Guest

Should I tackle this job myself? I've never changed out Rotors and Calipers before. I already recieved my new GS Calipers, GS 13" Rotors, GM brackets, and all the bolts and washers. I'm still waiting on the brackets from DRM and I'll pick up my brake pads this weekend.

How do the calipers fit on the GM brackets I received with the package?

Does anybody have detailed instructions with pics showing this upgrade on an early C-4?

Sorry for all the questions, I'm almost embarrassed asking all this but I have to learn sooner or later.

Thanks,
Mark

91Vette

If you want to try the job yourself, just take your time. Make a mental note (or take a Polaroid picture) of how the original brakes are before you disassemble them. The upgrade GS brakes should not be that much different that what you have.

It wouldn't hurt to have a Chilton's or Haynes manual around for a quick reference.

Brakes are not that hard to work on. Just take your time and they'll be done in no time.

Bob86ZZ4

I think you will be much happier, and have more money left over, if you do this yourself. Do you have a good angle grinder? You will need to do a bit of grinding around the outer edges of your steering knuckles to get the brackets to fit on. It is not hard, just do it slowly. You start grinding and then test fit the bracket and see if you can get it bolted up. Then grind some more, and test. It took me a couple hours to grind both mine enough to fit. But, I kept stopping to test fit and let the grinder and steering knuckle cool down. The bracket that won't fit without grinding is the one you are getting from Doug Rippie. Once you get your knuckles ground down and those brackets mounted it will be smooth sailing. You bolt the GM brackets to the Rippie brackets. Then, the Grand Sport calipers set into the GM brackets and you slide that long pin in and fix the e-clip to the end of the pin. That's all there is holding the caliper in. It is a very simple set-up. I'm sorry I didn't take any pictures while I was grinding mine down. I should have I guess. With the Rippie brackets bolted in you can't see what I ground down. Another thing, use thread lock on all the bolts holding the brackets in. You don't want these to loosen up on you! It would likely be cheaper for you to buy a good grinder and do the grinding yourself than pay some shop to grind them for you. And then you would have a nice grinder to use for other stuff. Buy a good one!

Aggravated4life

Hey Dude,
So youre upgrading eh??? Sounds great...when its all done, pls let us know how it works.
I hope the spring I sent ya arrived...heck you may not even need it anymore with the upgrade or maybe it will make it work better?
Who knows eh?

I put the instruction sheet for the spring in the mailbox today and its going out tomorrow so should be there in a few days.
(I got the money ya sent, today..thanks!!)

Changing the calipers and rotors is pretty easy to do.

However, be sure you have the tools for the job.
Mainly wrenches,sockets,breaker bar, etc..Im guessing you have a tool kit around.

You may need a breaker bar to loosen those 2 bolts holding the stock caliper bracket.
(I forget the bolt sizes..17mm or something)
You might be able to use a long standard 3/8 ratchet and socket but those bolts can be pretty tight on there after all these years.kinda hard to get loose without a breaker bar.

Once the caliper bracket is off,the rotor slips off.
(This is assuming you already took the caliper off and hung it out of the way)

If you havent ever done your front brakes before, you should use 2 wrenches on the caliper bolts.One to hold it in place on the inside and the other to loosen the outside caliper bolt.Once you do that,(top and bottom bolts) the calipers lift off the bracket.
Very simple set up.

Are you going to attach the new bigger calipers to your stock brake hose?

If so, you need to see if you need to buy flat washers for them.Im not sure if the kit gave that to you or not.

I cant rem if the C4 calipers have them, but most calipers I replaced, there were 2 gold color washers in between the brake hose and caliper.

Make a note of how they are located when you take them off.

(I also suggest to just crack loose the hose nut on the caliper before removing it so you can easily take it off when youre ready to do the swap..

its hard to free that bolt on the hose if the caliper is not bolted down and hung out to the side.You dont want to just remove the hose yet because you want to minimize the amount of air youll get in the lines, and you dont want brake fluid dripping out everywhere.
Get everything to fit first in the new kit then remove the hose and install on the new calipers..if youre reusing the old hoses)

I think the big brake upgrade is a tad different when assembling them over the old design..I would suggest you "mock them up" on a table or something and
temporarily install the pads and etc together to get the idea how they all go together.

It should be fine...its bleeding the brakes is where youll have the most fun...

Im ranting...talk to ya later!!

Guest

Hi Bob,
Yes I do have an angle grinder but I have to admit I'm a little nervous grinding the steering knuckles down.

The kit came with a long pin to mount the Calipers to the bracket, but what is an e-clip? Is this included when I buy my pads?

This project is going to be a great learning experience! [img]http]//www.corvetteforum.cc/ubb/smile.gif[/img]

Guest

Hows it going Bill's86Coupe! I received the spring and thanks again for those instructions!

I am thinking of using my existing brake lines, the kit did come with 4 gold color washers. When I pull the wheels off the Vette I'll inspect the brake lines, if they look old and have any cracks I'll replace them with new Stainless steel brake lines.

