Rear Disc Brakes.

by fasrnur Fri Jan 06, 2017 2:44 am

I know this probably has been discussed before, but I can't seem to find much info on the subject.
So....I want to put rear discs on my Chevelle and retain my original housing. I know I could use the B body diff with disc brakes, but I like using GM parts that interchange with other cars. I'm cheap and like a challenge.
Anyone know what might work for this swap? Here's about the only thing I could find.

Thanks,
Jeff.....

DoctorLarry wrote:I just used the rear brakes and re-drilled the rotors on my 76.

by fasrnur Sat Jan 07, 2017 7:50 pm

Well I did find this. Food for thought. I've started my search. study

http://www.hotrod.com/articles/ccrp-1204-budget-gm-rear-disc-brakes-swap-junkyard-builder/

by bigredlaguna Sat Jan 07, 2017 9:41 pm

This thread is on a Nova, but the swap for the brakes should be the same. Pages 3-5 or 6. He used 82 El Dorado brakes.

http://www.stevesnovasite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=126754

by Crawf388 Sat Jan 07, 2017 11:16 pm

My experience.. 75' laguna with 2.56 rear and stock drums to be replaced by 1994 civi caprice full rear assembly as it has 3.23 ratio and limited slip. Bought a doner 00' camaro SS with 7.5" 10 bolt just to use the calipers, rotors , backing plates and was hoping axles but that didnt work out. Bought rottenleonard's axle drill guide ($107) and redrilled caprice axles to get from 5x5 to 5x4.75. That was a lot of work but a good product. Cut some backing plate spacers out of 1/4" aluminum plate. Worked good. Got the axles back in and I will attest the F body brakes(aka LS1) WILL NOT FIT 15x7 rally wheels. It would require way too much grinding it would certainly destroy the calipers. So I'm setting it all aside until I get the paint all done and back on the road. When the time comes to swap in the caprice rear I'll buy new 17" wheels, adjustable upper and lower trailing arms and drop springs. Do it all at once and correctly.

Take away- not as bolt-in (cheap) as I was hoping. If you kept the 5x5 lug pattern and drums from the B body all you need is K8135 control arm bushings. But if you want disks or 5x4.75 pattern or both you are looking at redrilling or sourcing new/different axles and probably new 16"+ wheels to clear the calipers.

Disclaimer- these are all just initial observations as I have not completed the swap yet due to these challenges.

by pila Sun Jan 08, 2017 9:29 pm

My Malibu still has the 9.5 rear drums, ( '74) and an upgrade wouldn't be a bad idea, and I may use the stuff in that link to do it.

My Elco has a Currie 9 inch Ford rear, but has 2 1/2 X 11 inch drums, and during some high speed testing at the airport ( no cops there) it really stops great !

by Joe73 Sun Jan 08, 2017 9:32 pm

pila wrote:My Malibu still has the 9.5 rear drums, ( '74) and an upgrade wouldn't be a bad idea, and I may use the stuff in that link to do it.

My Elco has a Currie 9 inch Ford rear, but has 2 1/2 X 11 inch drums, and during some high speed testing at the airport ( no cops there) it really stops great !

Montes have the 11" drum brakes. And the rear I just sold out of a 73 chevelle had 11" drums. Never seen that before. My stock 3.42 rear in storage is 9.5", but I'm running a monte rear with 11" and 4.10s.

by pila Sun Jan 08, 2017 11:51 pm

Seems that '76 & '77 had the 11 inch rear brakes, at least my '76 & 77 Elcos did, and maybe the wagons (?) I believe the GM 11 inch are 2 1/4 wide, so I gained a 1/4 in more width on the Ford !! Let's see, that gained me 8.63 more square inches of brake surface !!! Very Happy

A 4.10 rear must be a neck snapper when you lean on it !!

Bill

by impalamonte Mon Jan 09, 2017 10:45 am

Hi fellow G3 'ers.

My .02 cents on this subject.

I recently performed the rear disc conversion. You can see in my post . http://www.g3gm.com/t8709-update-1973-monte-carlo-body-off-frame-resto
I ran the numbers for the "on the cheap" conversion. Believe me , I am for saving a buck like everyone else and like a conversion challenge too.

Here is what I found.

Once you replace the consumables in the system. ( rebuilt calipers , new rotors , CORRECT proportioning valve , hard lines , soft lines, Cleaning,blasting / painting or powder coating , small parts etc.) Some off these things I am listing....YOU JUST WANT THEM TO BE NEW. Why compromise your project with saving a buck on BRAKES...you need them !

You can for LESS money buy the KIT from RIGHT STUFF DETAILING for our cars and be done with it ! The tech department is the best. Believe me you will have issues!

by brownbomber77 Mon Jan 16, 2017 11:52 am

Check it out

http://nastyz28.com/forum/threads/s10-blazer-rear-disc-conversion.109454/

Use rear discs from a Blazer. Has the drum type parking brake and an abundance of parts. Gonna do this on my neighbor's Caprice..

by impalamonte Mon Jan 16, 2017 2:36 pm

But , if you notice in the thread from 2008 , his cash outlay is $435.00 in year "2008" money.

You can do the whole thing in new parts for this in a kit. Mind you if will not have the parking brake in drum though.... if that is important.

by Damon23 Mon Jan 16, 2017 7:35 pm

Is there a benefit to rear disc brakes on cars that do not have rear abs? I want to eventually pick up a impala rear and since they are there might as well use them but didn't know if they actually performed better or not.

by g3chevy / Mr Pontiac Mon Jan 16, 2017 9:53 pm

Just parted out a 76 Laguna last summer with 11" rear drums. My 76 Camino had 11" drums as well. My 75 Laguna has 9.5" rear drums and it stops on a dime. Some of the best brakes I've had on any of the A body's that I've owned over the years. Here's a link to a nice set of rear discs for those that are converting over.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/191826731692?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

by brownbomber77 Tue Jan 17, 2017 10:22 am

The thing about the Impala rear end besides bolt in...is the posi...if it's fried...you're out $400 for a new posi, plus another $350 to have someone set it up....

by texan01 Tue Jan 17, 2017 1:31 pm

pila wrote:Seems that '76 & '77 had the 11 inch rear brakes, at least my '76 & 77 Elcos did, and maybe the wagons (?) I believe the GM 11 inch are 2 1/4 wide, so I gained a 1/4 in more width on the Ford !! Let's see, that gained me 8.63 more square inches of brake surface !!!

A 4.10 rear must be a neck snapper when you lean on it !!

Bill

My 76 and 77 Sedans also had/have 11"x2" drums.

I've thought about the disc swap but the factory 11" drums and 11" rotors work quite well for me, even going down mountain passes, I haven't had a fade issue. Only once did I ever overheat the brakes and that was in heavy heavy, stop and go traffic where I was riding the brakes for miles at 10-20mph.

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