Thinking about doing Front Disc Brake Conversion .... Do I have D44 / D30 / Or Both?

[BGBronco]

I have a '70 and currently have manual drum brakes which are beyond shot. Basically a weekend driver, minimal off road, probably drive it no more than 60 miles at a time and won't be doing 75 down the interstate.

Current looking at adding power brakes and going the Disc / Drum route. I have 9" rear and thought I had Dana 44 in front but looking at ends (pictures attached) I am trying to figure out what I actually have now and if it impacts the conversion where it won't be 'plug and play.'

Would appreciate your input this as well as thoughts on what brake set up I should go with. Thank you!

 

[bronco loco]

You have a dana 30.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xi3CVObyxaw

 

[pcf_mark]

King pins = D30 I believe. Nice drums! Chevy disc conversion is the best $$ you can spend.

 

[metal1]

I just finished the gm disc conversion on my 67 dana 30 ,I did it from parts found and some from friends 4x4 stashes ,mine sees about 1/2 and 1/2 off-road / street and I think the 30 is stronger than it is given credit i also think your right foot determines breakage

 

[jim3326]

I did the GM conversion on my D30 and when I switched to a D44 just swapped it over no problem.

 

[DirtDonk]

Yep. GM conversions fit either/or front end, with grinding required in either case.
Ford brakes fit only a 44 with ball-joints instead of king-pins, because you need to use the Ford knuckles with ball-joints.

With the Ford brakes, it's easy to keep it manual and even use the stock master cylinder. Anyone tried that with the larger sized GM calipers?

Paul

 

[Broncobowsher]

Need a better picture of the diff cover to know what you have. There were a few king pinned dana 44 axles out there.

Either way the king pins are the same. Just shop for brakes as if you have a dana 30. Those are the knuckles that you have. A GM based disk brake conversion is typically more affordable then replacing all the drum parts.

 

[sprdv1]

A GM based disk brake conversion is typically more affordable then replacing all the drum parts.

Seems to be in good supply most of the time as well if you go GM conversion

good luck