C3 Brakes
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 39
Likes: 0
C3 Brakes
hello everyone, i am new to this forum as well as Corvettes so please bear with me.
i have a 1975 t-top 3 speed auto. i have noticed the brakes dont work very well. they dont seem to be defective in any way but they just dont work nearly as well as the breaks in my 2000 cherokee (only other car i have ever owned)
i was told the breaks are fine and thats just the way they used to be. can anyone confirm? is there anything i can do on a budget to improve the performance of my brakes? any info people would be willing to share would be awesome.
thanks in advance,
Corey
i have a 1975 t-top 3 speed auto. i have noticed the brakes dont work very well. they dont seem to be defective in any way but they just dont work nearly as well as the breaks in my 2000 cherokee (only other car i have ever owned)
i was told the breaks are fine and thats just the way they used to be. can anyone confirm? is there anything i can do on a budget to improve the performance of my brakes? any info people would be willing to share would be awesome.
thanks in advance,
Corey
Racer
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 417
Likes: 40
From: Swansea IL
Corey,
You need to be a bit more specific than "my brakes don't work very well".
OK - Is the pedal long and goes toward the floor before braking begins?
Does the car pull to one side during braking?
It just takes a lot of pedal effort to get the car stopped?
I can't lock the brakes up even if I tried?
There are a lot of different things that can be less than perfect and effect your braking.
Refine your issue if you can.
RGDS
Bob
You need to be a bit more specific than "my brakes don't work very well".
OK - Is the pedal long and goes toward the floor before braking begins?
Does the car pull to one side during braking?
It just takes a lot of pedal effort to get the car stopped?
I can't lock the brakes up even if I tried?
There are a lot of different things that can be less than perfect and effect your braking.
Refine your issue if you can.
RGDS
Bob
Drifting
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 1,353
Likes: 44
From: Calgary Alberta
As above...you'll get a lot of good information here from lots of very well informed members if you are as specific as possible with what your problem is with the brakes. I had a problem with mine in my 1976 last summer and figured it out in about an hour after posting it here with as much information as possible.
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 39
Likes: 0
Corey,
You need to be a bit more specific than "my brakes don't work very well".
OK - Is the pedal long and goes toward the floor before braking begins?
Does the car pull to one side during braking?
It just takes a lot of pedal effort to get the car stopped?
I can't lock the brakes up even if I tried?
There are a lot of different things that can be less than perfect and effect your braking.
Refine your issue if you can.
RGDS
Bob
You need to be a bit more specific than "my brakes don't work very well".
OK - Is the pedal long and goes toward the floor before braking begins?
Does the car pull to one side during braking?
It just takes a lot of pedal effort to get the car stopped?
I can't lock the brakes up even if I tried?
There are a lot of different things that can be less than perfect and effect your braking.
Refine your issue if you can.
RGDS
Bob
the pedal does seem to be long i would say about 50-60 percent depressed before i get any breaking action.
the breaks do pull very slightly towards the passenger side but ive driven much worse.
it did seem to take a lot of pedal action to get the car stopped but this is the only corvette ive ever driven.
i couldnt get the breaks to lock if i tried. on a test drive down the street i slammed on the breaks with no nosedive at all, just a gradual stop.
really to recap, everything you mentioned are symptoms i am experiencing.
Safety Car
Joined: Sep 2012
Posts: 4,688
Likes: 41
From: Palm Harbor, Florida
after this, assuming fluid levels are ok, your looking at brake booster/master cylinder probably. been there done that myself. and btw, they still won't be like your cherokee, cuzz mine aren't like my 2002 nissan maxima, probably about 40% worse. yep
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 766
Likes: 97
From: Lake Norman, NC
Did I miss whether or not it's been determined if this car has power brakes or not? According to the Mike Antonick Corvette Black Book, 35, 842 of the 38,465 Corvettes built in total for 1975 had power brakes. That means 6.8% of all 1975 Corvettes had only manual brakes.
Corey, is there a power brake booster can between the master cylinder and the firewall?
Corey, is there a power brake booster can between the master cylinder and the firewall?
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Burning Brakes
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 1,079
Likes: 1
From: Niagara Falls ON
As others have mentioned, check vacuum.
Also, you may have air in the system. Sometimes if the car pulls to one side or the other it may mean that there is air in the system somewhere. You may want to bleed the brakes.
Keep in mind that the rear brakes on C3's have two bleed screws. It is possible that someone didn't bleed both and there is still air in the system.
Also, you may have air in the system. Sometimes if the car pulls to one side or the other it may mean that there is air in the system somewhere. You may want to bleed the brakes.
Keep in mind that the rear brakes on C3's have two bleed screws. It is possible that someone didn't bleed both and there is still air in the system.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 878
Likes: 55
From: Deep South Denmark
It's NOT "just the way they were".
In my 69 (with factory power brakes) I believe if I don't wear the seat belt I would fly be thrown through the windshield when I hit the brakes
The brakes can be a PITA to get working properly, but once you have the air out of the system, working cylinder and brake booster they are excellent.
If you don't have power brakes they also work just fine, you just have to step harder on the pedal
In my 69 (with factory power brakes) I believe if I don't wear the seat belt I would fly be thrown through the windshield when I hit the brakes
The brakes can be a PITA to get working properly, but once you have the air out of the system, working cylinder and brake booster they are excellent.
