There's another thread in this forum where a guy has a real, live 454SS axle, and if I understand this right, it's got the same crappy 254mm leading-trailing shoe brakes you've got now.I'm trying to replicate the SS454 axle with parts that CAN be found vs. the almost unattainable REAL SS454 axle...
...The main reason I'm doing this is for better braking! The 4.8 LS I put in the truck is plenty fast, but the current brakes are really not up to the task of getting me stopped quickly