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I just placed an order for the C6 Z51 front brake kit and I will be using the Brakenetic cross drilled front rotors. I will also be doing a drum to disc swap later in the year but would like to start collecting parts now. Ed Miller offer brackets that allow the use of a larger than stock rear rotor. Ive been eying brackets he has for the 13" diameter upgrade but I cant seem to locate a matching rear rotor that looks pretty close to the ones Im running up front.
These are the rotors I have now up front
I just placed an order for the C6 Z51 front brake kit and I will be using the Brakenetic cross drilled front rotors. I will also be doing a drum to disc swap later in the year but would like to start collecting parts now. Ed Miller offer brackets that allow the use of a larger than stock rear rotor. Ive been eying brackets he has for the 13" diameter upgrade but I cant seem to locate a matching rear rotor that looks pretty close to the ones Im running up front.
These are the rotors I have now up front
bringing this post back up. I found a smoking deal on the Baer 13" Eradispeed 2 pc rear rotors today and I bought them, ($480.00 shipped)
Now Im worried that they wont fit inside my 17" Weld RTS wheel Medium pad design.
I bought thwese because they match the front ones. Im converting from drum to disc and was hoping I could get the 13" hassle free backing plates from Ed. THis conversion wont take place until after the New Year so if the rotors dont fit then I will be stuck with them.
Should I play it safe and just get the 12" Baer Sport rotors and paint the hats black and call it a day? I assume the 12" rotors will require Eds 12" Hassle Free backing plates.
But they will fit inside the superior '82-'88 rear calipers. Putting tiny little micro-drums inside the rotor hat is the worst fail ever. The '82-'88 rear calipers get a bad rap, but they don't deserve it. They do need maintenance, but they are worth it. If you want better, use the '76 Eldorado rear calipers. Same thing, but they allow rotors that are 32 mm thick., making 14" rears easy, using '06-up C6 Z06 J56 front rotors.
Doing rear discs on a solid axle is about the easiest thing ever, just put it together, then use cardboard , scissors, and a sharpie to figure out a mounting bracket, use a jigsaw to cut a air out of 1/4" mild steel, drill the holes, bolt it all together, weld it to the axle tubes, or bolt it to the original brackets, with washers if it needs spaced.
But they will fit inside the superior '82-'88 rear calipers. Putting tiny little micro-drums inside the rotor hat is the worst fail ever. The '82-'88 rear calipers get a bad rap, but they don't deserve it. They do need maintenance, but they are worth it. If you want better, use the '76 Eldorado rear calipers. Same thing, but they allow rotors that are 32 mm thick., making 14" rears easy, using '06-up C6 Z06 J56 front rotors.
Doing rear discs on a solid axle is about the easiest thing ever, just put it together, then use cardboard , scissors, and a sharpie to figure out a mounting bracket, use a jigsaw to cut a air out of 1/4" mild steel, drill the holes, bolt it all together, weld it to the axle tubes, or bolt it to the original brackets, with washers if it needs spaced.
And $240 per rotor is insane! Pass
micro drums? Im not using LS style rotors. I never said I was. Im using the 3rd gen/LT1/C4 style calipers that utilize a parking brake cable to compress the caliper.
I already have brand new NOS GM PBR calipers. I'm not buying different ones so those are the ones I'm using. This isn't even about calipers. It's about rotors.
Ya, the problem with him is he never gets back to me. I've left messages on his phone and PMs have gone unanswered. I'm afraid to just order stuff from his website
And then never get the stuff.
I was going to buy my front brakes from him but he never answered his phone or replied back to voicemails so I went with Scott at BBU. Unfortunately, Scott doesn't do rear brake packages that involve custom backing plates.
Maybe give BAER a call and see if they can get the proper bracket you need?
I need more than a bracket. I need backing plates to do the conversion and the only place I have seen them is from Ed but he never returns emails or phone calls. I dont want to buy rotors and then find out I cant get the rest of the parts needed to do the conversion. Rotors can be bought last. I just need to know exactly what is available to me right now. Ed still has his site up and the Cart is still open so I would assume he is still taking orders but I currently have $300 in parts in my cart and Im not submitting it until I can get in touch with him.
As for the rotors, I think I am just going to go with the 12" Baer Eradispeed one for the C4s. They will match my fronts and I dont have to worry one bit about them fitting inside the wheel. I am running 13.3" rotors up front but thats with a high pad design Weld wheel and C6 rotor. Its a tight fit.
I got the backing plates for my 9" with 13" rear rotors from Baer and they said (at the time) they have the plates for 9 & 10 bolts too.
I will give them a call and see what they say. Ideally, Id love to just buy everything from Ed though. I will still need new E brake cables, hard lines and flex lines. He has it all on his site. I just wish the guy would pick up the phone. I highly doubt the dealer still sells the cables and lines.
I will give them a call and see what they say. Ideally, Id love to just buy everything from Ed though. I will still need new E brake cables, hard lines and flex lines. He has it all on his site. I just wish the guy would pick up the phone. I highly doubt the dealer still sells the cables and lines.
