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Installing Wilwood Brakes On A 1985 Chevy Squarebody

Chris Hamilton . February 21, 2022 . c10
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Following up on our QA1 Suspension installation on this 1985 Chevy squarebody, we need to ensure that the brakes are as dependable and perform as well as our new coilover suspension. For its first outing, we will be driving this truck to Holley Performance Products and back with a competition along the way. Following a hopefully successful trip, we plan to pump this truck all around the country on the Hot Rod Power Tour along with some other event road trips.

With a plan like that, we need parts that we can count on. So, we turned to our industry partners and leaders for performance braking. Wilwood Engineering has been winning races and bringing home best of show trophies for many years, and our experience with the company has been great. The parts are engineered to perfection, the quality is second to none. Wilwood’s customer service department is more helpful than most other aftermarket automotive companies in our industry.

So, to kick this project off right, we immediately jumped on the phone with our representative at Wilwood.  Discussing this project one on one so we could choose the perfect package. After explaining our goals and our current setup, our Wilwood rep recommended that we use the new modular spindle for the front brakes as well as a Wilwood Big Brake kit that bolts directly to the new spindle. In the rear, we will be removing the factory drum brakes, pulling out the axle shafts and installing a new disc brake setup on the factory rear axle. Luckily for us, Wilwood has developed a system specifically for our needs—and probably yours, as well.

With the front suspension fully completed and installed, you can see how nice the QA1 tubular control arms and coilovers look under the freshly painted factory frame rails that front brake setup has got to go through. Not only does it look rough, but there is no way it will perform the way that we need it.
Wilwood Brakes
AERO6 calipers for the front were designed for the specific purpose of providing big-capacity braking with large diameter rotors for heavyweight and extreme-duty vehicles. These kits are for the popular 1963-1987 Chevrolet and GM C10/C15 trucks with Wilwood’s new Modular Drop ProSpindles, and they are fully compatible with OE master cylinder output and ABS function.
Wilwood’s ProSpindle Kit
Wilwood’s ProSpindle Kits contain a pair of modular spindles, steering arms and hub assemblies for either ’63-’70 or ’71-’87 Chevrolet and GMC 2WD C10/C15 pickups and Suburbans. They’re specifically designed for use with Wilwood’s disc brake kits with a 2.5-inch drop for a more aggressive stance without affecting steering geometry.
Wilwood Big Brake kit
we will be installing this Wilwood AERO4 Big Brake kit with red powdercoat calipers and drilled and slotted rotors. This assembly schematic may help understand how it all works!

Wilwood brake install on a C10

Wilwood Brake hub
Moving to the rear, you can once again see how nice the suspension is compared to the ugly original brake hub. We will disconnect this axle, slide it out and install the Wilwood rear disc brake conversion kit.
Wilwood AERO4 Big Brake Rear Parking Brake Kit
Here is the complete Wilwood AERO4 Big Brake Rear Parking Brake Kit parts laid out with red powdercoat caliper and drilled and slotted rotors.
For Wilwood to ensure that our brakes are correct and will fit our project, they require us to fill out this axle flange offset sheet for their engineers to review. It’s a very simple process that can be done in about 20 minutes with your truck.
The final measurement we need to supply is the diameter of the center of our hub. The rotors need to fit with precision. Even though most trucks will be the same, Wilwood needs to be sure that they are sending the right parts.
Now that our paperwork is complete, the parts are on order and we can sit and wait. The truck will sit on the suspension for now as we finish up some other details.
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