[theastronaut]

Delete the booster, use a smaller bore master cylinder (1" or 7/8") for more line pressure, move the master cylinder pushrod to the upper hole for more leverage on the master cylinder, swap to a semi-metallic pad that has a higher coefficient of friction.


The "need" for boosted brakes is one of the biggest wives tales in the C10/classic car world. Manual brakes can be more than strong enough with the simple things I listed.


When you swap from manual to power brakes, do people realize that a lot of what is involved with swapping to power brakes actually takes away the leverage that your foot would normally convert into braking power? Examples-

The stock master cylinder is 1" but the typical boosted system uses a 1.25" M/C. Basic hydraulic principles tell us that a larger bore will make less pressure at the caliper/wheel cylinder than the same amount of pedal pressure would make with a smaller stock 1" bore.

The pedal ratio is changed when you move the pushrod to a lower hole on the brake pedal- leverage that could be making more line pressure is taken away when you lower the mounting point.

Some brake kits, and all parts stores will tell you that ceramic pads are an "upgrade". They are, but only in terms of lifespan and amount of dust they make. Ceramic pads actually have the lowest coefficient of friction of all normal pad types. That requires you to press the pedal harder to create the same amount of friction between the pad and disc. Pad compound can make a huge difference in how well the brakes work; the last car I bought had fairly terrible braking performance- borderline unsafe. Everything was 100% stock and in good condition so it should've stopped just as well as my other identical car. I deglazed the rotors and swapped out the unknown pads for semi-metallic pads, did the procedure to bed-in the pads (this makes a big difference just by itself), and the brakes went back to performing like normal.


So... you take away significant braking power in 2-3 ways depending on what pad type you pick, than add braking power back with a booster. Makes a lot of sense... when you're a vendor selling parts.


Sticking with a small bore master cylinder for more line pressure (simple hydraulic principle at work there), leaving the pushrod in the top hole so that more of your applied pedal pressure makes it into the master cylinder, and using brake pads that are actually good at making friction (semi-metallic) will go a long way in making the truck stop really well without excessive pedal pressure. The pedal will also be more responsive and have better feel, boosted brakes usually feel fairly vague or are overly sensitive to pedal pressure. And if you still need more braking power or prefer less pedal pressure, you can drop down the master cylinder bore size for more line pressure.


My own C10 has a 1" bore dual circuit master cylinder to convert it to a split system, the stock/upper pushrod hole is used, stock rear drums, and the front has been converted to disc using CPP's standard drop spindle/disc kit that uses plain squarebody rotors and calipers. The pads are semi metallic. Nothing fancy. The pedal feel is excellent and pedal effort is normal. The brakes are easily powerful enough to make full use of the tire's grip well above any legal speed without needing excessive pedal pressure. Since the pedal is responsive I can modulate the pedal and hold the brakes at the limit of tire grip right before lock up in an emergency stop situation- something that is harder to do with less responsive boosted brakes.