It is frustrating, but he works a regular job and this is just a side project for him. I think his wife handles the e-commerce and shipping. I have ordered parts from him this year and got them, so someone is still there doing stuff, they just stink about communication.
The plus is that you will either get parts, or a refund back to your PayPal. I ordered something that they no longer had in stock and got a partial refund. The other plus is that if you have the time to wait and you have to file a claim with PP you are pretty well covered.
So here is what I got with the 13" Baer rotors. I was expecting the adapter brackets that are pictured in their photos. I ended up with two new backing plates AND two braided hoses.
These will not bolt on to the drum rear so they may be paper weights now
I'm guessing that since Andy is using 1 backing plate for 2 different rearends, they need different parts. The 9bolt has a axle with pressed on bearings so I'd think that is the extra stuff is for that.
Just need to remove the drum stuff and drill those 4 holes in the axle housing flange. No bigE.
Yes, you can just do this. It's not a big deal. You can also put the holes in the backing plate. I got those plates from Baer and re-drilled them for the 9 bolt pattern. Just swap the LH/RH so when you re-drill no holes overlap/
Originally Posted by BOTTLEDZ28
What is the deal with the shim and spacer from this website?
I believe the shims were just because of maufacturing tolerances. Some rears needed them and some didn't
Originally Posted by TTOP350
The 9bolt has a axle with pressed on bearings so I'd think that the extra stuff is for that.
9 and 10 bolt rears with disc rears are the same for the brakes essentially. You can re-drill the 10 bolt plates with the 9 bolt pattern and put them on the 9 bolt.
Thanks for the input guys. So basically, I can use these backing plates and transfer the bolt holes over to the flanges on the housing and then just bolt them in place. If I have an issue with the caliper not being centered over the rotor then I guess I will have to remove everything and make some shims or use washers. I will decide what to do when I get to that step.
The only thing I need to buy now is the correct Ebrake cables. Flynbye has them but as usual, he refuses to call me back. Does anyone know of another place I can order these from?
Last edited by BOTTLEDZ28; 01-06-2017 at 05:58 PM.
9 and 10 bolt rears with disc rears are the same for the brakes essentially. You can re-drill the 10 bolt plates with the 9 bolt pattern and put them on the 9 bolt.
Correct but axle bearing retention are different between the 2 rears.
I think Baer just sent you the wrong brackets. When I ordered my kit from them I told them I had the 10 bolt rear and they sent me brackets for the 9 bolt with the wrong holes. I just exchanged them for the the correct ones. I think they have them mislabeled in their warehouse.
The Baer kit I bought is for a 4th gen which didnt have a 9 bolt so the bolt pattern on these brackets should be for a 10 bolt.
This kit is offered to 4th gen owners who want to step up to the 13" rotor but retain their OEM caliper. I thought I was going to get the adapter/spacer brackets that bolt to the stock disc backing plate which would allow the caliper to be moved outward but the kit came with brand new backing plates as well as braided brake lines.
I should be tackling this project more this weekend. I just need to pull the cover and then slide the axles out. Then my fingers will be crossed that these backing plates will work. Otherwise, I will have to order a pair from Ed Miller (flynbye) and he's backed up right now.
Looks like just half of the Baer rotor is being utilized with the PBR caliper. That kind of disappointing.
Yes, but at least it's the outside half where the leverage is greater. The pads make full contact so you are getting all the benefit of the larger rotor. It's the best setup with stock calipers that limit the pad size.
Only the good half!!!! lol The way the rotor and hat are built makes it look that way, the caliper is moved to the outside and still has the same surface area, it just has a longer clamping lever now. Can't make a factory pad/caliper bigger without a swap
Made some progress on the drum/disc swap today. Baer backing plate axle housing hole is bigger than than the axle housing. How critical is it to get an even space around the axle housing? This must be what the shim is for that I had mentioned earlier.
As of right now, if I dont go with the shims, I will drill out the threads on the two lowering holes on the housing and enlarge the holes to so I can tap a M10x 1.5 thread into them. Then, bolt the backing plate down eyeballng the gap around the backing plate. Then, once the two lower bolts are tight, transfer the top two holes to the housing and drill and tap those for a M10x 1.5 bolt. Easy enough unless someone else here thinks that method will not work. Obviously, I will make sure the gap is even around the big hole.
Shims were used by GM. They space the bracket out in case caliper isn't aligned to the rotor well. They have nothing to do with the bracket being hub-centric to the axle housing. Try to use bolts with a smooth shank that holds the bracket better than just threads.
With the backing plate / bracket all removed, is the axle housing drum brake wheel cylinder mounting ear face flat? I am asking because I can't remember but I think there's a quirk like that which makes the disc conversions interesting.
I have shim sheet material that I can use to make those shims if need be so that's not an issue at the moment. Mounting the backing plate correctly is. I do have to grind in two areas on the housing to get the plates to sit flush but that's easy. I just have to make sure the backing plate is centered on the housing.
