Hi guys- a few years ago I bought a 1950 3600, which seems to be pretty much original except for the '62 235 engine, and the '74 Suburban seat (which I have since replaced with an original seat). I've done some upgrading, including a new wiring harness, adding a horn, turn signals, new wood bed, bumper etc., and it's now time to replace the worn king pins and tie rod ends. While I have the front axle off I think it would be a good idea to upgrade the brakes. I know I'll need a new 2 stage master cylinder, but I'd like to put on more modern type brakes, at least on the front. I'm just not sure what to look for. Seems there are a lot of after market parts available for the 1/2 ton model brakes but not the 3/4 ton. I'd like to keep the original 8 lug wheels, and would rather not have to modify the axles any more than necessary. Any advice as to what I should look for, either new or old, would be greatly appreciated.
unfortunately no company out there makes a disc brake kit for the 3/4 ton (3600 series) trucks that I know of. There are a few people out there that have been working on coming up with their own kit but not sure where they are on it. A search on stovebolt.com may help as I know its been talked about over there alot. On my 52 3/4 ton, since I will only driving it to car shows and for fun, and maybe only very light hauling, I swapped out the 3/4 ton front axle for a 1/2 ton axle I had laying around. Its a bolt in swap and all the 3/4 ton steering and suspension parts bolt up to the 1/2 ton axle.
Thanks for the info- I guess you had to then switch to 6 lug wheels? Might have to go that route, I dunno. Those old Huck brakes just take longer to stop than I'm comfortable with.
That's Why They're called ' Huck ' brakes ~ it rhymes with ' suck ' Just wait'll you're descending a 10 mile long 8° grade fully loaded My buddy used Datsun pickup rotors and calipers , 6 lugs all he did was weld up some brackets .
I actually switched to 5 lugs, I wanted the front to match the rear which is a nova rear end and has a 5x4.75 bolt pattern. You can probably pick up a good 1/2 ton front axle fairly cheap from people swapping out the stock suspension for a IFS setup. Its probably about the easiest swap you can do. vwnate1 does your buddy have any shareable info on what all he used (bearings and such)?
some searching on the stovebolt maybe you can get a hold of this guy and see what he used, looks like a good setup http://www.stovebolt.com/gallery/tolbert_trey_1948.html
http://www.stovebolt.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=356369&fpart=1 I started this thread a year ago, some good info
Wow! Thats a lot of good info- thanks guys. I really have to do some head scratching. Seems like swapping to a 1/2 ton front axle might make the most sense. I need to replace the kingpins and tie rod ends on the old one anyway. And at some point I would like to get a better geared rear end for road speeds, so when I do that in another year or two, the front and rear wheels could match. Would changing to a 1/2 ton axle on the front change the front end height off the ground? Think I'll have any problem finding new wheels to fit my tires? I'm new to all this. I don't haul anything in "Ernest", he's just for fun. My wife likes to drive him around too, so safety is a concern. Again, thanks for all the guidance-
Paul aka (ZIG) did a 1/2 ton front end swap on his 52 3/4 ton. I believe that he replaced his springs also with some lowering springs to drop it down 2 inches or so. This may be quite a bit more money then you want to spend but you may want to consider an independent front suspension. http://www.classicparts.com/1947-54...e-Economy-Stock-Spindles/productinfo/75-121A/ If you plan to spend some money on a disk conversion kit, you might as well get a smother ride with it also. anyway best of luck to you. i also have a 52 3/4 ton truck, and there are defintly options, its just too many ways to go sometimes
