Even a set of shoes with good material would be a large improvement over stock. I'm pretty sure that Carbotech can do new linings with their brake material on a set of your used shoes. Autocross-type lining would be the way to go because it works efficiently at low temperatures as opposed to other racing materials that are designed to work at higher temps (and don't work well when they are cold). I imagine that new quality hardware all-round is the best solution... but this may be an interim solution for some...
I don't want to risk my life over 600 dollars, i'm just going to get the brakes. I try and avoid doing things half assed, if I don't have the money I just wait until I do. Thank you all for the advice. Herb
Anybody interested in performance pads/shoes for stock braking systems: www.ctbrakes.com I was going to get a pair of front pads for my minivan (yes, I said my minivan) and they said they would put new material on my used backing plates for about $100 per axle. I tried some of their stuff on my autocross vehicle and the difference between stock pads and Carbotech pads was very suprising (to me, anyway). Even if you're only running 14s... I'd recommend something like this to help in the braking department.
The S-10 wheel cylinder and brake shoe swap only effects the G bodies. The S-10 wheel cylinders will not fit on a A body. The A body bolt in the G body and S-10 clip in. The benefit to the G body is the standard G body wheel cylinder is 5/8" cup size, where the S-10 is 3/4" cup size. I'm pretty sure the A body from 1968 to 1972 already has 3/4" cup size. The brake shoe trick is to buy 2 sets of brakes and use 4 secondary shoes (the larger ones) and buy the cheaper softer brand which grap better than the harder better brand which would give longer life from the shoes. You could still do this with the shoes for any application, just have to buy 2 sets. The brake shoes and wheel cylinder would be off the first generation truck from 1982 to 1992.
Don, Thanks a lot for that info and especially about the brake shoes . One of the aftermarket brake companies has a rear brake upgrade for drums but is quite pricey .