If you don't have power brakes they also work just fine, you just have to step harder on the pedal
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 39
Likes: 0
Advanced
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 92
Likes: 1
From: buckhorn Ontario
is the car new to you ? if so,perhaps it was in storage. our cars are notorious for air in the system during storage. especially the rears. is it possible the previous owner topped up the master cylinder without bleeding the system ? also,the rears can cause difficulty sucking air if the wheels are not running true eg rotors bearings etc [ excessive play ]. 
Pro
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 698
Likes: 8
From: Stockholm Sweden
A well maintained C3 braking system where extremly good compared to most other cars of the period.
A well maintained stock brake setup will make you a happy driver.
With "well maintained" i mean:
Non leaking and fully funktioning calipers, master cylinder and servo.
A set of new pads (if your old pads ar 50% worn, change them out!).
Straight and non scratched discs
Fresh brakefluid.
Bleed out 100% of the air in the system
There is a few simple steps to make your brakes even better..
A set of HP street brake pads
Steel braided brake hoses
Something people often forget about is that one should change the brakefluid often.
I change my fluid once a year.
Reason for this is that the fluid gets warm from braking and cools down over and over again.
When this happens one get condense water in the fluid wich starts to boil very easy, and when this happens one looses the brakes.
Stepping on the pedal only result in that one compresses tha airbubbles created by the boiling water and the brakes are gone..
A good service is easy to do yourself.
//Ricky.
A well maintained stock brake setup will make you a happy driver.
With "well maintained" i mean:
Non leaking and fully funktioning calipers, master cylinder and servo.
A set of new pads (if your old pads ar 50% worn, change them out!).
Straight and non scratched discs
Fresh brakefluid.
Bleed out 100% of the air in the system
There is a few simple steps to make your brakes even better..
A set of HP street brake pads
Steel braided brake hoses
Something people often forget about is that one should change the brakefluid often.
I change my fluid once a year.
Reason for this is that the fluid gets warm from braking and cools down over and over again.
When this happens one get condense water in the fluid wich starts to boil very easy, and when this happens one looses the brakes.
Stepping on the pedal only result in that one compresses tha airbubbles created by the boiling water and the brakes are gone..
A good service is easy to do yourself.
//Ricky.
Last edited by RickyBerg; Oct 30, 2012 at 08:43 AM.
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 39
Likes: 0
Did I miss whether or not it's been determined if this car has power brakes or not? According to the Mike Antonick Corvette Black Book, 35, 842 of the 38,465 Corvettes built in total for 1975 had power brakes. That means 6.8% of all 1975 Corvettes had only manual brakes.
Corey, is there a power brake booster can between the master cylinder and the firewall?
Corey, is there a power brake booster can between the master cylinder and the firewall?
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 39
Likes: 0
A well maintained C3 braking system where extremly good compared to most other cars of the period.
A well maintained stock brake setup will make you a happy driver.
With "well maintained" i mean:
Non leaking and fully funktioning calipers, master cylinder and servo.
A set of new pads (if your old pads ar 50% worn, change them out!).
Straight and non scratched discs
Fresh brakefluid.
Bleed out 100% of the air in the system
There is a few simple steps to make your brakes even better..
A set of HP street brake pads
Steel braided brake hoses
Something people often forget about is that one should change the brakefluid often.
I change my fluid once a year.
Reason for this is that the fluid gets warm from braking and cools down over and over again.
When this happens one get condense water in the fluid wich starts to boil very easy, and when this happens one looses the brakes.
Stepping on the pedal only result in that one compresses tha airbubbles created by the boiling water and the brakes are gone..
A good service is easy to do yourself.
//Ricky.
A well maintained stock brake setup will make you a happy driver.
With "well maintained" i mean:
Non leaking and fully funktioning calipers, master cylinder and servo.
A set of new pads (if your old pads ar 50% worn, change them out!).
Straight and non scratched discs
Fresh brakefluid.
Bleed out 100% of the air in the system
There is a few simple steps to make your brakes even better..
A set of HP street brake pads
Steel braided brake hoses
Something people often forget about is that one should change the brakefluid often.
I change my fluid once a year.
Reason for this is that the fluid gets warm from braking and cools down over and over again.
When this happens one get condense water in the fluid wich starts to boil very easy, and when this happens one looses the brakes.
Stepping on the pedal only result in that one compresses tha airbubbles created by the boiling water and the brakes are gone..
A good service is easy to do yourself.
//Ricky.
Drifting
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 1,353
Likes: 44
From: Calgary Alberta
For right now I'm going with air in the system. It only takes a little and you'll get a soft and long pedal. Bleed the brakes and see where that takes you...as mentioned above there are two bleeders at each assembly. The brakes in your car will be pretty good once they are working properly...even my 70 with manual brakes I find the brakes to be strong.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Sep 2012
Posts: 818
Likes: 0
From: coon rapids mn
you should bleed your brake system.check for rotor and pad thickness.install new pads if they are a 1/4 and less thick.have the rotors turned if grooved.you can deglazed them with a 3M wheel your self.check all the brake lines for cracks and rot.
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 39
Likes: 0
For right now I'm going with air in the system. It only takes a little and you'll get a soft and long pedal. Bleed the brakes and see where that takes you...as mentioned above there are two bleeders at each assembly. The brakes in your car will be pretty good once they are working properly...even my 70 with manual brakes I find the brakes to be strong.
Cruising
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 12
Likes: 0
From: Winnipeg Manitoba
In fact I allways had to be carefull when jumping into my other cars after putting in multiple days of enjoying the Vette. You can really get spoiled with the stopping power on a C3.
