
After the rear brake caliper...
After the rear brake caliper bolts were aligned,...
...the long caliper bolts...
...the long caliper bolts were inserted and tightened down.
CPP rear brake calipers feature...
CPP rear brake calipers feature an internal E-brake. The E-brake cable was inserted through the spring and secured. The other end was secured at the sheath fitting with a C-clamp.
Securing the hose to the caliper,...
Securing the hose to the caliper, a banjo fitting was threaded into the rear brake caliper.
A rear-brake hard line clamp...
A rear-brake hard line clamp wraps around the rearend housing axle tube...
...to secure the rubber brake...
...to secure the rubber brake line and hard-line junction.
An overall inboard view of...
An overall inboard view of the completed rear disc brake assembly displays the high-quality CPP components.