I have a 1954 chevy truck close to 40 yrs ago I put a 1966 chevy 1/2 t front suspension under it since then I have put 2-1/2" dropped spindles updated for disc brakes at the same time... Calipers/rotors are mid 70's GM ... I have a 7" brake booster and dual M/C ... Now thats the history of the truck,I tow a 1955 Shasta travel trailer quite often and dont like how it stops especially if I gotta do a panic stop... The trailer has elect. brakes but still want better... Does anyone make a bolt up caliper setup to improve my braking ability??? Do I need a dual puck caliper, a bigger rotor I dont know enough about the aftermarket and hope there is something better out there but dont wanna do a buncha modifying ... This site is killer and hope one of you guys can be of help...
If the booster does not work, there are multi-piston calipers that fit where your single piston ones are now. If that still does not do it, rear discs, and better brakes on the trailer, too.
Also, if you don't already have hanging pedals, it is time to move up (literally). On the firewall, you can use a full-size 11-inch GM booster. If that does not help, something is terribly wrong. There is no room under the floor of these for a meaningful booster, and most 7-inch boosters from the interwebs are pure crap.
7'' booster, that's not very big for your application (unless it has a double diaphragm).. First thing, is the booster actually working??? Pump the brake pedal a few times with the engine switched off (to get rid of some vacuum).. Now hold your foot on the pedal and start the engine.. If the booster is working correctly, you should feel the pedal sink slightly..
8" dual is much better than the fairly useless 7" single booster. Are your trailer brakes actually working and properly controlled? I don't know much about electric brakes but know that with the mechanical type once they're engaged (and beyond that initial shove, that can be disconserting!) you shouldn't really feel the trailer is pushing you along. Chris
Electric brakes are way better because they have their own power source. So they don't shove mass into the back of the tow vehicle. Because of this you can brake mid corner without the trailer trying to Jack-knife the tow vehicle. With well set-up electric brakes you shouldn't feel in the tow vehicle. A good brake controller is a must! If you can find a now "obsolete" Maxbrake controller, it measures brake line pressure. So it responds proportionately to brake pedal effort. Maxbrake is now superceded with a new type of controller that plugs into the OBD2 port and picks up a signal from the ABS computer modern on off-topic cars. @Trikerider You can buy Wilwood calipers that are a direct replacement for 1970's Camaros/GM etc. No brackets are needed and they use stock 11" rotors. So if your calipers already have adaptor brackets, you can unbolt them and replace them with these. https://www.jegs.com/i/Wilwood/950/120-10936-BK/10002/-1 more info here https://www.wilwood.com/brakekits/BrakeKitListFront?mincatdesc=D52 Front Caliper Kit Get rid of your 7" booster if you have an under floor M/C and use a decent Remote booster on the front circuit only [mounted anywhere] PBR VH44 is a good remote booster [they came OEM on Chryslers] Whatever you do......make it safe
Like others have said, a good brake controller is a must. When I had my first fifth wheel RV I had a Kelsey Hayes electric controller. I was never really happy with how the trailer brakes worked. When I got a new tow vehicle I installed a Tekonsha unit and it made all the difference in the world brake wise.
From towing experience does your trailer have tandem axles and do both axles have brakes. I set my controller to stop both my truck and trailer with the hand control not skidding the trailer tires. I agree with what’s said about the small boosters. They are probably good on a lighter vehicle. The suggestion of a Chrysler style remote booster is a good idea. These were add one to cars in the 50’s by Bendix also. The were best with a single master cylinder but they do work just on the fronts of a dual. Prestige Thunderbird in Sante Fe Springs Ca. does this. My first concern is with your trailer brakes and their ability to stop and help stop when you need it the most. Where I live max speed towing is 55 and I adhere to that unless I’m on the open highways. I also agree with using multi piston calipers. I installed 4 piston Wilwood on my 56 with no power and wider drums on the rear. Wilwood has a 6 piston also.
The advice to ditch the 7” booster is correct. Your combined weight of truck and trailer far exceeds the limits of even an 8” dual diaphragm booster. Swinging pedals with a bigger firewall mounted booster would be best. Trailer brakes and a good controller are needed as well. You didn’t mention whether or not your engine was stock or not, that is, whether or not you have at least 18” of engine vacuum. If it were me, I’d address the booster and trailer brakes before I changed calipers and such. Those disc brakes from the mid 70s GM vehicles were decent in stopping some fairly heavy vehicles.
I did some research on the booster I have in it and sure enough its a 7" single diaphram, I went and got a 8" dual and put it in this a.m. and its stops great now, cant believe I had that in there, thought it was a 8" dual thus the reason I was asking what the problem could be... Being 68 yrs old sucks gotta check and recheck my actions more often... I want to thank you all for locating my mistrake, this is a great site ...
I'm curious, my measurements indicate the '66 C-10 front axle track width is roughly 65" wide, the 1954 AD pickup front axle track width is roughly 58" wide, (in other words, about 7" different), how did you get the later pickup front suspension narrow enough to fit under your pickup?
I didnt change the width when I 1st put it in 40 yrs ago I had to make plates on the side of the frame rails as the stock width was around 1" narrower I had the stock frame sitting on top of the suspension yoke and had to cut a good bit of coils out to get it lower... I ran that for a couple of yrs and it was hell on my front tires... I then cut the whole thing off and cut a 2-1/2" slot in the yoke so the frame rails set in there and updated my spindles to later disc and another 2-1/2" drop I am running stock width later GM rims and its kinda tight but it has been that way for 35 yrs now and its my daily driver... If you are curious I can send you some pictures of the setup
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