Odd size brake replacement suggestions

lwbfl wrote:

rambleonrose wrote:
Getting our old Class C up and running again, and I've hit a brick wall with brake replacement.

It's a Chevy C30 van body, 16.5 rims. One of the back brakes is seized. We've called pretty much everywhere around, and no one wants to touch it because parts would be so hard to find (odd size, apparently....)

Has anyone bought their own parts and taken it to a shop before with any luck?

Also, any recommendations for searching for these?

That's the best way to make sure you get the right replacement parts, take the old ones with you. People take the parts to their shop all the time, but it isn't any cheaper. I deliver parts from the store to the shop, they get a discount and charge you more than we do for the part. I had the same chassis, you'll be surprised how simple it is to fix yourself (but everything is heavy).

I'm not even 100% sure which ones to get. It's not like I can throw her up on a lift and pull off the tire. It would be infinitely easier if I could, and if I could, I'd just do my own brakes.


And I did call three different places, and got the same response (which, I'll add, I've gotten at auto repair places as well....) if their suppliers don't stock it, they can't get it. Yeah, sounds like a crock of **** to me, too, but if that's their policy, there's not much I can do about it.

As for the tires, two of the places said it would be easypeasy. If I were to get them myself, just a quick search looked fairly promising as well.

As this is a vehicle I've not worked on a lot (unlike my jeep, Beetle, etc) I feel like I'm flying a little blind when it comes to replacement parts. And being the ?th owner, there's definitely no manual of any kind.

Thanks for the input, though, I'm going to do some researching online, and maybe come back with a few Qs.