Posted by Charlie on January 23, 1999 at 22:36:16:
In Reply to: total brake system for 1954 C3-PW6 posted by Ray S. on January 23, 1999 at 15:58:40:
If you want to keep it simple: use stock rears (with regular type rebuild of wheel cylinders, new shoe linings and spiffed up drum), new lines (a tubing bender does wonders, is easy to use and is a ~$10 tool), new or rebuilt master cylinder, front disks from www.uglytruckling.com (a modification to your front hubs, along with a fabricated caliper bracket to replace the front backing plate) with 3/4 ton mid 70s 4X4 GM front rotors and loaded calipers, easy to get and not too expensive. You will have brakes that stop straight, foot pressure is not excessive despite no power assist for some reason. It's unnecessary to disk the rears. The backing plates are riveted on so it'll be harder to get them off. You'll just need a proportioning valve to "de-tune" the rears to the level of the original, so why bother? It is perfectly balanced naturally with front disks and rear drums.
Expensive alternative: get overhung pedal setup, perhaps for clutch as well as brake. Get matching master cylinders (dual for brakes of course), you'll have a hydraulic clutch if you want one. You don't want one if you stay original, but it's de rigeur for re-powers.
It seems ownership of these vehicles sometimes follows a path from new to used to very used to (when they have a lot of stuff wrong and look beat up and get really cheap) to teen-age moron, tools = hacksaw, hammer and crescent wrench. Then the vehicle falls into the hands of someone who wants to fix it up and the cycle takes a swing upwards. Why did the previous owner CUT the brake lines?
Charlie