disc conversion
I did this last winter and it was the single best upgrade I have done to my truck since I've owned it.
I spent a LOT of time researching this and this is the way I went with it:
I bought the front disc kit from Speedway. Here's the link
http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Deluxe-Disc-Brake-Kit-1947-1959-Chevy-Half-Ton-Pickup,4622.html. It was the least expensive, used common GM components for rotors, calipers and bearings (for ease of replacement in the future) and appeared to be easy to install. Seriously... a LOT less expensive than other kits. I bought mine as a five bolt, and I do NOT believe it is also available as a six bolt as well (you can check on that). If you want to keep it six bolt, the best and least expensive way to go is to get in touch with the guy from Buffalo Enterprises
http://www.inliners.org/buffalo/. He makes a caliper conversion bracket for our trucks. He will also supply you with grade 8 hardware and a parts list that will let you go into your local auto parts store and buy off the shelf common GM rotors, calipers, hoses, etc. and those parts will keep you at six lugs in the front. The guy from Buffalo Enterprises is seriously old school. He has no website to speak of really, doesn't do email, etc. You have to get him on the phone, but he will send you an information sheet that will clearly outline his product. Great guy, great product, very knowledgable. If I was going to stay with 6 lug, I would have DEFINITELY used his product. Bill Hanlon used his setup on his old truck that got totaled by some idiot on the road.
I bought the master cylinder conversion mounting bracket from our host
http://www.classicparts.com/1947-54-Master-Cylinder-Adapter-Kit/productinfo/71-984/#.VK5pjtzF_1o and used a '67 Mustang master cylinder (same unit as pictured in the catalog to work with the conversion bracket but cheaper locally) WITHOUT a power booster on it. The Mustang master cylinder is already set up for front disc and rear drum so a proportioning valve is NOT needed. The power booster is also NOT needed as I can lock up all four wheels easily with the non-power boost master cylinder. It is also easier to install without having to worry how you're going to shoehorn the power booster under the floor in the stock location. The master cylinder conversion bracket allows you to use your stock pedals that came with the 1/2 ton truck which also makes the conversion easier. You may want to use residual pressure valves to prevent back siphoning of the brakes because the master is so low in the system. I bought these after the fact but have not installed them yet. They are made of brass, not aluminum. Aluminum ones are made for racing and have been known to fail. Use these brass ones
http://ecihotrodbrakes.com/discbrake_kit_components.html they are cheap enough. I had to remove the steering stop on the right side as it was interfering with the caliper install. Overall a very straightforward install and I could NOT be happier with the results.
I went with five bolt on the disc because I also put in a '72 Nova rear end (3.08:1 gear ratio for highway cruising) at the same time which was also 5 X 4 3/4" bolt pattern so I had to get new wheels all around. Finding the right wheels cheap was a real pain in the butt. Finally found some stock style steel wheels ('60's-'70's era) that would take early Chevy dog dish type caps. Bought them reconditioned from a local wheel guy at $60.00 a piece. I'm not married to the idea of keeping the original style hubcaps on the truck so this is what worked for me. I'm using '55 Chevy car hubcaps on these wheels and they look great. I have a 4-speed in my truck so I just swapped out the rear part of the trans for an open style instead of torque tube. That way I could keep MOST of the original driveline. Those parts are a little hard to find, but can be had if you look around a bit. I got those parts from Joe (mother trucker) but they can be found on eBay once in a while. I DID have to use 1 1/4" billet wheel spacers to get the wheels out enough in the REAR only because the Nova rear was a little narrower than stock and the backspacing on the wheels a little different than than stock as well as significantly wider. New wheels are 7" wide as opposed to the 4" stock width on these trucks. Holy crap but the wider wheels make these trucks handle so much better, especially if you have a front sway bar like I do. This entire conversion took me a while and I had help from a mechanic friend of mine at his shop as I don't work on these trucks all the time, work 6 days a week and am generally busy as hell otherwise. Most of the front disc conversion was done by me and most of the rear end install was done by my buddy. The front disc conversion was the easier part and took the least amount of time and was much more straightforward. You can easily do it in a weekend without even breaking a sweat.
So that's the skinny on one way to do it as inexpensive as possible. Do a little research on the speedway kit to see if it's available as six bolt if you're intending to keep the original torque tube rear end in it. Without a doubt, the single best thing I have done to this truck since I have owned it.
Andy
