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Hey guys, looking for any options that exist to upgrade factory rear disc brakes. Tried serching and everything that came up was for converting drums to disc. Is there a kit out to bring the rear a bit more up to date without a 800$ price tag and pulling an axle.
That's not much of an upgrade. Keeps the crappy small rotors that are half of what makes your crappy Saginaw crap rear brake system so crappy.
You'd be MUCH better off to ditch that crappy crap altogether, and put the LS1 type setup on it. Which incidentally, keeps the parking brake. (not sure what an "emergency" brake would be... pretty sure these cars don't have one... that other thing besides the pedal you push, the one that you pull the handle up to work, is only good for parking anyway, just try it in an "emergency" sometime and you'll see what I mean) Spending money on those Saginaw brakes is about like "rebuilding" a 267. Just takes money out of your bank account and scatters it to the 4 winds, that could have been better used on something worthwhile that will actually accomplish something. Moves you farther from your goal instead of closer to it.
That's not much of an upgrade. Keeps the crappy small rotors that are half of what makes your crappy Saginaw crap rear brake system so crappy.
You'd be MUCH better off to ditch that crappy crap altogether, and put the LS1 type setup on it. Which incidentally, keeps the parking brake. (not sure what an "emergency" brake would be... pretty sure these cars don't have one... that other thing besides the pedal you push, the one that you pull the handle up to work, is only good for parking anyway, just try it in an "emergency" sometime and you'll see what I mean) Spending money on those Saginaw brakes is about like "rebuilding" a 267. Just takes money out of your bank account and scatters it to the 4 winds, that could have been better used on something worthwhile that will actually accomplish something. Moves you farther from your goal instead of closer to it.
why all the sarcasm man? Would have been just as easy to say its ineffective because of the rotor design. I mean i appreciate the info. Tells me to just use autozone parts until i axle swap. But all the extra isnt needed.
Sarcasm..some guys are like that.. and ..not everybody has Saginaw Rear disk..
whats next.. get some used LT1 front barkes or vet brakes...lol.. Sarcasm..
Last edited by articwhiteZ; 02-02-2019 at 03:28 AM.
The thing that makes your request for options difficult is not wanting to pull the axle. Without pulling the axle, you will probably be limited to factory or aftermarket-replacement parts. So if that's ok with you, then the Wilwood calipers, above, might be your best-performing option. SSBC might still offer upgrade options too.
But if you want to keep the e-brake, then I would think remanufactured factory calipers, which would be like brand new, would have to perform better than your 33 year old calipers, and all the work of cleaning and rebuilding yours will have been done for you. IMO, cleaning and rebuilding calipers is just not worth the work and the mess. People tend to think of their time as not having monetary value, or that they will feel compensated by the feeling of satisfaction out of having done something themselves. I get it; me, too. But not in this case LOL. So just turn in your old ones as cores and get new ones.
You should be able to find "performance" replacement rotors too, in plain, slotted, drilled, drilled/slotted. Whether or not there are any real performance gains from them, and with new calipers, then your old brake system will look fresh and "upgraded," if that's all you're going for at this time, and it should perform, at least, "like new" again.
I'm not sure which axle your IROC has, a 9 bolt or 10 bolt, but if it's a 9 bolt, then pulling the axle is simple and would probably be the easiest part of a rear brake upgrade. So if you decide to do that, then contact bigbrakeupgrade for options.
from the price of things it looks like wildwood rear E brake Caliper set up runs right in the ballpark of $900.add a few bucks for small stuff.
willwoods rear disk with E brake kit is under $800 (this is the small wheel kit 114") a tad over 800 you can get 16"/17"/18" wheel kits a few bucks less.. but..you have to buy the E brake cables that run $100 more give a take a few bucks.. https://www.summitracing.com/parts/wil-140-11398-dr https://www.summitracing.com/parts/w...a/instructions
the thing to look at is if your wheel back space will let you run this type of E brake..with my back space I don't think I can..but from the looks ya might Tweek the bracket out a bit. so it clears the wheels..
willwoods come out with new stuff in the last few years..thinking I will order a set just to try out. and see the fit..this pic shows the PBR rear disk. and wheel back space..(working) on a 15" wheel..cant get any smaller on wheel..dont want to..but did not want to go with 16" or 17" wheels..as most of the drag tires at the time fit the 15" wheels..but now/today there are more larger wheel drag tires on the market..I might up size..
swallowed by the back space above.
and as you can see..they fit. 15" wheels..(tweeked to fit) but fit.
more back space cant be fit on a wheel as you start to run into a few things.. like panhard bar brakets /lower control arms. (6.5 back space)
but thers are more things in the market now..
