Keeping the Emergency Brake on a Short Bed Crew Cab

[CUCV2]

Just trying to do some finish work on the short bed crew cab and having the emergency brake working would be super handy since it has a NV4500. Not to mention legal ~. When you do the conversion, 14" of frame is removed right behind the cab. Everything else in that area needs to be shortened 14" too (ie - driveshaft, hydraulic brake lines, exhaust). There is probably some smart way to do this but I am still exploring to find out what the best (and safest) option would be. A few of the ideas that I've had are relocating the rear brake cable holder, the part that attaches to the frame and serves as a junction for the three cables to come together, 14"back. This would put it right over the axle and in the rise of the frame causing poor geometry for the cables to function correctly. Another idea was to find another front cable that would work with the new wheelbase. The wheelbases for squarebodys are;

-CCLB 164.5
-CCSB 150.5 (obviously but I need to write it out for stare and compare purposes)
-Suburban 129.5
-RCLB 131.5
-RCSB 117.5

The last idea I had was to do a cut and repair on the existing cable. They do have emergency cable repair kits that might work but they seem like they are made in China. I have better luck with parts made in USA.

Any ideas from those that have gone before or have encountered similar issues would be greatly appreciated.

Included gratuitous pics of the project.

 

[frankin5]

Use the short bed cables. Probable only need the two rears.

 

[Bent77]

I have cut/replaced the cables. trick is finding steel ferrells to crimp on the line. Currently mine are aluminum

 

[CUCV2]

Use the short bed cables. Probable only need the two rears.

As in RCSB? Seems like it would be way to short. Are the brake cables the same on 88-98 trucks? Maybe they have the right length?

I have cut/replaced the cables. trick is finding steel ferrells to crimp on the line. Currently mine are aluminum

Do you have any pics? I'm not sure what a Ferrell is?

 

[Bent77]

Ferrule. Spelling counts, sorry about that

Like this. There was a slightly larger one in the package. Used both

 

[diesel4me]

If it had an intermediate cable like most pickups I'd have shortened that one...
You can use 1/8" wire rope clamps on the cables--they hold well enough to withstand use on winches and garage door springs ,I would double them up to be certain they wont let go though..

I had to shorten the intermediate cable on my truck when the replacement one ended up being about 2" too long..
I made a loop in the cable and double clamped it,then I was able to use the threaded adjustment on it to get it set right..

 

[CUCV2]

Thanks for the help guys. I went out to the garage and started experimenting with it and ended up moving the bracket that attaches to the frame back about 12 inches and took up the rest with the adjustment bolt. It's always fun to get those factory rivets out and drilling holes upside down but it works great and still uses the factory cables. I'll try to take a pic of it tomorrow.

 

[diesel4me]

It took me a whole day to drill out maybe 5 rivets on a rear spring hanger bracket a few months ago--removing rivets it a total suck job..
Only worse job in my opinion is getting a leaf spring bolt out of the bushing..

The bracket next to the gas tank for the rear leaf spring on the drivers side had rotted away,tire threw salt at it for decades..had to remove the rivets on the side facing the rear end, so I could bolt angle iron on the frame, to replace the missing part of the bracket that rotted away..

I still have to remove the rivets on the gas tank side when I go to replace the hanger bracket,but that will require removing the tank,which leaks first..

I may end up taking the bed off the truck too,the frame looks like it'll need a patch welded on and it may have some cracks too..might not put the stepside bed back on either,I have a flatbed made of 4" channel iron I can use on it instead..whether I'll be up to doing such a major restoration in my condition remains to be seen though..

If I see a truck like it in better condition for a reasonable price I may just buy it instead and let someone else deal with the labor,or part it out..

 

[CUCV2]

It took me a whole day to drill out maybe 5 rivets on a rear spring hanger bracket a few months ago--removing rivets it a total suck job..
Only worse job in my opinion is getting a leaf spring bolt out of the bushing..

The bracket next to the gas tank for the rear leaf spring on the drivers side had rotted away,tire threw salt at it for decades..had to remove the rivets on the side facing the rear end, so I could bolt angle iron on the frame, to replace the missing part of the bracket that rotted away..

I still have to remove the rivets on the gas tank side when I go to replace the hanger bracket,but that will require removing the tank,which leaks first..

I may end up taking the bed off the truck too,the frame looks like it'll need a patch welded on and it may have some cracks too..might not put the stepside bed back on either,I have a flatbed made of 4" channel iron I can use on it instead..whether I'll be up to doing such a major restoration in my condition remains to be seen though..

If I see a truck like it in better condition for a reasonable price I may just buy it instead and let someone else deal with the labor,or part it out..

I've tried removing rivets several ways but the best way for me seems to be grinding off the head and hitting it with a center punch. Air tools are even more better . Sometimes the bracket will come off without even knocking the rivet through, like it did on this ebrake bracket. Just give the bracket a couple of love taps on both sides until it's persuaded.

 

[diesel4me]

I'd have used my torch IF the fuel tank wasn't dripping diesel 3" away from the rivets....torch is THE easiest way..

I couldn't (or did not dare) use a grinder for the same reason,too many sparks..so then I tried to chisel off the rivet heads with my air chisel,which sucks,it made a lot of noise and the chisel blunted over,but it barely touched the rivet..

