Robby1870

I've been a member for a few years, but haven't really posted anything. In short, I have an '85 pickup, 2WD, 5spd. Recently, I've replaced the head gasket, installed an offenhauser dual plane intake, weber 32/36 and a weber fuel pressure regulator.

Now that I've got the carb tuned and leaks fixed, I'm looking at what needs fixing next. Before doing all of the above work the truck sat for ~2 years. I did bleed the front brake lines and that greatly improved the pedal feel, but it's still not great. So, I'm thinking the brakes need work next.

I've searched a bit, but there's not a lot of 2WD info out there, so I've got a few questions:

1. What, if any, are common brake upgrades for 2WDs? Larger rotors, calipers, master cylinders, stainless lines?

2. What are my wheel options? I'm on stock 14s still. I don't want anything huge, maybe 15s or 16s.

3. I've read up on front rotor replacement in the factory shop manual. Any pointers from guys that have done it? I'm worried the hub will be rusted to the rotor. Any issues with pre-loading the oil seal correctly?

4. This may be the hardest question to answer. Any leads on new beds Mine, like many others, is rusting out. It's not bad yet, but I'm curious is anyone has found a source for new beds.

Thanks for any help.

superex87

Hey,

1. As far as I know There are no bolt on brake upgrades, I an sure there is one out there but the 2wd's arnt very popular.

2. There are a few wheel options out there, our trucks have a 5x114.5 bolt pattern, I know mustang and ford ranger wheels bolt up.

3. the front rotor replacement is pretty simple, not much to it.

4. There are a few company's out there that build new fiberglass beds for our trucks but they are very expensive, I believe one company is called toyotafiberglass. Most people just custom build a flat bed for it.

Robby1870

Thanks for getting back to me. I'll probably just replace the rotors and master cylinder. As for the wheels, are the any issues with offset? What's the offset on factory wheels? Also, how wide of a wheel do people run? I think stock wheels are 14x6. Any issues with 15x7s?

superex87

Im fairly certain there are no problems with offset, Higher offset = wheels are more recessed.

here's a link explaining wheels sizing for our trucks
http://www.customtacos.com/forum/showthread.php?t=49792

15x7 should fit just fine