I posted the pics to show how the GM E brake still works with deep wheels..and that the aftermarket E brakes Might not..will look picking up a set to try out...
note GM/PBR caliper E brakes Pull inward when used.. Just clearing the rim when applied. the lower E brake arms needed to be trimmed just over 1/4" to clear..as they tip down when the E brake is set..or used..coming to close to the rim for me...picked up a 2nd set or cailipers for parts..to cut on..as I did not want to cut on my cars parts..just me...lol the shot below. shows the before trim on the E brake arms.. so they look long..
Last edited by articwhiteZ; 02-02-2019 at 12:35 PM.
wheel and tire combos to fit brakes..
using this set up with Bead locks..it can be done.But.thats another story..
thank you for all the info. Thats helped a good bit. A bit of info to help, i have a 10 bolt. Im currently in the process of swapping the engine and trans, but the rear brakes are all but non functional at the moment. Im wanting to install something that will work well enough until i can swap the axle. I didn't want to go off and buy a conversion and not be able to move them to the new axle. In essence wasting cash unnecessarily. One last question for ya. Whats PBR stand for? From what ive gathered its the lt1 vette brakes.
Pabst Blue Ribbon. Oh, wait, that might've been the drink of choice when working on brakes. Hey, somebody would've gone there.
Paton Brake Replacements is an Australian brake company founded by the Paton brothers in the early 1900s. 3rdgen 1LE calipers are PBR, like the 4thgen LT and C4 Corvette calipers, as well as C5 and C6 calipers. PBR has always been, and still is, considered one of the best in the industry.
Until late this decade, most brake upgrades for 3rdgens have included PBR calipers.
I always like my rear PBR Disk.. that's why the chrome and dress up.. But always looking..ya never know ..on a side note just ordered. a set of replacement E brake cables.from rock Auto (sale) $9 ea..ya never know when ..
I think upgrading the rear saginaw discs to PBR discs is a worthwhile upgrade. Better all around. ....beyond the PBRs though, I think you really need to NEED better brakes to search out an upgrade. To be fair to the saginaw, I've never had a good performance front brake kit with a saginaw rear kit, so it's only from research that I say the saginaw sucks. I'm running relatively small (for 2019) LS1 fronts and stock PBR rears, and for a non track car, the brakes are rock solid, and better than any other car I've owned, -for whatever that's worth. I can't see needing more....unless as I said, you have a specific NEED, which of course some of you do.
Since you're interested in retaining your factory brake system for awhile longer, Michael, but you'd prefer an updated appearance, then I have a full set of 4, brand new, cross-drilled/slotted Raybestos factory-replacement rotors that I purchased several years ago to use with my 16" Formula wheels. But as often happens, time passes, life happens, situations change, etc., so I never installed them. And now I have 18" wheels with 13" front and rear brakes, so the Raybestos rotors just sit here, patiently, waiting for me to offer them to someone who can use them. I thought about keeping them, just in case I ever want to reinstall my 16" wheels, but like many such good intentions, realistically, that will never happen. So they're yours, just for the cost of shipping, if you want them. I've attached a pic, below; I just took it today. They're still bagged and boxed, just as they came from Raybestos, but opened, obviously.
In one of my posts, above, I'd suggested getting remanufactured, factory brake calipers, rather than cleaning and rebuilding your own. Cleaning/rebuilding calipers can turn into an ugly mess, and it's not worth all of the work involved, IMO. That's why I suggested remans, which will look brand new, and your rear brakes will, at least, work again, until you're ready for changes down the road. The value of your existing calipers, as cores, will make it financially worth it. I would think the e-brake parts should come on the remans, but I'd suggest confirming that before letting go of your existing calipers. Or if you don't want to bleed the system, and you don't mind cleaning/rebuilding/painting your existing calipers, then go for it.
But with the brand new remanufactured calipers(or cleaned/rebuilt/painted old calipers), and these brand new drilled/slotted rotors, you will have WORKING factory rear brakes with an updated appearance. Then get a set of Power Stop Z26-154 "Extreme Performance" Carbon-Ceramic brake pads(Rock Auto has the best price), and you will have factory brakes that perform better than they did when new. And they will look great behind your 16" IROC wheels!
And while you have the rear brakes off, it would be a good time to clean/paint the old backing plates/dust shields before installing the new parts. It would also be a good idea to paint the new calipers, because they'll be cast iron and will rust. The new rotors are cast iron, too, so it would be a good idea to paint the hubs. Duplicolor and G2 make simple caliper paint kits, and it will be quick and easy to paint all of the parts while they're new and clean.
So let my know if you'd like to have the rotors. I have no idea how much it would cost to ship them, but I still can't see it costing a lot, compared to the cost of new rotors plus shipping from a vendor. But having posted this offer, I'm likely to get PMs for this offer. Most of those people will want them for their own cars. But some will have no intention of using them and will intend to flip them for a profit; sad, but true, but whatever. But they're yours first, Michael, so let me know.
02-01-2019, 04:27 AM
