Looks like hawks is coming out with a new spindle for the 3rd gen’s!!

 

Nice

 

Easy modern brake upgrades

 

Good job Hawks! Wonder if the Ackerman was corrected

 

would like to know all the details

such as what wheels will fit

what exact parts are going to be used

when is this going to be available

 

Of course, right after I get the last few parts to do my LS brake swap....

 

They're designed for 3rdgen geometry, wheel offsets and strut attachment. Caliper brackets are modular, bolt-on, changeable and available for all common brake upgrades, which means people's existing upgrades, whatever type they are, should swap over to these.

All the details and a lot of pictures are in the listing. Some of the pictures require the written details to help understand what you're seeing. And some of the details require pictures to help make sense of what you're reading. But it's all there, including that the hubs are NOT included, so figure an additional $300-$500 for a pair of hubs.
1982–1992 Camaro & Firebird C7 Front Spindle Kit | Big Brake Upgrade | Hawks Restoration Parts

 

These will allow greater brake options with custom wheels. Forgeline can't make wheels for our cars up front with CTSv brakes (gen 3). This hub should fix that.

 

what is the reason? Just curious

 

Despite being "custom" many parts of there wheel are standardized for their machining profiles. You could get by with a spacer but there is just too much backspace to make up for them to clear big brakes.

 

Very exited for this. Hope they hit the market before my build needs them (and have no issues).

I have a C7 and really like the look of those calipers. Only thing that comes close in terms of looks (for me) is the largest Baer setup.

I don't have spindles at the moment so this works out.

Only outstanding issue I see is there is no steering stop like the OEM spindle has. Unless I missed it in the pics.
The aftermarket cast iron spindles that Hawks currently sells is also missing the steering stop.

Really not sure what everyone is doing to lock out steering angle. Problem down the road I will have to figure out.

 

When you rub the inside fender and it squeals like a stuck pig, you turned too far.

 

LOL!

I figured that's the "solution" a lot of people use.

I will be doing some minor modifications to my A-arms to accommodate the front airbags, maybe I can find a spot to weld up a stop on that, that would hit this new spindle...

Anyways, car is still on the rotisserie so there is a while till this needs to get sorted out.

 

They said that there will be a bolt on steering stop.

 

Does that mounting bracket work for radial mounted and floating calipers?

 

Looking at the website listing, there are different brackets for different brake upgrades, and it lists all of them, including LS1, C5 and C6 Std and HD brakes, so based on that, all signs point to yes.

When ordering, I'd guess there will be a dropdown menu from which to choose the brackets for the type of brake upgrade you already have or want to install.

That should also mean if you want to change to different brakes in the future, then you probably go back to the site, or phone, to order just brackets.

 

I read the listing yesterday and added it to my wish list thinking this might get me a notification when the spindles can be ordered.
I didn't see anything about steering stops.

Did I miss something or was that info from a call? Just curious.

Thanks

 

I saw the listing for different brake set-ups available. Looking at it again it looks like the abutment bracket could bolt to that and thus your caliper/rotor. Beats the rotor/hub/spacer combo with our modified spindles.

 

ive emailed 'bruce' at hawks and asked him about my wheels and what will fit
he said the spindles are about 30 days out and "13 inch bear kit will fit"...
im going to reply to find out with corvette stuff will fit, as i dont want baer parts on my car.

picture is my 91 gta with 17 hawks wheels

 

Be nice to find their brake kits work with their GTA wheels.

 

What is the issue with Baer brake stuff? Something the rest of us should know? I have been considering their stuff for my build. Also considering C7 brakes.

 

Bear used to be 4 miles from my shop here in phx,az.
they were bought out by holley a few years ago now.
holley has china build their parts.
Id bet bear is all chinesium now.

But, i dont know, just speculating, and Id rather some GM chinese (vette) calipers on my GM product.

Seriously though, joking aside, id like to run factory gm stuff for my build, thats really it.

 

Is that steering arm shorter or just trick photography?

 

GM calipers: 3rdgen 1LE (front and rear), LT1, LS1, C4, C5, C6 HD (same as Cadillac XLR/XLR-V, GTO 05/06), and C6 Z06 are all PBR, made in Australia. C6 ZR1 is where GM made the switch to Brembo, and I believe C7 and C8 are Brembo too, which is Italian. And a search shows Baer still made in the USA.

 

If Holley does own them then they will run them into the ground just like every other brand they have bought. It takes them time to get around to their newly acquired brands but sooner or later they will and will run them into the ground while milking the brand name for all it's worth.

 

I would rather stick to all GM stuff for my build. I just wish there was a comprehensive "one-stop-shop" that I could just order the kit from.
BigBrakeUpgrade.com use to list kits like that, but lately everything is out of stock and when I contact them, I would have to source all my own stuff, send it in for machining etc....

