My buddy wants rear discs for his 83. He has located an 84 TA with 4 wheel discs. Can the disc components be stripped off and used on a drum type rear end or does he need the whole T/A rear end? The drum rear has a posi and gears in it which he wants to keep over the T/A highway axle ratio.

 

Check the following link for axel flange modification:

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/transmissions-drivetrain/352550-can-i-convert-drum.html

If you bud choses to go that route or if he swap rear ends, have him grab the master cyclinder and proportion valve.

JamesC

 

Thank James. The link deals with discs off the late F Body rear end which is externally quite different from the 3rd gen(wider at least). Are you certain that the same changes have to be made? We have not been to look at the T/A rear to see the differences. Are you saying the layout of the 4th gen rear is fundamentally the same as the 3rd gen rear disc so the fabricating is the same?

 

Modification of the axel flanges will be the same.

JamesC

 

1. My '82 Z originally had a 3.73's ratio open drum brake rear in it...

2. Switched to a '86 rear with 3.42's and drums and liked the ratio changed but the brakes

3. THEN switched to a '91 "1LE" / PBR rear 3.23's ratio POSI and the good disc brakes....

Let just say the last rear end switch made a completely different car of it !

The 3.23's made it live-able on the freeway with a 4 speed (3.42 ratio 1st gear!) AND the rear disc brakes WOW WOW WOW what a stopping difference ! I paid less than $300 for the complete rear end and the misc swap parts and I would have EASILY paid double that for the AWESOME results I got

P.S. The rear I picked up was from a '91 1LE with 42,000 miles that was T-BONED out of commission, so all the parts and the posi are / were pretty fresh just had to buy some new brake pads and stuff...

Maybe this babble helps in your decision, BUT I would look for a 89+ disc/posi rear end to swap in ~DaVe

 

Check this link for PBR's:

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/show...hreadid=246768

JamesC

 

I've got a 4th Gen rear with PBR calipers, and they are awesome. Not sure of the year, but I think it is a 95 or so. Little wide in the back, but that's OK in my book. Disks are a huge improvement over drums. I would definatly recommend PBRs over the older stuff. I used to be scared to drive my car in the rain. The brakes were out of adjustment, and the right rear liked to lock up before all the others. Pretty crappy tires, to boot. Now, with the all wheels disks (with Hawks pads) and a set of BFG g-Force Sports KDWs, it is a whole different beast. The rain is fun now, because I can actually handle in it. Now I can just scare people in the car, and not myself....most of the time.

 

Sweet goodness, you drive your car in the rain

JamesC

 

Crazy, ain't it.
I wouldn't, but I have to. Only car I have.

 

did any of you guys swapping from drums to discs have to switch the original drum brake mastercylinder? or anything else for that matter?

camaroracer305@aol.com

 

I didn't swith the master cylinder, I just got a disk/disk porportioning valve. I've heard that if you do some bigger from brakes that you will need a 1LE porportioning valve and master cylinder.

 

one thing not mentioned here at all are the brake lines. 82-83 had standard thread fittings but in 84 GM went to metric fittings, so for an 84 rear end to bolt into an 82-83 Camaro or Firebird you will either need to put on diff rear brake line fittings or buy a set of custom made lines (Inline tube was where I got mine) made for the application. someone said to grab the master cylinder and prop valve off the 84 T/A to use on the 83Z,of you were to use the 84 T/A master cylinder and prop valve on the 83Z then the front lines and calipers would also need to be changed out also since the fittings up front on the 83Z are also standard making them useless to try and simply screw them into the metric pro valave.