Hello everyone,

I am the proud owner of a 1981 corvette and a 1972.
My cars have been seating inside my garage for the last couple of years due to a relocation issue.
I started doing some cleaning on my 81 and noticed that the brake pedal felt soft, all the way to the floor.
I pulled the rear tires out and noticed a little bit of surface rust and brake fluid leak from the calipers.

I think is time to do some upgrades to the brake system and a little bit of sand blasting.
I am evaluating if to repair the issues with the current fluid leak or upgrade the system with an Aluminum Brake Kit.
I am not an expert but I can handle most of the work with a little research. I also have a friend that has been a mechanic for a few years that can help me out.

The questions that I have for you guys are:

What is the best brake kit that I can purchase for my 1981?

The car is original but if there is an upgrade that will improve my system and is not over the top in $ I will be very happy.
Brake system is an area that I don't mind a expending a couple of extra dollars in…

The 2nd question if the following:

I plan of sand blasting the area that is showing surface rust and painting it.

What paint is recommended by you guys?

Thank you so much for all of the help in advance!
I will post some picture tomorrow of my correct issues...
Thanks again,

Joe

 

The stock C3 brake system is excellent, especially if you are not going to race the car!

12 Inch vented Discs front and rear with 4 piston fixed calipers at each wheel in a 3,200-3,300lb car makes for great braking. Buy a set of SS calipers from a reputable vendor (I use VBP calipers) using a great high performance street pad like Hawk, Performance Friction etc along with SS braided Brake hoses and you will be very happy if the system is functioning correctly. I have this setup and have for years on my 78-very confidence inspiring. My brakes are as good if not better than the more modern cars I have including a 94 Mustang GT with Cobra brakes. Are the brakes as good as my 2010 Z06 and Lexus IS350 F Sport? No. For short money you can make them really good with little effort. Hope that Helps!

 

Thank so much for the input.
I just looked at VBP i noticed a lot of rebuild items..
Do you feel rebuild is the same as new?
Do you recommend i replace the power booster since i have to replace the master cylinder?
Thanks again..

Joe

 

While on the subject of brakes, do you guys still prefer the lip seals or o-ring seals?

 

Joe, I would buy a new set of calipers directly from lonestar, don't screw around with rebuilds, core charges and extra shipping charges that way. If the car sits a lot you might consider o ring calipers. I just installed a set of Performance Friction pads and so far I like them.

When you remove the master you should inspect for any signs of leakage from master into booster. If you see fluid change the booster. Check out Booster Dewey to rebuild yours.

 

Thanks Scott,

The car will be a weekly driver. Take it to the gym here and there and drive around South Beach on the weekends for a couple of hours.
I like the performance frictions pads also have them in my other car.
I have the car on stands right now and i just want to make sure that when I make changes to the brake system i take care of everything at once.
I want to avoid issues in the near future.
Am going to look into the lonestar calipers...

When i checked the master cylinder only one of the chambers had fluid.
I check the rear tires and noticed leak on the driver side.
my current calipers are Delco moraine 5452284 only one is leaking the other 3 look ok.
A little bit of surface rust on them..

Also,
do you know of any good paint for the frame.
I want to sand blast all the surface rust around the brake area and paint the area of the frame that's expose.
Thanks for your help

Joe

 

Van Steel has a kit including all new calipers (not rebuilt), master cylinder, hoses, pads, fluid, etc. under $900.

I found that if my calipers have ever been rebuilt in past, they are not good for core charge. I bet the calipers on your '81 are rebuilds. You would avoid core with the kit from Van Steel.

I would buy from Van Steel with confidence. I have brakes, rotors, t-arm assemblies/spindles and half-shafts from them. Top shelf quality.

http://www.vansteel.com/index.cfm?fu...p=1861&ID=3196

 

Thanks TedH,

Yes I am more incline to buy the complete kit.
Just have to research to find the balance between quality and price that fits my budget.
Like anything with this cars, all i wanted was to tune up the vehicle and now i am upgrading the brake system $$$

Thanks again for your input!

