Back breaks do very little on the van.  Mainly for parking break.  Does
maybe 20 percent of stopping.  So why put rear discs where they will do the
least good?  The front if anywhere is where you would want more stopping
power.

However, unless you are traveling in the mountains with a fully loaded van
and an engine conversion, the stock brakes should be fine provided they are
in good condition and the rear shoes are installed and adjusted properly.
Most of the time poor pedal feel is actually due to improperly installed or
adjusted rear brake shoes.  I know that sounds counter intuitive but that
has been my experience with these vans.

Ken

On Thu, Jun 14, 2018, 10:12 PM pickle vanagon <greenvanagon@gmail.com>
wrote:

> Pickle's stopping power has long been on my list of things to address.
>
> We have 16" CLK wheels so a bigger brake kit seems like a natural idea.
> But are late model front spindles in good condition readily obtainable?
>
> Basically here is what I'm considering:
> 1) Overhaul the rear brakes, hope for an improvement there
> 2) Rear disc brakes (i.e., the smallcar or burley kits)
> 3) somehow get some late model spindles and do the big brakes up front, in
> addition to either 1) or 2).
>
> Maybe I am being naive, but coming from an 83.5, #2 seems like it may have
> a better ratio of effectiveness to hastle than #3.
>
>
> Thoughts?
> -Wes
>