Well I had a crazy night. I've been working to restore a 83 z-28 Crossfire Camaro for the past year. I found the car at a junk yard about 40 miles away from my house. The car hadn't run in over 6 years. The fuel pump, tank, and all fuel lines were completely rusted. I had it towed to my wifes grandparerts house right down the street from the junk yard. They own a used car lot so they had all the tools i needed to get the car running. Well to make a long story shorter. I fixed the car up inside and out. Got it running and she sounded mean. Well it was time to take it home. I went to get the car. I was kind of nervous about driving such a long way back to my house. I had really only drove it up and down the street. But i needed it to be home, in my driveway. So here I go down the street. Then it starts to rain. @#$% i hadnt put the wipers on yet. I had to drive down the street swerving with my head out the window to see. It wasnt easy because im short. I had to stop and get some rain X and wait for the rain to pass. So i start driving down the road again. My wife was following me because now its dark and my fuse for the rear lights was burned out. And i guess the dash light is on the same fuse so i could see how fast i was going. Man this wasnt looking good. The my wife calls me on my cell. She says that sparks are shooting out of my tire. So I pulled off into a nearby park. My rotor on my front driver side wheel was glowing red. Steaming up and smelling really bad. I guess that brake was rubbing really bad. As we waited for it to cool down the brake line busted from the heat spraying fluid and making tons of steam. OH @$$% now my brake fluid is leaking. Good thing my wifes father lived about 20 mins away. I didnt bring any tools with me at all. SO he gets there and we had to clamp and secure a pair of vise grips to the broken brake line so that i would still have brakes. So now the front brake isnt rubbing anymore. SO i start down the road one more time. Then the car started to get really bumpy. And boom tire blows out. Oh @$%$ i dont have a jack and my spare is not all the way inflated. So we called for my wifes father again. We get the spare on and use a can of fix a flat to get it to the nearest gas station to get air. Now we should be good to go. We get about 2 miles from my house and it starts raining again. Man my palms were sweaty. I get to my street before it starts to rain bad. Then as i push the brakes the brake goes to the floor. OH #%%^ no brakes. I turn the wheel sharply and slide a bit. I make it home finally. WOW what a night.
Ok it was a long story. But my question is. How do i tell if i need a new rotor? Brearing fluid was coming out too. Im assuming I should get new brakes up front. Should i also get new rotors, even if they are ok to be on the safe side? What are some good aftermarket brakes that arent to expensive. And how much am i going to have to spend. Or is it better to take a old pair from a junk yard?
Any help would be great.

 

heres a really good piece of advice...replace it all..there is nothing worse then having no brakes. get new rotors, and bearings and repack them well. get new after market calipers, you can get a decent set for 250-300. then if any of the brake lines look cracked, dried, or really rusted replace them. the cost on that is not nearly as high as the cost of your life when your brakes dont work!!! if you dont trust yourself to do it, either get a do it yourself book or go to a brake shop.

also flush the system and use NEW brake fluid, not the $%^# that has been sitting in the car for the past 6 yrs.

 

My honest opinion, and i'm not trying to be a smart ***........

Call the yard you got it from and pay them 50 bucks to take it back!!! Then get a paper and find a nice clean 87-92 for about 3000 bucks. It will pay you back 10 fold in that you will avoid all the aggrevation and extra cost of rebuilding a basket case.

Just my honest opinion, i tortured myself with my beat to death 84. If i had to start again i would pay for a good clean latermodel car.

 

its about a 95% chance that any rotor you even mildly overheat will become warped.

I'd say if it was glowing red it WILL need to be replaced.

But thats the least of your problems, i'd say that caliper probably needs replaced....as does the other side and the wheel cylinders.

Then i'd be sure to check all the brake lines and replace any brake hoses.

I'm sure you realize the full importance of brakes now though....

 

I've been working on the car for about a year now. I would hate to start over now. I've gone so far. The interior is already nicer than 90% of the camaros ive seen after its been redone. And you don't see many 1983 crossfire injected Z28s at car shows. Its a part of american history.
Im going to replace the whole break system with everything. From the rotors, bearings, calipers, lines. I wanted the car as a project more than a car to drive. I got the engine running just enough to get it to my house. Now i can break it down and replace all the old systems. Its just hard to pick a place to start.
Well thanks for letting me know it needs replaced. I kind of figured that i would have to replace them. But if i went to a junk yard and scoped all the camaros for good used rotors what do i look for? How do i tell if its warped? Would i just be able to tell by the looks? I just know if i end up replacing one thing brand new ill end up spending thousands to replace everything. ANd then my wife would kill me. But i would have a killer car =)

 

it'd be alot easier just to get new rotors.

You really couldnt tell if one was warped just by looks. About the only way you could tell would be to bring a dial indicator with you and check the runout on there.

Of course any junkyard rotors you find will have massive amounts of rust on them and need turning.

 

new rotors and calipers are not very expensive, i reccomend raybestos or bendix pads too