So I had to resort to using the drill,start off with a brand new 3/16" bit and drill into the center of the rivet--then step up to 1/4",3/8" and a 1/2" bit,then once I got most of the head off, I could hand chisel off the remains..my air chisel did manage to punch the remains out easily,but it is a cheap p-o-s with a short stroke so it isn't of much use for chiseling rivets off..it is only useful for muffler removal or cutting out rusted sheet metal mostly..

 

[CUCV2]

I'd have used my torch IF the fuel tank wasn't dripping diesel 3" away from the rivets....torch is THE easiest way..

I couldn't (or did not dare) use a grinder for the same reason,too many sparks..so then I tried to chisel off the rivet heads with my air chisel,which sucks,it made a lot of noise and the chisel blunted over,but it barely touched the rivet..

So I had to resort to using the drill,start off with a brand new 3/16" bit and drill into the center of the rivet--then step up to 1/4",3/8" and a 1/2" bit,then once I got most of the head off, I could hand chisel off the remains..my air chisel did manage to punch the remains out easily,but it is a cheap p-o-s with a short stroke so it isn't of much use for chiseling rivets off..it is only useful for muffler removal or cutting out rusted sheet metal mostly..

Good point! Always be mindful of the fuel tank! I have drilled them and can remember how much fun that wasn't. They always seem to be at weird angles to get at. Do you think a step drill might work after it's started?

 

[diesel4me]

I just used regular drill bits,you only need to drill in about 1/4" into the rivet,just enough to get to the part its holding on,so you wont enlarge the frame holes..(which I did anyway,after I got the rivets punched out,I found out GM used 7/16" rivet shanks roughly,and all I had was 3/8" or 1/2" bolts,so I bored them out to 1/2"bigger is better,right ?..)..

A step drill would require you to drill deep into the rivet shank before the next "step" started eating away at the rivet head,it'd be a lot more work in my opinion..

When I worked at a salvage yard,my co-worker had a unique method to remove frame rivets off cab mount brackets,etc--he used a steel camping hatchet he found in a junk car's trunk,it was 100% steel with a grip like leather washers made onto the handle part..
He placed the hatchet's head in between the frame and bracket ,like a wedge to force the pieces apart,and whacked the other end of the hatchet blade ,that was a hammer head,with a 5 lb hammer..

I always feared the hatchet would shatter and pieces would stick in him or his eyes,but it only took 3 or 4 whacks to shear off the rivet shank most of the time--then once the bracket was off he'd lay it on the frame and whack the area where the rivet was to straighten the bracket out--it did surprisingly little damage to the bracket too.
He often used this method when a vehicle was in too risky a spot to torch the rivets off,a lot of the yard was a wooded lot with lots of pine needles..

 

[shady]

I was contemplating those brake cables just yesterday on the truck I'm shortening. The conclusion I had come to was just shortening the cable with the same saddle clamps pictured above.

 

[shady]

By the way.... Build thread ..?

 

[Bent77]

I actually replaced an 84" section of the cable on mine and redid the ends. Recently, @skunked ordered a cable length for his that was assembled. I'll see if I can find where he bought it. He's on the 'Con right now


It would be easy to use a victim cable to find a length that's happy to where you want it, then order a cable.

 

[CUCV2]

By the way.... Build thread ..?

I had one for this truck on here years ago. I can try and dig it up.

Edit-found it
https://ck5.com/forums/threads/84-crew-cab-whatever-build.327365/

I actually replaced an 84" section of the cable on mine and redid the ends. Recently, @skunked ordered a cable length for his that was assembled. I'll see if I can find where he bought it. He's on the 'Con right now


It would be easy to use a victim cable to find a length that's happy to where you want it, then order a cable.

I was wondering if ebrake cables are fairly universal in nature and that would be the case. This would be the best option I would think. With this C19 business, good luck with getting into an auto parts store and shopping around but maybe when things clear up. Maybe there is another way to do it maybe...

 

[Moody Bricker]

There is a right way to put the clamps on and a wrong way, is there a wire rope rigging shop near by they should put on a 1/8" button on the wire rope fore about 20 bucks,clean looking and it will hold up,
Look up thecrosbygroup.com look at the book page 56

 

[JoshHefnerX]

I used some of the home depot cable crimps, they were bigger than pictured here and the HF hydraulic wire crimper to crimp the hell outta them. They have stayed put.

 

[diesel4me]

I've used those clamps doubled up on many winches & come-a-longs,lifted up to 1000 lbs with no problems..if I'm scared they might "slip" I braze the end of the wire rope and build up a ball of brass that cant just slip thru the clamp...never had one move yet though..

I have a hydraulic "shear" a hardware store used to cut wire rope and chain with,it is like a bottle jack but it has a metal case around it with jaws instead of a piston.. ,I think it can be used to crimp on those sleeves on wire rope too,but it might require a different set of jaws,I think I only have the cutter,that looks like a parrot's beak for it..been so long since I used it I cant remember..its buried in my garage.

 

[chulisohombre]

I know you already got this figured out, but when I did my disk brake conversion I measured what size I needed and went into the books at my national auto parts store and found the correct length that way. No mods and the cable was warrantee and easily replaceable if I ever had a issue. With so many different non stock parts many of our trucks have, start a journal of non stock parts so you can remember what you need if ever you replace anything down the road. Makes it much easier.