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8 Lug TTB Conversion & Sterling Installed. Rockin' the 8 Lug!

12K views 44 replies 14 participants last post by  Dustball 
#1 ·
Just a few pics now that I'm finally on the road. The 8 Lugs look fantastic. The TTB swap to chevy spindle, caliper bracket, caliper and rotor was more difficult that I thought it would have been and also a word to the wise, even with 16" wheels you STILL have to grind the calipers down. I knew you did for 15"s but you do for 16"s too. No biggie though just time consuming and a PITA. But I'm rocking the 4 wheel disc and the beefy Sterling in the back with a Detroit true track and I still have an E-brake that actually works. Extensive modification of E-brake cables required. I wish I would have taken more pictures but it was hot and I was greasy as heck and I would have trashed my camera, but here are a few pictures anyway.

Also important to note I wound up having to "clock" my Chevy caliper mounts, that 3 oclock and 9 oclock stuff isn't true. You need the calipers to sit basically where the old ones were but its not hard to split the difference where the holes are in the caliper bracket for the spindle studs and just re-drill 6 new holes and put the caliper brackets where you need them. I'm pretty well versed in this project if anyone has any questions. I used 1982 K20 Calipers and Rotors, and Trans-Am Calipers and Rotors in the back on the Sterling.. Also, just for those that want to know a 315/75x16 Yokohama AT-S All Terrains are supposed to be about a 34.4 but are actually more like a 36.2". I had some minor clearance issues but it all worked out in the end. Also, no more sway bars. Darn. What a shame. :toothless


Check it out:










 
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#10 ·
Yup. Same Calipers as a mid 80's Trans-Am. I probably should have said Cadilliac. They were on Caddys too... I'll snap some shots for you when my center caps get here so you can see the mechanism. I'll have to take the back wheels off then anyway so it'll be easier and yes, my e-brake works perfectly after about 2 hours per side of cable modification and a few cable clamps and a bit of ahem, rigging...:toothless
 
#5 ·
yeah...whats up with the pontiac parts?
 
#12 ·
GM parts brother, not Pontiac. They came on several GM vehicles that use that one way clutch to adjust the caliper.... They mount and use the same pads as the front K-20 Calipers and have the same size piston in them but they rotate to self adjust instead of just coming straight out of the caliper.....

Sam
 
#13 ·
Um no. Thats not what I said. I swapped in all Chevy outer parts from the steering knuckle out. Drive Shaft Outers, Spindles, Spindle studs, Hubs, Bearings, Caliper mounts and Calipers... And yes, they are 36" tall. Or, I should say they are 1.2" taller than the fully inflated 35" BFG mud terrain that they were sitting next to. Is that a better way to put it?
 
#17 ·
Seems to have alot of bracketry on the rear. Clarify for me, that the caliper bolt-caliper bolt distance is the same with these calipers as the K20? Do the brackets on the caliper that hold the e-brake cables come with the calipers or did you build them?
 
#18 ·
There is only one caliper bracket. The Caliper bracket is held in place by another bracket that bolts to the factory square flange. Once again the caliper has to be clocked a particular way to clear the factory flange. Each bracket is held in place by four grade 8 1/2 bolts. The Caliper's bracket that bolts to the factory flange is held in place by 4 grade 8 1/2 bolts. There are also some machined spacers that place the caliper in the correct position for the rotor that just slips over the hub and free floats. I was going to try and move the calipers to the 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock position but I couldn't because of the factory flange. I also had to machine the rotors on a lathe where the pads were scrubbing but it wasn't a big deal (20 mins each on a lathe).

Here are some pics of another problem I ran into. I wound up grinding a piece of the top caliper bolt flat and making a notch in my top spring so I could get the top caliper bolt in place.

All in all it was a PITA but I'm happy with the end result. Here are a couple more pictures that may clarify. I had the wheels off today to put my center caps on so I snapped a few more for you. Hope this helps. I also have a link to the people that sell the kit and will include it below.

Final question: The brackets come with the E-brake assembly just the way it is, I didn't have to make any of it. I just had to remove the springs from the end of the Ford E-brake cable with a ziz wheel so they were just open cables with a swedge at the end. I then had to take up the slack at the other end as you saw in the other pictures with the cable clamps.





Link to the disc brake conversion.

