Is there anyone that makes a bracket to allow upgrade of the calipers on these trucks? Alternatively is anyone aware of an entire kit or swap with a/m or factory parts to upgrade the braking on these trucks?

Long ago I had a 1974 D100 and as I remember the brakes were essentially the same that you would find on a C-Body of similar vintage. The simplest improvement that you could make would be to get some new stock rotors for the front and new drums for the rear. Shop for those on www.rockauto.com and while you are at it get the premium brake pads and shoes. I put on some 15x7 Cop Car wheels with 255/70R15 tires and I never had a problem stopping

Why do you want to upgrade the brakes? Are you planning on towing, racing, or ????

To my knowledge, the only factory upgrade for the brakes is to swap on the brakes from a 3/4 or 1 ton truck. I think the heavier duty trucks had rotors 1 inch larger in diameter. There are several potential problems though: First, the one ton rotors weigh more. If you are thinking of a racing / high performance application, these may be to heavy. If you want larger brakes because you are towing or hauling heavy loads, the brakes off the heavy duty pick-ups are ideal. Secondly, the heavier duty trucks had 8 lug wheels instead of 5 lug wheels. You will have to buy new wheels and possibly tires with the switch to 8 lug wheels. If you convert the front end to 8 lug wheels, you will probably want to swap in an 8 lug Dana 60 or 70 rear axle so the wheels match on the front and rear of the truck. That way you will only need one spare tire. The master cylinder and brake booster are probably different between the 1/2 ton and heavier trucks as well.

Most guys are satisfied with the factory brakes on the 1/2 ton trucks. These were decent brakes for their era. Are you sure the brakes on your truck are functioning properly?

I wondered if some like large diameter modern brakes is what your after? Like a corvette type swap? Some people treat their truck like cars with 18" rims or so and want to fill in the space. A custom spindle and ingenuity? I lack skills for the latter.

Thanks for the replies. I am doing a full on restification of my Dad's old d100. It is a club cab long bed. I plan on building a torque monster 440 and using it for towing my car hauler, hence the brakes. 3/4 ton uses a 1" bigger rotor but the same caliper. I will probably just stick with stock as I have a set of 15" rallye wheels I could use on it. I have had good luck using performance friction carbon metallic pads and it turns out they make them for this application. I will let everyone know how they work- probably about 1 year from now!