If your looking for someone to do the work, I know someone in your area who I think can help you. I have a customer in Bethlehem who has a collection of 24 Corvettes. The collections owner, has a full time mechanic who restores and maintains the colloction, who also does some Corvette work on the side. I'll check with him this morning to see if it's ok to PM you his number at work or get you a home number.

 

Thank you, I appreciate it and yes I would be interested. Bethlehem is a 15 minute drive from my home.
Best regards,
David
77Sleeper

 

Well I got the car up on jack stands and removed all the wheels. Here are pictures of the left front area, caliper, rotor, etc. I took the opportunity to check my tire dates and they are all, I mean all five of them, from 1991. So guess I have a new project to buy tires for the car tomorrow as well. Anyway, see what you think.











All comments are welcomed.

David
77Sleeper

 

Well, I'm no expert here, but those don't LOOK like new rotors....but then, brake dust, salt on the road, etc, can cause rust pretty fast....but then, why are the calipers so clean?



Those look like old disks that have been cleaned up.


Which is fine, really. No groves, or trouble areas, that I could see, so no problems there.


As for the calipers, the older ones looked ok on the outside, def a LOT less corroded than mine were, to say the least. However, and this is my personal opinion that not everyone is going to agree with.....I suggest simply replacing them. That is one less problem in the back of your mind, and tops, it'll cost you 140 bucks. It could be something as simple as a collapsed rubber hose...

But eventually, those calipers are going to go. On one of mine, the metal was so corroded that the metal encasing the bleeders crumbled when I tried to bleed them. I'm sure that is a worst case deal, and yours don't seem as bad, but I'm just saying, some thing you want to nip in the bud early, you know?


And if you do replace them, do yourself a HUGE favor, and paint them. One, it looks cool, and two, I think it helps to protect them, make them last longer. I know the new ones come with that gray sorta enamel stuff, and it SEEMS like that is good enough, but it's not. I'm kicking myself for not having thought to paint mine, when I did that project. Now, after the suspension is done, I've gotta go back, take the off, scrub em with steel whool and wd40, and paint them.

 

As for a check list, personally, I would worry about just the brakes, for now.



Check the lines, the hoses, the calipers, etc. If the brake lines are all good, and you replace those 2 calipers, and the rubber hoses, bleed them till the pedal is nice and stiff when you brake, you're all set. I wouldn't start anything new till you have had some time to truly enjoy the car.



You can quite literally get started, and not get the car of jack stands for....pretty much....ever, if you don't just focus on one thing at a time.


I'm a shining example. I missed pretty much, 3/4 of this entire season of driving, because I couldn't reign myself in.

 

I wouldn't start anything new till you have had some time to truly enjoy the car.



You can quite literally get started, and not get the car of jack stands for....pretty much....ever, if you don't just focus on one thing at a time.


I'm a shining example. I missed pretty much, 3/4 of this entire season of driving, because I couldn't reign myself in.[/QUOTE]


But I am also blessed because sitting next to my Red 77 in repair is my Orange 77 in great shape. So even though I have the Red one out of service, I am not out of service from enjoying my Corvette. In that respect I am very lucky.
Here they both sit, one about to get brake work, the second one getting ready for a show.




Thanks again for all your help.

David

 

But I am also blessed because sitting next to my Red 77 in repair is my Orange 77 in great shape. So even though I have the Red one out of service, I am not out of service from enjoying my Corvette. In that respect I am very lucky.
Here they both sit, one about to get brake work, the second one getting ready for a show.
Attachment 47628509

Attachment 47628510

Thanks again for all your help.

David[/QUOTE]

Sweat!


Hell, man, mod the CRAP out of your red one, then, lol.

 

Rotors look new to me, at least not original. No rivets.
You can't necessarily see the problems with the rubber hoses, all inside. Sometimes you can see bubbles right by the metal fittings.
Are all the calipers relatively clean? Maybe 2 are new and 2 were new SS sleeved years ago and simply rebuilt with the recent brake work.

 

The calipers are hard to tell because I got overspray on them when I touched up my wheels, that throws off that they are not really that shiney. I think they are in decent shape and agree that the rotors are not original, but little on this car is proving to be original. I like the idea of replacing it all (more expensive this way) as it will give me piece of mind that on this date the four of them are back in good working order.
David
Here are some more pictures of the other three calipers.

 

Sweat!
Hell, man, mod the CRAP out of your red one, then, lol.[/QUOTE]

Yes, the Red 77 is my mod car. I have to decide which engine, which transmission, and other items to put in the car. When I am done messing with it I will have it shot back to the color it came out of the factory. Yep, Corvette Orange.

My goal when I am finished is to have twins. Both 77's.
One the good (stock) twin
The other the evil (modified) twin.

Fun stuff.

David

 

Hey David you mentioned the hoses look good no dents or indented areas. Well I had the same problem with my old daily driver the front hoses looked good from the outside but the drivers side front had failed internally severly restricting fluid flow and the brakes were binding up very badly not allowing fluid to flow back out of the caliper. Point being they are 30 plus years old they should be replaced . At least remove them along with the calipers and check the fluid flow thru them.

 

I made a non financial decision today to replace the rotors, calipers, pads and all the hoses and start out with a clean slate on the brakes. Will cost more but will make me feel better. Looking forward to digging in tomorrow.
Thanks for the help.
David

 

Wow, ya really think that's all necessary? Pics look pretty good to me.
Why not try the hoses first, you haven't mentioned anything leaking.

 

Good comment, sound thinking. That is why I love this forum. I will replace the hoses tomorrow after disconnecting them and checking the flow. Easy insurance. I want to pull the calipers apart and check the pads to make sure they are not damaged or warn and in need of repair.
I might even paint the calipers to give them more resistance to road dirt. I won't be able to check the brakes on the road until my wheels come back with new tires on them. Mine were all date coded for 1991, 17 years old, so I am having them all replaced. Safety first.
Thanks again for your comments, much appreciated.
David

 

David,
You pads seem to be ok from what I can see in the photos. But I wonder about the inner pistons. It's really hard to tell from the photos, but it seems like the inboard part of the caliper that is visible is slightly darker than the outboard side. Makes me wonder if they are damp with brake fluid. Take a flash light and stick your head in there and look real carefully at the calipers between the pad backing plate and the dust seal area. If it is even slightly damp with brake fluid, you have a problem. You could spray the area with brake cleaner, go for a drive, and check them again. Replacing the calipers unnecessarilly it wasting money, but not replacing them when they need it is just putting the problem off. Trouble-shoot, then replace bad parts.
Cheers,
Pete

 

Check your brake hose and replace it first if your rotors look good. If hoses are original they need replacing anyway and are alot easier to replace than rebuilding calipers. 2 weeks after rebuilding my calipers my 80 did the same thing. Rebuilt it again thinking it was seized or I did something wrong. It turned out to be the hose.

 

You're lucky you caught it where you did instead of waaay down the road.

 

Had the same thing happen, sudden pull to the right
Turned out to be a plugged hose on left side. Found it when I tried to bleed that side & nothing came out. Hoses looked perfect, slipped a fine wire up it & after a little prowding a bunch of dirt came out
Reassembled & been fine ever since.