C3 Tech/Performance V8 Technical Info, Internal Engine, External Engine, Basic Tech and Maintenance for the C3 Corvette
Sponsored by:
Sponsored by:

brake urgent question

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old Dec 28, 2005 | 12:04 PM
  #1  
panic's Avatar
panic
Thread Starter
Team Owner
20 Year Member
Conversation Starter
All Eyes On Me
Photogenic
 
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 20,709
Likes: 25
From: Sorrento Italy
Default brake urgent question

hi all, i have a brand new brake kit of willwood caliper (and rotor) for the front of my '77 C3 and willwood caliper for the rear BUT as the front rotor is still as new and the rear one is pretty tired..could i use the front rotor which come on the kit for the rear? both are oem 11.75'', is there any reason i wouldnt be able to fix this front rotor to the rear, they look the very same thing to my eyes... all advices will be very welcome as i'm fixing the kit right now, thanks.
Reply
Old Dec 28, 2005 | 12:17 PM
  #2  
SteveG75's Avatar
SteveG75
Race Director
Veteran: Navy
25 Year Member
Liked
Community Favorite
 
Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 10,040
Likes: 672
From: FL
Default

No, rotors are different. Rear rotor is set up for the parking brake.
Reply
Old Dec 28, 2005 | 12:21 PM
  #3  
panic's Avatar
panic
Thread Starter
Team Owner
20 Year Member
Conversation Starter
All Eyes On Me
Photogenic
 
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 20,709
Likes: 25
From: Sorrento Italy
Default

Originally Posted by SteveG75
No, rotors are different. Rear rotor is set up for the parking brake.
steve, could i custom fix the front rotor at the rear at all? pardon me but if the measures are the same i do not see any big trouble in adapting it, maybe apart from not beeing able to fix the parking brake??
thanks for your cooperation..
Reply
Old Dec 28, 2005 | 12:39 PM
  #4  
SteveG75's Avatar
SteveG75
Race Director
Veteran: Navy
25 Year Member
Liked
Community Favorite
 
Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 10,040
Likes: 672
From: FL
Default

Originally Posted by panic
steve, could i custom fix the front rotor at the rear at all? pardon me but if the measures are the same i do not see any big trouble in adapting it, maybe apart from not beeing able to fix the parking brake??
thanks for your cooperation..
Personally, I don't know of anyone who has done it. There are a lot of dimensions involved and if you are out one little bit, your brakes may work poorly or not at all.

IMHO, brakes are one area that it is not worth taking short cuts on. You are talking about putting your life in jeopardy if you can't stop the car. Seems stupid to try and pinch pennies here.
Reply
Old Dec 28, 2005 | 12:41 PM
  #5  
Solid LT1's Avatar
Solid LT1
Le Mans Master
10 Year Member
 
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 5,727
Likes: 38
From: Fremont CA
Default

Cut loose with $60 for a set of new rear rotors. I'll sell you a set for that price if you can't find them.
Reply
Old Dec 28, 2005 | 12:45 PM
  #6  
panic's Avatar
panic
Thread Starter
Team Owner
20 Year Member
Conversation Starter
All Eyes On Me
Photogenic
 
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 20,709
Likes: 25
From: Sorrento Italy
Default

Originally Posted by SteveG75
Personally, I don't know of anyone who has done it. There are a lot of dimensions involved and if you are out one little bit, your brakes may work poorly or not at all.

IMHO, brakes are one area that it is not worth taking short cuts on. You are talking about putting your life in jeopardy if you can't stop the car. Seems stupid to try and pinch pennies here.
i couldnt agree more steve...
Reply
Old Dec 28, 2005 | 01:17 PM
  #7  
Corvette Engineering's Avatar
0Corvette Engineering
Former Vendor
 
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 683
Likes: 1
From: Mounds View Minnesota
Default

I've never measured it myself, but I understand that the offsets are slightly different front to back. This could make the rotor not in the center of the caliper. It should be in the center within .020" or so.

Other than the parking brake, there is no reason not to be able to swap front to rear.
Reply
Old Dec 29, 2005 | 02:15 AM
  #8  
panic's Avatar
panic
Thread Starter
Team Owner
20 Year Member
Conversation Starter
All Eyes On Me
Photogenic
 
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 20,709
Likes: 25
From: Sorrento Italy
Default

hi, believe it or not last night i've tried to fix a front new rotor in the rear of my '77 and it went streight trough in , the inside of the rotor was machined exactly to fix the parking brake, also the only difference i've noticed between front and rear rotors is that the rear one has the internal wall 1 mm higher then the front one but anyway the parking brake surface gets within the internal touching area all right...maybe precision brake co. sent me a rear instead of a front kit?
Reply
Corvette Stories

The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts

story-0

Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!