Another issue I have is that I do not have the mounting brackets for for the brake line where it joins to the flex line at each caliper. I believe that Ed supplies these with his hassle free brackets. That $85 price tag is starting to look better and better. It will technically give me brackets that will center over the axle housing AND it will give me the mounting tabs/brackets for the lines.
Made some progress on the drum/disc swap today. Baer backing plate axle housing hole is bigger than than the axle housing. How critical is it to get an even space around the axle housing? This must be what the shim is for that I had mentioned earlier.
As of right now, if I dont go with the shims, I will drill out the threads on the two lowering holes on the housing and enlarge the holes to so I can tap a M10x 1.5 thread into them. Then, bolt the backing plate down eyeballng the gap around the backing plate. Then, once the two lower bolts are tight, transfer the top two holes to the housing and drill and tap those for a M10x 1.5 bolt. Easy enough unless someone else here thinks that method will not work. Obviously, I will make sure the gap is even around the big hole.
just a suggestion but I think you will want to mount the plates with the calipers in front of the axle.
Drill the holes, snug backing plate bolts, put axles, rotors, and calipers w pads on. Move caliper so the pad will clamp down on the outer most side of the rotor. Tighten the backing plate bolts
I bought the hassle free plates. Im not in a rush to get it done and I needed a few other things anyway and I also needed the brackets that secure the hard line to the braided line so the $85 for both of them wasnt bad. I know I can sell these Baer plates and recoup my money back from Eds plates. No big deal and I dont have to make a modification to the car that is permanent.
Last edited by BOTTLEDZ28; 01-22-2017 at 03:50 PM.
Ive hit a snag in the rear disc conversion and I need some input guys. Below is a few pictures of my issue. I do not have enough room between the rotor and the conversion bracket to fit the abutment bracket for the caliper. I am running Baer 13" rotors for a 93-97 Fbody.
Last edited by BOTTLEDZ28; 02-04-2017 at 05:10 PM.
Yes you will need stepped bracket like stock. What you could do is copy the caliper side of the beacket. Cut it off what's on the axle and then weld the 2 together preferrably using tig and large fillet welds all round. That should give you the step you need. A rotor shim will reduce the hubcentric section that protrudes the rotor hat
Yes you will need stepped bracket like stock. What you could do is copy the caliper side of the beacket. Cut it off what's on the axle and then weld the 2 together preferrably using tig and large fillet welds all round. That should give you the step you need. A rotor shim will reduce the hubcentric section that protrudes the rotor hat
This is exactly why I was so pi$$ed off that Ed would never return my calls a few months back. I wanted to go over all this prior to making my purchases with him. I paid $50 to have the backing plates powder coated too.
Cutting these brackets and then trying to reweld the piece back in a different location is not going to happen. I need a replacement bracket that works for these rotors.
And speaking of rotors, are these rotors somehow different than a standard OEM rotor? Not talking about the diameter. I dont have stock rotors here to measure the height difference between them and the Baer ones.
Also, what is the difference between me using this kit on a 3rd gen axle and someone using it on a 4th gen axle? Technically, wouldnt they be in the same predicament as me right now if they remove their OEM backing plates and use the ones supplied in the kit? (Picture of them posted above. Gold ones)
Baer uses to sell this kit with an adapter piece that bolted to the oem backing plate. I was surprised when I bought the kit and it came with new backing plates instead. Their website had the wrong the mounting template download so I had to call them and have them send me the correct one. I guess they fixed the link on the webiste AND updated the pics of this kit to now show the new backing plates and not the two adapter brackets.
Last edited by BOTTLEDZ28; 02-05-2017 at 08:57 AM.
I'm guessing that's why my BAER bracket kit is a 2 piece setup.
Can you give me more info on the kit you used? part number to it if you know it? Pics of it installed and what rear you put it on.. Im need to figure out what to do here. I have a lot of money into this swap so far and I am not a happy camper at the moment. All of this could have been eliminated if Ed had just answered his phone or replied back to my emails.
The height of the Baer rotor is 2.125" The height of a stock rotor is 1.870". That a difference of .255" (1/4") Thats quite a bit of a difference.
Can you give me more info on the kit you used? part number to it if you know it? Pics of it installed and what rear you put it on.. Im need to figure out what to do here. I have a lot of money into this swap so far and I am not a happy camper at the moment. All of this could have been eliminated if Ed had just answered his phone or replied back to my emails.
The height of the Baer rotor is 2.125" The height of a stock rotor is 1.870". That a difference of .255" (1/4") Thats quite a bit of a difference.
Not sure I still have the info but i'll look around and see if its in my info folder for the car. My kit is for a 9" but flange to rotor distance is pretty much the same.
Sorry about the bad pic, duno y photobucket does this to some pictures.
The aluminum hat is thicker than the factory cast/steel hat
Are you measuring the height from the back of the rotor to the back/axelside of the rotor hat? (this should be the same as factory) Or the back of the rotor to the front/wheelside of the hat?
02-23-2016, 01:24 PM
