I'm doing what some of you have already done and I am putting together a cut down dodge 44 up front in my cj. It is assembled FOR THE FIRST TIME from inside out as follows.
1. Chevy flattops
2. Chevy "small bearing" spindles (at least that is what I was told by the gentleman who sold them to me off this board)
3. Chevy caliper stands
4. 1988 ford bronco rotors
5. 1978 ford 5 lug hubs
6. 1976 1/2 ton chevy calipers
7. brand new brake shoes for 1976 1/2 ton chevy.

The problem is that the new inside brake shoes on both sides seem to be ~3/8" to wide to slide in between the caliper stands and the rotor? or the rotors are 3/8" too close to the caliper stand?

any Ideas? did I get the wrong parts (spindles or hubs)? should I just bend the caliper stands to fit it in. A used shoe will fit but that just doesnot seem right. I got a second set of shoes just to make sure I had the right ones.

thanks for the help!! steve

I am using almost the identical setup as you are, with the exception of the rotor. I'm not sure what mine came out of. But the rest of what you described sounds about right to me. I would start with the rotor and work from there. Sounds like it's too thick in comparison to what Chevy used with those calipers/pads. See if you can find out what thickness the 76 Chevy used (a competent machine shop will have a big book if they turn rotors) and then try to match a Ford rotor of similar specs.

Stupid question (apologize in advance) are the caliper pistons all the way in the caliper?

putzboy,
thanks for the reply. I will check on the rotor width, that's a good call on that. As for the calipers, yes is the answer to your question, in fact the trouble I am having is trying to fit the shoe in even without the caliper around it?

Does anyone happen to have a set of measuring calipers to measure their rotors with who are running this set up.

My suggestions:

1) Incorrect assembly order....did you put the spindle on first and the caliper stand over that? It should be caliper stand then spindle.

2) The rotor is incompatable. Just about any Ford rotor will work, but I do know Ford did wierd things with the hubs in 88, so 88 may just be the one that doesn;t work.

3) The spindle is not a Chevy spindle

another possibility, is the 78 ford hub a drum or disk hub, I'm running 85 ish ford hub/rotor and it all works.

same thing with the spindle, is it a drum break spindle?

I think I may have a spindle problem? The set I have REQUIRES me to put the spindle into the knuckle and then put on the caliper stand. The "hole" in the caliper stand will not allow the spindle to go through it the other direction inorder for the spindle to seat into the knuckle. The spindles I am using are longer than the set of later model (78) Ford 1/2 ton spindles I have although, I have just also found that the spindles happen to be identical to a set I have from an early bronco with drum brakes? I will do a search for a post that has the dimensions of the proper spindles. I did buy the spindles from a gentleman off this board who I think had done this before (bob ?) I'll try to get some pics up on my web site that maybee someone can identify as the wrong part.
thanks alot for the help.

Hycenter, went out to the garage and measured the spindles I know came from a Chevy D-44 with disks. They are 5 5/8" from the top surface of the flange (where the caliper stand off sits) to the end of the spindle. I pitched all of the drum spindles so I wouldn't get them mixed up, so I have nothing to compaire to. If you want to check a specific area let me know.

These are the respective specs for those disc Chevy spindles.


http://widowmakeronline.homestead.com/files/spindles.jpg

once again my ignorance and trust in mankind has cost me money. It turns out that the spindles I bought from someone on this board were actually the Fords and not the chevys' I need. I am gonna do some research and hope to find out it was an honest mistake. In hindsight it explained why even the ford stubs I have fit when I put it all togther.
It seems like if a guy put a spacer behind the inner bearing on a ford spindle it would work with the chevy caliper stands and ford hubs. I mean as long as you found a way to keep the spacer from spinning and the seal still reached it might work? you could probly even run the shorter ford stubs?

anyone got any chevy spindles for sale? I am heading for the wanted and for sale sections.

THANKS FOR ALL THE INFO. EVERYONE but Dillingers picture gives him an A on my research project.

Seems that you and I are doing the exact same research. :)

I got lucky, found an 80 Waggie 44 at PnP and pulled the spindles off of it. They are a Chevy style so they match mine, however, the Ford hubs I'm using require you to use the "small bearing" Chevy spindle (which was used from 58-77 on 1/2 ton trucks). Well, these are hard to find, if not impossible. So today, I will be taking my Ford hubs to the machine shop to get them turned that .160" difference so that I can use the larger inner bearing. I can get the "large bearing" spindles all day long around the various yards here, so that's why I have decided to go this route. You may want to consider the same thing. The inner bearing is the same for all years, as far as all my research has shown.

I also learned that the small bearing is a bad design, when it fails, it fails BIG. Exactly what happened to me, no prior warning, just fragged itself. Apparently the large bearing will give you a little "wobble warning" prior to fragging. Not to mention the larger bearing is stronger and has greater load bearing.

Good luck!!

here is My (http://www.chrisjeep7.alloffroad.com/photo2.html) setup...it will tell you what i am running. it worked out fine.

Chris G.

I hate to ask a question that is off the subject but here it is. I 'm wondering how much you cut the axle and what the final measurement was wms-wms. I know it's not done but could you estimate. Thanks

mine (http://www.chrisjeep7.alloffroad.com/photo2.html) is 63"
i dont know if you were asking me...but i told ya~![