 Michael S. Palmer
story-1

Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!

 Joe Kucinski
story-2

150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter

 Joe Kucinski
story-3

8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time

 Verdad Gallardo
story-4

Top 10 Corvette Engines RANKED by Peak Torque (70+ Years of Muscle!)

 Joe Kucinski
story-5

Corvette ZR1X Will Be Pacing the Indy 500, And Could Probably Race, Too!

 Verdad Gallardo
story-6

Top 10 Corvettes Coming to Mecum Indy 2026!

 Brett Foote
story-7

Top 10 C9 Corvette MUST-HAVES to Fix These C8 Generation Flaws!

 Michael S. Palmer
story-8

10 Revolutionary 'Corvette Firsts' Most People Don't Know

 Joe Kucinski
story-9

5 Reasons to Upgrade to an LS6-Powered Corvette; 5 Reasons to Stay LT2

 Michael S. Palmer
Old Dec 29, 2005 | 08:34 AM
  #9  
kb2fzq's Avatar
kb2fzq
Burning Brakes
 
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 1,126
Likes: 0
From: Hudson Falls, N.Y. 76 Vette Modified L-48
Default

Originally Posted by panic
...maybe precision brake co. sent me a rear instead of a front kit?
Ahhhh...I don't think that happened....
Reply
Old Dec 29, 2005 | 01:18 PM
  #10  
panic's Avatar
panic
Thread Starter
Team Owner
20 Year Member
Conversation Starter
All Eyes On Me
Photogenic
 
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 20,709
Likes: 25
From: Sorrento Italy
Default

Originally Posted by kb2fzq
Ahhhh...I don't think that happened....
you're right, it didnt happen, i was wrong thinking i could get that rotor in the rear infact it SEEMED i could but at the end of the day i had to take it back and fix the old item
Reply
Old Dec 29, 2005 | 01:21 PM
  #11  
bobs77vet's Avatar
bobs77vet
Race Director
20 Year Member
Conversation Starter
All Eyes On Me
Liked
 
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 11,874
Likes: 263
From: Arlington Va Current ride 04 vert, previous vettes: 69 vert, 77 resto mod
Default

the front and rear rotors are different and they are not interchangable...the hub thickness is different

Last edited by bobs77vet; Dec 29, 2005 at 01:23 PM.
Reply

Get notified of new replies

To brake urgent question





All times are GMT -4. The time now is 11:51 AM.

story-0
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!

Slideshow: How to Protect A Convertible Top: 10 DOs & DON'Ts

By Michael S. Palmer | 2026-04-03 00:00:00


VIEW MORE
story-1
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!

Slideshow: The 10 most explosive Corvettes ever built based on power-to-weight ratio.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-05-20 07:23:03


VIEW MORE
story-2
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter

Slideshow: From C1 to C8 we compare every Corvette generation by the numbers.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-05-12 16:54:12


VIEW MORE
story-3
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time

Slideshow: Some Corvette pace cars became collectible legends, while others perfectly captured the look and attitude of their era.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-05-11 09:50:51


VIEW MORE
story-4
Top 10 Corvette Engines RANKED by Peak Torque (70+ Years of Muscle!)

Slideshow: Ranking the top 10 Corvette engines by torque output.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-05-05 11:58:09


VIEW MORE
story-5
Corvette ZR1X Will Be Pacing the Indy 500, And Could Probably Race, Too!

Slideshow: A Corvette pace car nearly matching IndyCar speeds sounds exaggerated, until you look at the numbers.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-05-04 20:03:36


VIEW MORE
story-6
Top 10 Corvettes Coming to Mecum Indy 2026!

Among a rather large group of them.

By Brett Foote | 2026-05-04 13:56:44


VIEW MORE
story-7
Top 10 C9 Corvette MUST-HAVES to Fix These C8 Generation Flaws!

Slideshow: the top 10 things Corvette owners want in the C9 Corvette

By Michael S. Palmer | 2026-04-30 12:41:15


VIEW MORE
story-8
10 Revolutionary 'Corvette Firsts' Most People Don't Know

Slideshow: 10 Important Corvette 'firsts' that every fan should know.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-04-29 17:02:16


VIEW MORE
story-9
5 Reasons to Upgrade to an LS6-Powered Corvette; 5 Reasons to Stay LT2

Slideshow: Should you buy a 2020-2026 Corvette or wait for 2027?

By Michael S. Palmer | 2026-04-22 10:08:58


VIEW MORE