I can't wait to get this brake package on my Vette, my existing Rotors and Calipers are so nasty!

Thanks for all your tips!

Mark

Bob86ZZ4

Don't worry bout the grinding. Just do a little at a time. You only grind around the outer edges of the ears that stick up on the knuckle. I assume you guys are talking about the bias spring above. I think you should replace that when you do the Grand Sport calipers. I am told if you don't the car will nose dive when braking since the GS brakes are much stronger. I did the bias spring when I did mine and my car brakes very flat. You must be planning on putting in Performance Friction Z pads, otherwise there is no point in doing it. They are clearly the best all round pads to use. Just go ahead and do the stainless lines since you will have the system opened up anyway, then you only have to bleed it all out once. Most people will turn up there noses at you if you have GS brakes and rubber lines. Oh ya, the e-clip is a little thing about the size of a washer but it is open on one side and you put it into that groove on the end of the long pin that holds the caliper to the bracket. It keeps the pin from sliding out. Very easy to pop onto the pin with a needle nose pliers. You should have gotten the clips in the bag with the pins. They are very small so you may have missed them.

Guest

Yes I have the clips w/ the pins, but shouldn't the Caliper have thru holes at each end to accept the pin? The only holes anywhere to be seen on these calipers are for the Brake line and bleeder valve. How does the pin attach to the Caliper?

Does anyone have a pic of a GS caliper mounted to their bracket? It would be soooo helpful! [img]http]//www.corvetteforum.cc/ubb/smile.gif[/img]

Thanks,
Mark

Guest

I took some pics of the Caliper, Bracket, and the bolts and clips. What am I missing (other than brain cells) to attach the Caliper to the bracket?

Mark









[This message has been edited by Aqua-86 (edited 07-19-2001).]

[This message has been edited by Aqua-86 (edited 07-19-2001).]

rcolling

Mark,
I am counting on you here. Take plenty of pictures.

I will be ordering mine when Jeff gets back from vacation next week.

Guest

No problem! This Caliper/Bracket has me puzzled!
Not a great start to this project!LOL! [img]http]//www.corvetteforum.cc/ubb/smile.gif[/img]

JasonL

Aqua, it's a floating caliper design. This means there are no bolts holding the caliper to the bracket--it floats.

Do you have a set of pads on hand? The metal backing plate of the pads will fit into the edges of the bracket like a jigsaw puzzle piece. The pads are held firmly to the calipers with two "crowns" that go inside the caliper pistons on one side, and the two holes on the other side.

Once you put the pads in the caliper, and fit the piece (caliper+pads) into the puzzle (bracket), the pin and E-clip hold it in place and prevent the caliper from falling out.

PS. The pin fits into a groove (not hole) in the bracket. In that last pic you posted, the groove is on the upper-right corner of the bracket.

Guest

Jason thank you so much! I had a feeling the pads are what hold everything together, but it seemed strange to me.
I haven't bought my pads yet and plan on doing so this weekend. What kind do you recommend and how much should they cost?

Thanks again!
Mark

Rick93Z07

You might buy premium Raybestos pads. Many owners prefer them for all around street use. If you want optimum performance and don't mind a little extra dust on your wheels and cool calipers, use Performance Friction Carbon Metallic pads from the Auto Zone. Either will set you back around $60.

Guest

Thanks Rick!
I think I'll go with the Premium Raybestos pads, I don't want to be cleaning dust of my rims everyday.
I'll change the rear pads while I'm at it and install the bias spring I recently bought from Bill's86Coupe!

Mark

snaketr

I have you tried getting brackets from somewhere else? I did the conversion on my 86 for CorvetteMagazine.com and my new brackets replaced the G.M. brackets. The new brackets bolted right to the knucle and then the caliper slipped right into it. No grinding. I also have an 86.

Rick93Z07

I have heard there are two mfrs for the adapter brackets & the better fitting ones only come in kits. If you don't mind paying $759 for a complete conversion kit with inferior J55 calipers, you can get the nicer brackets. In my opinion, someone should design C5 brake brackets for the early C4. They'd be the more sensible setup these days, considering the fact that many late C4 owners are upgrading to C5 brakes.

Guest

[img]http]//www.corvetteforum.cc/ubb/confused.gif[/img] Let me get this straight, you put GS calipers and 13" GS Rotors on your '86 and all you had to buy was one set of brackets to get them to fit? And they just bolted up and you didn't have to grind anything?
Where did you buy the Brackets? I was told I definitely need the original GM brackets that go with the GS calipers as well as a pair of DRM brackets that mount to them.
I hope I didn't get screwed...........again!

Thanks,
Mark

DanDman

Mark, I bought a complete set of original OEM pads (front/rear) from Jeff Kopp @ Superior Chevrolet for less then $150.00 to go along with my new GS rotors. [img]http]//www.corvetteforum.cc/ubb/smile.gif[/img]