I would gladly pay a premium for all the details to be sorted out and just give me something I can bolt onto my new spindles that works perfectly.
I plan to get 3 piece forged wheels so I fitment doesn't matter either. I just want new calipers and new everything set and done. I saw Baer as a way to get this, but if quality is in question, then maybe it isn't worth the price.

I actually like the way the brakes look on my '15 C7 Z51 better than the aftermarket stuff, but I felt like it was too much uncertainty with piecing together used stuff.

I will make another push to find a 100% no issues solution when the time comes. I am still a year out, maybe a bit less.

 

Same length. The spindle is just chunkier in the photo

Hawks missed an opportunity to cast/drill a second hole in the new spindles. Lots of guys are wanting R&P steering these days and need that shorter steering arm

Otherwise, awesome product. Retrofit hub style spindles are really taking off these days. I've installed a few of the CPP mustang 2 hubs and really like them. They pair well with C5/C6 brakes

 

i think this is a great move forward... hopefully overtime hawks will think about working an integrated k member like the UMI road race one, with a rack & pinion that could mount to it and interface to an updated version of this new spindle

 

Very cool. They’re the first to the game with a product like this and after seeing the price tag on some of their other exclusive items I’m a bit concerned they’ll be well out of my price range. This being the first time I’ve seen this product I wonder if the BBU LS1 brake caliper adapters will be able to be used or if they’re going to have to be another proprietary component to purchase with the knuckle. That said, there may be a few sets of hubs and modified knuckles hitting the For Sale board soon.

 

Makes sense. I guess they have to keep it the same length or it would alter the steering ratio/rate or whatever the word is.

Also hoping they wont be priced sky high.

 

Yep, private equity at it's best (worst).

Anyone tried calling Holley for EFI tech support lately? MINIMUM 45 minute hold. Forget about it.

 

Get them and upgrade your brakes you won't regret it and the stopping power is well worth it along with a 4th gen booster and master cylinder its A1

 

Is it just the angle or do those wheels look small? Can't fully describe it. Maybe it is just the camera.

Also are you implying that in these images, the car already has the new not yet released spindles?

Please provide more information. Thanks.

 

With all of the options available to people, and everyone's different tastes, it would be difficult to offer so many different complete kits; people would still have to spec their preferred parts (rotors, brands, calipers, colors). But I would imagine BBU can probably put together brake kits for these knuckles. And Scott often has sources for products that have low availability or have been discontinued.

All of the brake options are for GM brakes. These will use C7 hubs, and one of the bracket options is for C7 brakes, so you can put your 2015 Corvette's exact brakes on your 3rdgen. The calipers are still available new, and rotors of all types and brands are always available new, so they'd be no uncertainty, and no reason to have to piece together used or remanufactured parts.

I suspect Nsty was simply showing you his C7 brakes because you said you liked them. But he does make you wonder if he's got the knuckles installed already. Just because they're not available yet, somebody must surely be testing them. They look better and stouter than factory spindles, and the claim is that they are, but I'd still hate to think they won't have been tested before releasing them for sale.

 

@hawksthirdgen
any inside info?

 

You make some good points. I have been in communication with Scott over brake setups that would fit my build well. I really don't want any parts saying "Corvette" on them, but luckily the 6th or 7th gen (I forget right now) Camaro calipers on the SS I believe are the same as the Z51 Vette units. They say "Camaro" in that blocky lettering which will work. I checked RockAuto and yeah you can get 3 out of the 4 calipers in red that say "Camaro". So maybe that is the route to go. Get my hands on calipers and then go thru Scott once these spindles are on the market.

Would be nice to have pads, calipers and rotors be in stock in a pinch at my local parts store or GM dealership.

 

My C6 Z06 calipers say Corvette on them and I got some brake clean on them and it stated to wipe off. I didn't remove the wording but it appears that it is easy to remove. Definitely not the same as the coating/paint they use on the caliper itself.

 

You can easily paint over the Camaro SS on the caliper. That’s what I did for mine and then installed high temp Brembo decals.

 

Very interesting. Good to know. Thanks.
Maybe I will try to remove all words when the time comes. That is the look I would like.

 

Is that a special type of paint that can live on the caliper?
Thanks for taking the time to share the pics.

 

G2 USA is a company that makes caliper paint in GM matching colors. I am considering trying it out.

https://g2usa.com/collections/brake-caliper-paint

 

I painted mine with that G2 paint. You can get them to match any car color if you have the paint code. My car is a BMW color so they do more than just GM.
The paint isn’t 100% matching but I think that’s because my car has metallic in it. Other than that the G2 color is very close.
I bought my calipers used as low mileage takeoffs and had a hard time getting all the brake dust off. Brake clean wasn’t removing everything. I ended up using Castrol Superclean.
Here’s a link to a couple posts about the process in my build thread:
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/memb...ml#post6243132

 

Hoe has it held up to all the thermal cycles and cleaning?

 

I have heard of the G2 paint before. Nice to see it in action.

