88-98 CK1500 10 bolt Rear Disc Conversion

[dfarr67]

Hi,
I have a 1989 K1500, 8.5in corp 10 bolt, from factory the brakes were garbage and I have since put the 2500 front calipers on up front, hydroboost, and years ago a rear disc conversion- this kit takes 1988 light duty front rotors and the D154 GM caliper, cheap and from many years of cars, currently using 1994 S10 calipers. I never could get Eldorado calipers to work properly so I have a transfer case mounted driveline safety brake. Anyway, from day one the pass side wasn't square, I suppose since the bracket is a two piece welded unit- the welding may have warped it- I don't know, I do know that the pads wear into wedges- sure I could take a sledge to it.....
So I've been looking around and have seen some high dollar kits and ran across John here and his kits look to be high quality, BUT he only makes them for 67-87 GM trucks, as per his email below I'm looking for some interest in a reasonably price kit- I've also been looking at Wilwood D154 replacements and dual piston calipers, aluminum and SS pistons- not a bad price too, but I have in mind 98-04 S10 front dual piston caliper, should be easy to find cheap and powerful, see what he comes up with. At this time, any caliper with a integral parking brake would probably too light for a truck app.

Here's a sample of his work- you can check out his other products.
D52 Caliper Rear Disc Brake Brackets - The 1947 - Present Chevrolet & GMC Truck Message Board Network

Hello Dave

I would be willing to develop something for the '88-'98 differentials if there was enough solid interest. However I would not be able to do anything on this for about 6 weeks. I have just entirely too much work right now. If I could get 4 or 5 commitments on rear disc brake brackets that would be sufficient for me to put the time into development.

Thanks
John
John Wastweet [email protected]

 

[sewlow]

I'd be interested.
Got some Q's, though. I have a pair of 2whdr.'s
Are the brackets only for the Wilwoods? I looked into them at one time. The local supplier said that their brakes available for these trucks, required that a bracket had to be made for not only the rears, but the front, also. Don't know if he's right. If only the rears are required, then I'd step-up. This was the only reason that I didn't persue this further.
Will the Wilwoods fit inside a 15" wheel? If so, then I might be interested in 2 sets.
From the research I've done, a few years ago.
With Baer brakes, it seemed that it was all or very little. Dollar wise. Quite expensive, but good, or, 'you get what you pay for'. Not much in the middle.
I've also looked into the SSBC disc brake rear conversions, & complete fr/rr kits, for GMT400's. These are the ones that I liked. From their info., all major manufacturers of a rear disc brake conversion are using a conglomeration of off-the-shelf G.M. parts. SSBC is the only company that has put in the R&D to produce a rear disc conversion kit specifically for GMT400's. Plus the front & rear caliers LOOK the same, which is not so with the other manufacturers. Apparently. If that's important. And they have an integeral E-brake. But...require 17" wheels, or larger.
Not sying that the others don't work. I'm sure that lot's of GMT400 owner's have had success with any other brand of their choice. These are just the ones that I like. Just because that no major racing championship has ever been won by a vehicle using SSBC brakes seems to be a stumbling block for some. I figure it's more like the luck of the draw.
I am open to any other options other than SSBC, though. In any way, shape or form that I can make these truck's POS brakes work better is fine by me!

 

[dfarr67]

You can follow the link provided and see what kind of brackets he fab's up presently- looks like he uses stock oe calipers and rotors (various makes), currently mine is using GM D154 calipers and 1988 light duty rotors on the rear, Wilwood makes a D154 replacement is several flavors. Works well enough and the calipers are off of Monti Carlo's, Malibu's, S10, Eldorado's, etc. I'm thinking that if this is clean sheet we can use newer dual piston type ie, 2000 S10, Silverado rear, etc while keeping the rim to 16in. waiting for a rough estimate. There's nothing fancy about the brackets just good workmanship. About the SSBC nice stuff but I'm not spending $1k on front calipers, also from my point of view- nothing lasts forever and if you have a problem I'd like a quickly replaceable unit.
Dave