Joe

 

Just for what its worth, I bought all 4 of my calipers from Autozone rebuilt, and I took the advice of another member on here. They are supposed to be rebuilt with stainless sleeves. 61.00 each for the rear and 65.00 each for the front plus core of 30.00 each. You might as well do all 4 while ur at it, if not the next weak one will leak and so on, that's what I did. Also inspect ur hoses, they are known to get bad internaly. The hoses are cheap from NAPA or Autozone, about 8.00 each. I did all 4 wheels for less than 500.00 including new pads and rear rotors

 

I have had great luck with buying VBP's 'stainless o-ring' rebuilt calipers and buying the 4 new needed rubber hoses that go with each wheel.
You can buy, off the shelf at any major parts store (O'Reilly's, AutoZone,etc) a new master cylinder and brake booster, if they are needed. Master cylinder ~$60/ Brake booster $$ ???
I have found on the 3 - 1980 and 1981 models I rebuilt that the rotors were all ok and not in need of changing.

VBP will need your old calipers as a core in exchange,otherwise its about $200 more. I 'think' the last 4 calipers I got from them were ~$400 that includes new pads.... They will send you a ship paid label to send your old cores in.

When you put on the new stuff, make sure to flush the entire fluid system with new brake fluid.
Hope this helps.

 

Nothing wrong with going local, I do think that the seals used by your typical AutoZone parts are very thin when compared to say lone star, van steel, vbp.

 

^^^^ another good option outlined above.
Great advice to do all 4 at the same time. Be done with it.

 

Also, a bit of advice when changing your calipers.
The calipers are wheel specific, meaning the left front DOES NOT FIT the right rear. The left front ONLY fits the left front, right front ONLY right front, etc.,etc.,.....

 

Thanks Donny,

The numbers sound great.
Actually that is the first thing that i did when i noticed that one of them was leaking. I call Napa and they quote me $58.00 with my dealer discount. Them a realized that it was better to change them all and i decided to find the best quality available for the budget.

Thanks
Joe

 

Van Steel shows two prices: $109.99 and $174.99 per caliper. First is stainless sleeved with o-ring seal for $109.99 and other is indicated as NEW caliper, stainless steel sleeved and o-ring. It is not clear if the $109.99 price is after core refund or not.

I note that Van Steel does not appear to offer caliper rebuilding so they may not take cores/have core charge for calipers.

If curious, you can contact them:

http://www.vansteel.com/index.cfm

 

Some good points above. I mentioned VBP and have rebuilt regular seal SS calipers from VBP that I put on the car IN 1985-that is correct 1985! New SS calipers did not exist back then, nor did o ring calipers. With that said, I would definitely buy NEW SS calipers-always go for new rather than rebuilt if you can. I would not go to a major mass market retailer like Autozone, Advanced auto parts etc if you can help it. I know some folks have had good luck with them but it's just that-luck- often with their parts especially rebuilt ones. I also would definitely by pass the OEM type rubber hoses for SS braided ones-they give a more solid linear brake pedal feel. On my 78, I have Performance Friction pads and have for years. I have used PF pads on every car I have for the most part since 2001-13 years now. The PF carbon metallic pads are really terrific-linear brake bite, no fade (they get better as they get hot), never squeal, no brake dust and seem to last forever on my DD's. I currently have PF pads on the 78, Chrysler 300, pontiac grand prix and 94 mustang GT convertible-all 4 wheels. Hope that helps!

 

check what you have, its likely they are stainless sleeved in that case get an oring kit and pads. not a tough job and save$$$$$$

 

What a great group of guys we have here...
Thanks for the advice everyone.

 

I did a LOT of research on this topic for my '82. I finally settled on the complete kit (including parking brake pads/springs) from Corvette Central - the only trusty C3 vendor that offered complete kits. The rebuilt calipers had the essential stainless piston sleeves and o-ring upgrades. My local mechanic charged around $500 to install and he said the parking brakes were rusted/toast and a PIA to install/adjust: but for the total cost I couldn't be happier all the way around. My only complaint is the Corvette Central caliper kit padstpooed very well but squeeked. So, I replaced them with better ceramic pads.The brakes on a C3 are a significant investment, but what price for safety and upgraded durability, reliability and performance..

 

I switched to this
14" 4 piston

14" 6 piston