I plan to paint my Camaro an Audi white that I really like. Not sure about the calipers yet.
Interior will be mostly black. Just need to decide if I am going with the classic red caliper look or something more eye catching. In the end, it will be a show car...
So many details to decide.

 

It’s held up well but I only have maybe 600 miles on the car so far cause I’m still working on it. There’s a couple spots that bubbled near the bleeders but the rest of the caliper still looks like the day I painted them.

 

I used G2 on my truck's calipers several years ago. Still looks good, but I don't use chemicals when I wash. But it's a brush-on two-part epoxy, so it'll probably hold-up to most abuse. I didn't have any special colors made, but G2 will do that. And being brush-on, it's easy, and there's no mess during application. And being epoxy, it stays wet for plenty of time for brush marks to flow out and leave a smooth glossy finish.

Edit for a G2 tip: don't use the crappy little bristle brush that comes with the kit. It'll leave bristles all over your paint job. Get a small, good quality bristle brush from a paint & hardware store.

On my C6 Z06 calipers I used graffiti remover. With a soft cloth and gently, the painted "Corvette" wiped right off of the caliper's powder coat.



TGO's one and only Abubaca made the decals for me.

 

Hey guys, hopefully I can clear up some questions on these spindles as I've been doing the test fitting on my own 1992 Camaro RS.

The spindle is designed to run in place of the OEM spindle and adapts the modern sealed wheel bearing packs to it. I set them up for the C7 hubs as they run the same spec wheel studs and bore size for most all rotors you'll need. Another bonus is that the GM C7 Hubs are made by SKF so they are really reliable OE quality pieces.

I have been talking with Scott at BigBrakeUpgrade.com about these for a while now. He will have them available on his site as well as on the Hawks site. The Spindle is designed to have a modular/bolt on caliper bracket. We will have a drop down menu on the website for all the caliper/rotor combo's you'd be looking for (pretty much most options currently available on BBU's website). You wont need to run any of your conversion brackets you already have on these spindles. The Hawks spindle and brackets are designed to mount the calipers directly to them no adapters needed. Depending on what brake combo you go with will determine what size wheel you need, same as it's always been. You wont be able to run any factory 3rd gen brakes on this though as they are designed with the rotor and wheel bearing all in one. You'll need to run something like factory LS1 brakes or a small profile Baer kit.

In the pics my car is running a set of Gen 6 1LE calipers with a set of C7 2-Piece Slotted rotors. (This setup will require an 18" wheel.)


Closer look at the entire setup.



Here is what they look like in an 18" Weld RTS wheel with High Pad Clearance for reference.



The spindle bolts on just like the OEM spindle using the lower ball joint and the factory strut location. The wheel bearing is positioned with a billet spacer to keep the same track width as the factory third gen had. If you have custom wheels already you should not need to change them to fit. Alternatively, if you are looking for a deeper front wheel you can push the bearing further in and run it without the spacer... this lets you have a deeper wheel but will not work with factory spec'd wheels.




Right now I do not have any images of the steering stops. We do have a pad machined/threaded to be able to bolt a steering stop onto the spindle along with the caliper brackets. These are still being machined and I can update you guys as I get those installed.

The location of the outer tie rod IS pulled in closer to the center of the wheel. This was done to provide improved Ackermann and bump steer geometry.
This is also something that has been highly mentioned by guys who want to try and run a rack and pinion.
I do not have a picture at the moment but I will get you guys some more when I get a chance. This also helps get the outer tie rod away from the rim when running wide wheels. My car has 18x11" front wheels and the tire rod was VERY close to the rim.

Hopefully that clear up some of the questions surrounding these. Let me know if there is anything I missed and I'll try to get you guys some more pics as I finish the install and get the remaining website images.

The spindle itself is "chunkier" as some have put it to provide extra rigidity. The goal was to reduce deflection, provide sharper/controlled steering and improve braking control.
Most guys running a setup like this will have extra wide/sticky front tires and be pushing their cars to the limit. This creates a tremendous amount of force on the front steering.

There is no "drop" built into these spindles. There are a lot of good options available for lowering the car already available. Providing a stock height and a drop spindle would drive up the tooling cost making the finished products quite a bit more costly.

 

Fantastic information here. Thank you so much for sharing. I am very excited to incorporate these into my restomod build.
Even more exited that they have a steering stop so I don't have to design one myself.

I plan on using custom 3 piece wheels so being able to remove the spacer is a huge bonus for builds like mine.
I think it will give the car an even more unique look.

You mentioned rack and pinion. Is that something you plan to develop later down the line? Working with stock K-member or tubular?
Anyways, thanks again for all the detail info and images.

 

Right now there are no discussions about developing along those lines. That can always change when there is enough hype for something..

 

Seth,
thanks for the info.
what is the GM set up that will work with the hawks 17inch GTA wheels?
I have talked with Bruce a few times, he said the baer 13 inch kit would work,
but i'd like to use all GM stuff.
here is a pic of my 91.
thank you.