F YOU WENT OUT LOOKING FOR rims 20 years ago, you would’ve had a hard time finding six-lug wheels. Sure, they existed, but the o sets were weird, and the styles often ran secondary to their more popular five-lug cousins. Then Chevy came out with a six-lug truck in 1999 and the game changed. But there are still those of us that prefer five-lug wheels because we want a clean five-spoke design. And if you’re one of those folks and you have a 1967-1971 Chevy C-10, then swapping over gives you another advantage: disc brakes.
Drum brakes suck. If you want to upgrade to a more modern system and get a five-on-five bolt pattern in the process, then you’re in luck: CPP has a kit to make your dreams come true. You can convert all four wheels to disc brakes if you like, or just keep the rears drum and convert the fronts to discs—your call.
In this case, the victim was a 1969 C-10 that was undergoing a short bed conversion. The owner wanted to get into some nicer wheels than he was finding. Plus, he knew that disc brakes are the safer choice. He still wanted drums out back, but if you want discs then know that CPP makes a kit for you, too.
SOURCES
Classic Performance Products
378 E Orangethorpe Ave.
Placentia, CA 92870 Classicperform.com 714-522-2000
01 The truck began life as a 1969 long bed, complete with heated coils to give it that classy stance. Needless to say, it was ready for an upgrade. 01
0707 Once the adjuster was backed off with a flathead screwdriver, Cameron from Metalox pulled the drums off of the axle.
0606 After putting a drain pan underneath the axle, Kyle from Metalox unbolted the differential cover and let the ancient fluid empty out.
0505 The panhard bar and rear shocks came next.
0404 The rear coils were heated and looked like limp noodles, so after they cut it out of the pocket, they unbolted the remnants from the trailing arms and frame.
0303 The bed was already off of the truck since it was under the knife, so the crew at Metalox Fabrication got the truck on jack stands and removed the rear wheels.
0202 The CPP kit comes with everything you need to convert the truck to a five-lug, and the Crown Suspension kit will lower the truck 4/6. Not pictured are the new CPP front brake rotors and calipers.
1212 The new fivelug axles slide in just like the old ones. You’ll want to lube them first to ensure they don’t get hung up.
0909 Once the guys pushed the axles shafts in toward the differential on both sides they could remove the c-clips. See those grooves in the middle? That’s where the c-clips sit.
0808 A pin holds the axles in place inside the differential, and it’s locked in with a bolt. They unbolted that bolt and slide the pin out being careful not to shift the spider gears inside.
1010 The c-clips themselves are pretty straightforward. You might want to use a magnet or a pick tool to get them out.
1111 The axles then slide right out easily. This is a good time to replace your axle bearings and seals if you’re doing maintenance anyways.
15 15 After making a template, Kyle cut and welded the c-notches in place.
13 13 With the c-clips reinstalled, the pin can be bolted back in place. Then they bolted up the differential cover and filled it with fluid.
14 14 The new drums slide right in place, and just like that, the rear end now has five lugs.
1616 Kyle decided to make his own lowering blocks, and whipped up a set of 2-inchers to mate up with the new lowering springs.
1818 They then installed the new track bar from CPP and the Crown shocks to button up the rear end.
1919 The stock front suspension was pretty rough. Almost 40 years of dirt and grease were caked on everything, and the ball joints weren’t doing much better, either.
1717 The rear springs bolted in place just like factory, but up top they mated to the new notch, which came with mounting holes all ready to go.
2020 The tie rods came off first so that the spindle could be spun easily and give the guys more access to the ball joint nuts.
2121 The shocks and brake line were next. The CPP kit comes with new brake lines, and the old rubber ones were pretty worn out.
2626 The CPP kit comes with new spindles specially made to hold the new brake calipers and five-lug rotors. They got bolted up next.
2727 The brackets for the calipers bolt into the backside of the spindle using the provided hardware.
2424 The upper and lower control arms went in for a steam bath and came back beautiful. Once they installed new ball joints and bushings, they had one thing left to do: Cut off the bump stop mount on the lower control arm.
2222 After putting a jack under the lower control arm to support it, Kyle moved on to the lower ball joint, and although it put up a fight, it eventually broke free.
2323 With the spring out of the way, they spun the spindle 180 degrees to give them easy access to the upper control arm ball joint.
2525 Kyle installed the control arms next and put in the new springs and shocks. The steering was rebuilt too, ensuring that the truck would handle well when all was said and done.
3131 Now a new set of sexy 20-inch US Mags Ramblers were bolted up to the truck, completing the look. Disc brakes and five lugs? It’s a perfect combo.
2828 Before the rotors could be installed, new bearings and seals were put in place.
3030 The finishing touch was the new brake lines, and they were installed with new copper washers.
2929 Installing the rotors took just a minute, then the calipers were bolted up.