Thread: 1963 chevy pickup rear drum to disk

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Question I have a 63 project would like to have disk brakes on rear , summit has a kit for 450.00 but have to stick with 6 lug wheels has a great rear end under it 3.73 ratio but want Crome fancy wheels on rear have not seen or know where to buy mag wheels everybody wants 5 lug wheels don't what to change rear end or axles cause its perfect for what I want , easy to change front to disk with 5 lug not a problem for me to have 5 lug on front and 6 on back ?? Any advice would be appreciated ??? Im a new-be to the game .

Lots of co$t, little to gain.

Drum rear works fine.

It's a lot of cash for matching lug nuts.

It's your wallet, your ride. Do what makes you happy.

IMHO, not worth the time or effort. If you have 5 lug all around I'd keep it that way. I once had a fairly stout 400 in a 62 and never had a problem stopping it with drums all around.

well if I put disk on front still going from 5 lug front and leaving rear 6 lug drum I personally want disk front ??? really is there any good looking mags available in 6 lug ?? are the 8 lug for either one ???

Originally Posted by milkdud

well if I put disk on front still going from 5 lug front and leaving rear 6 lug drum I personally want disk front ??? really is there any good looking mags available in 6 lug ?? are the 8 lug for either one ???

What good would 8 lug do? As far as I know the selection for 6 lug is pitiful at best and all 6 bolt are not created equal.

so I guess I should change axels in rear end and go to 5 lug back and front if I want front disk brakes .

If it was me I think I's look into re-drilling the axles for five lug. Not sure how the holes would work out for spacing the 5 lug pattern between the 6 existing holes ( may require welding up an existing hole or two).

The first step for me would be to find a 5 hole rotor that will work with the disc brake kit and axles you have......may take a fair amount of research.

Just my 2 cents.


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First of all if it's the same style rear axle I had in my 62 it's a piece of junk. I was on the 4th rear end when I got rid of the truck.

Originally Posted by milkdud

Question I have a 63 project would like to have disk brakes on rear , summit has a kit for 450.00 but have to stick with 6 lug wheels has a great rear end under it 3.73 ratio but want Crome fancy wheels on rear have not seen or know where to buy mag wheels everybody wants 5 lug wheels don't what to change rear end or axles cause its perfect for what I want , easy to change front to disk with 5 lug not a problem for me to have 5 lug on front and 6 on back ?? Any advice would be appreciated ??? Im a new-be to the game .

Seems to me that it would help a lot for you to spell out exactly what you've got now, front & rear (rear end size/type & front/rear lug count & spacing), and then what you want to have when you're done. As for your question, the only problem with 5 lug front & 6 lug rear is carrying two spares, if you choose to carry a spare. Lug pattern and lug count don't matter other than convenience and availability of after market stuff. Tire OD front to rear only matters if it's 4 wheel drive.

If you have to keep the rear end you have now, you could pack up the axles you have now and send them to Moser or some other company that specializes in this work and have new axles made with 5 lug flanges. However, if you put some big horsepower to that stock rear end I doubt it will live long. It would cost some bucks, but how about a 9" Ford rear end built to the same width of the stock rear? You'll have a much stronger rear end and many companies make rear disc brake conversions for the 9" Ford.

Originally Posted by Dave Severson

If you have to keep the rear end you have now, you could pack up the axles you have now and send them to Moser or some other company that specializes in this work and have new axles made with 5 lug flanges. However, if you put some big horsepower to that stock rear end I doubt it will live long. It would cost some bucks, but how about a 9" Ford rear end built to the same width of the stock rear? You'll have a much stronger rear end and many companies make rear disc brake conversions for the 9" Ford.

Dave, reread post #8. My 400 was stock except for a Isky 30-30 cam, Offy 360º intake, 650DP and headers I put in a 3100# pressure plate with an all synchro 3 speed and I could eat spider gears any time I wanted and he has basically the same rear end.

Originally Posted by NTFDAY

Dave, reread post #8. My 400 was stock except for a Isky 30-30 cam, Offy 360º intake, 650DP and headers I put in a 3100# pressure plate with an all synchro 3 speed and I could eat spider gears any time I wanted and he has basically the same rear end.

Ken, how do you know that he has the same rear end? Your post #8 has a great big IF in there that Milkdud hasn't addressed. The vehicle is 56 years old and could have had just about anything put under it at this point, unless I missed something. All he said is

Originally Posted by milkdud

.....but have to stick with 6 lug wheels has a great rear end under it 3.73 ratio.....

Originally Posted by rspears

Ken, how do you know that he has the same rear end? Your post #8 has a great big IF in there that Milkdud hasn't addressed. The vehicle is 56 years old and could have had just about anything put under it at this point, unless I missed something. All he said is

Mainly because one of the rear ends was from a 63 while another was from a 64. There a lot of differences between a 62 and 63,4,5 and 6. The 62 has a wrap around windshield and a small back window and the 62 was the last of the torsion bar front suspension. The rear ends were, for all practical purposes, the same until 65 or 66 when they went to 5 lug.

Originally Posted by NTFDAY

Mainly because one of the rear ends was from a 63 while another was from a 64. There a lot of differences between a 62 and 63,4,5 and 6. The 62 has a wrap around windshield and a small back window and the 62 was the last of the torsion bar front suspension. The rear ends were, for all practical purposes, the same until 65 or 66 when they went to 5 lug.

So how do you know he's got a stock rear end? From what I've read he could have a DANA 60 or a Ford 9 or something out of a later model Chevy truck, right? All we know is 6 lug, 3.73 ratio and he's happy with it. Maybe I missed something? Help me understand.

I still think Post #9 is key to understanding.

Originally Posted by rspears

So how do you know he's got a stock rear end? From what I've read he could have a DANA 60 or a Ford 9 or something out of a later model Chevy truck, right? All we know is 6 lug, 3.73 ratio and he's happy with it. Maybe I missed something? Help me understand.

I still think Post #9 is key to understanding.

In his first post he says he has to stick with 6 lug wheels, Do any of the rear ends you mentioned come with 6 lug?
I was merely relating my first hand experience, I tore one up backing out of a gravel driveway a little too rapidly. And until the OP tells us what he has this whole deal is an exercise in futility.