Vannin' Community and Forums Forums Chevy Troubleshooting '81 Chevy G20 brake rebuild

hi all,
proud 'new' owner of an '81 Chevy G20 here, looking to order a bunch of parts to do a full brake rebuild front and rear.

As I'm in New Zealand I'm looking to order things via rockauto.com, and am trying to get some advice on miscellaneous stuff that I might be overlooking when ordering (as it'll take a good 4-6 weeks for things to arrive...)

Apart from the obvious - front calipers, discs+pads, master cylinder, and new shoes for the rear drums - what else should I be getting to ensure an easy install?
Additional hardware, hoses, fittings, etc. - any advice and suggestions would be much appreciated!

cheers,
vvalt

I'd definitely get the drum brake hardware kit (the big one that includes everything), the front hoses, the clips for the front hoses, maybe the rear hose...
I would probably get new rear wheel cylinders and check to see if you need new pins (the piece between the wheel cylinder and the brake shoe).

That's all I can think of at the moment.
Good luck and enjoy your new van!

I'll echo what rusty says, get the rebuild kit with all the springs, and you should probably get the adjuster wheel kit too. They're real cheap.

Oh and a bunch of brake cleaner. I don't know how bad yours are, but mine were toast. I rounded off a brake line fastener in the process. I went to napa and got a ni cop one, which you can bend by hand.

Make sure you got a mini sledge on hand. It took me 20 minutes to get one of my drums off.

Thanks Rusty, all very helpful tips!
Would the clips for the front hoses come with the hoses themselves? Can't see them listed separately anywhere...
Also, sry if dumb question, the big drum brake hardware kit is for the pair, or for one wheel only? The pictures seem to suggest it's for both wheels but thought I'd better check to make sure ;)

The pins you mention "(the piece between the wheel cylinder and the brake shoe)" would they come with the wheel cylinders or are they also listed separately?

cheers!

Thanks for pitching in DrCaldre!
could you elaborate on the (ni cop?) brake line fastener plz? Not entirely sure what/which you mean...

Would the clips for the front hoses come with the hoses themselves? Can't see them listed separately anywhere...

They did on the one's I got which I think were Raybestos (not 100% sure though). Have a look on rockauto for them as they usually have an info button for pics.

All the clips for brake line hoses that I've ever bought from Rock Auto were sold separately, but I never bought my van brake stuff from there.
If Shaggy says he got some with his hoses, try to get the same ones he got.
I've bought Centric and they do NOT come with clips.
If your van has 1" clips, those are the ones that always seem to come when I order them (no matter what vehicle I order them for).

I looked on their site, and I couldn't find the pins either.
That one's not that critical to buy new, though.
You can usually just wire brush the ones you have unless they are really pitted with rust.

My rear brakes had steel lines with the nuts that sit around them, which you can't remove from the line. If you destroy the fastener, you have to replace the line. A friend told me to just get the ni cop ones because you can bend them by hand. Worked a dream.

Edit: I actually split one of those pins in half hammering the drum off. If you're really two weeks out on parts, maybe try and find two of those pins just in case. They may be called 'drum brake pistons'. They don't come in the rebuild kit. Look at pictures of them when you buy. It was hard enough finding one of those suckers here in the US.

I had EVERYTHING replaced on my '93 up to and including rotors, wheel bearings & seals, and drums. The only I didn't have replaced were the steel lines because they were still solid.