Hope that helps some.....:beer

Sam
 
#23 ·
No, those are the factory perches. Its a regular 10.25 out of a '87 F-350 with a Detroit True Trac in it, a Hy-Tec cover on it and the disc brake conversion. I just spruced it up a little bit and made it work right... spent some time in the machine shop with it until I had it the way I wanted it. I used my wedges because I was concerned about pinion angle. I know I'll get a few knives thrown at me for some screw up here but the 10.25 and the 8.8 according to my Ford guy both call for a 1330 series U-joint.. so, as I was calling to order my $250.00 rear drive shaft, I figured why the heck not and threw the CV end of my factory shaft over the cross over (exhaust) pipe to keep it from hitting me in the head and viola, my 1330 bolted right up to the 10.25. Fit perfectly in the cup with my 8.8 retainers. So, I compressed my drive shaft as far as it would go in and shoved the CV joint end in the transfer case. Now granted that is stupid and I only had about 1" of travel before the shaft bottomed out so I took it back out and up to the drive shaft shop. I measured from center of axle tube to u-joint cup on my 8.8 then on the 10.25 and got about 3.5" longer for the 10.25 so instead of wasting $250+ on a brand new shaft I'm having my factory shaft chopped 3.5" and re-balanced for $45.00. It will work for now as I'm swapping engine, tranny and transfer case this summer and that set up is coming with drive shafts.

I probably didn't need the pinion angles but in my mind it reduces the stress on the weaker drive shaft that I'll be running for the summer.

Does that make sense? :toothless

Didn't the F-350 run a shim as well? Also to note, I was already running F-350 springs out of an ambulance with the bottom two (shortest) springs removed from the pack as they made the truck stand up too high in the back and ride like a rusty pogo stick...
 
#24 ·
those "trans-am" calipers seem a little small.....are the same size as the k20 calipers?
 
#31 ·
I have the E4OD, so it has a nice healthy overdrive, which means I probably could have gone with more gear (really would be best if I had 4.88's), but the 4.56 is fine for me, I already had this gearset in the rear axle so I was not going to change it out. Besides I don't like real low gearing with a 44 front.
 
#34 ·
They are from the 8.8 but required extensive mods. I had to cut the springs off the ends where they went to the drum with a ziz wheel (try cutting a spring without ruining the nylon coating on that cable directly under it by overheating it...)

Then I wound up having to swedge the other end with some cable clamps. The cables themselves are too long but the driver's side cable housing is too short. So I wound up breaking the housing on the driver's side cable a little bit and unraveling the metal coiling around the cable so it would reach. The cable ends that stuck into the back of the drums plug right into those trans-am/eldorado calipers but the springs were too long and got in the way. You just need a cable sticking out with a swedge on the end of it to make it work. All in all I would rather have something custom made but what I've got works for now. Thanks for the compliment! :beer


Sam
 
#37 ·
Update -

This is for Shadow especially. My right rear caliper has sprung a leak. I am looking at Remans now. It seemed to happen with the weather change. I haven't been using my e-brake alot as I need to adjust it. So I can't say its even leaking from regular use. It looks like it is leaking around the parking brake assembly. I've had so much going on I haven't had time to really do anything with my truck but crank it and drive it to work. Anyway my pedal is firm but I noticed brake fluid and thought I would let you know.

I bought the axle with the conversion already done. The PO ran these calipers for almost two years and I ran them for another 6 months or so.. So rough last time before leaking is around 30 months.

Just thought you'd like to know. I'll probably wind up replacing both Calipers when I take it apart (maybe) and I'll update this thread if I have any problems with the Remans. They will either be from Napa or O'reillys...

Sam
 
#38 ·
Thanks for being honest about an issue that has "sprung up", so to speak. It makes me continue to think about whether I really want to go this route vs. fabbing a mechanical ebrake up top at the output of the Tcase.

It's not happening real soon for me anyway, so I'll stay tuned on your progress.:popc1:
 
#42 ·
Just an update about the leakin' issue. It *appears* to be from a loose e-brake arm nut. Was checking to see where the leak was coming from when it was on the rack today and noticed the nut was a bit loose. They are KNOWN to leak if that stuff isn't tight so I tightened her down as well as tensioned my e-brake cables and it seems to be ok. No more leak and the e-brake is holding pretty good (for now). I had quit using my e-brake 'cuz my cable clamps slid and it wasn't working for sheeat.. Wouldn't hold it still on level ground... but that seems to be fixed now. I also re-adjusted my rear calipers. so my pedal feels a little better...
 
#44 ·
Can you use 8Lug Dana 44hd TTB outters to do this conversion? I have a 80 something Ford F250 that has a np435/dana44hd/dana60 I would like to swap into my Bronco. Then later down the road when I get a good deal on a ford dana 60 do a SAS. I have some 37's on 16.5 8 lug rims I want to throw on it for now.
 
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