Just wanting some feedback before I attempt this myself. I have a possible deal on a LS1 rear end.

thanks

 

Dont just swap out the brakes. Swap in the whole rear end from the LS1. Cahnces are it has better gers than the stock rear you have and its posi as well. The bearings and axles will have less wear on them and its 99.9% easier. It bolts right up, but is about 1.5 inches longer on each side so you wheels might stick out just a tad. If you run 4th gen wheels you will only need spacers in the front and the wheels will look completely stock in the rear.

 

Im quite happy with my rear. 3.73, auburn pro posi. Dont want to repalce it till it grenades and for now Im sticking with my polished IROC wheels and dont want them sticking out.

 

It's a straight forward swap. Just make sure you get all the parts off the 4th gen rear. The brake lines and the calipers mount on the front of the axle, which requires a little reworking of the brake line mounting brkts. Hopefully you will get the rubber line from the body to the rearend intact, mine was cut and it was only available from Lansing Mi. It's best to use the 4th gen e-brake cables but you will need to fab and weld a brkt. to mount them to the floor (I will try to get you a pic) as they go straight to the t-bar (not like the 3rd gen ones that loop over the slide brkt. on the floor).
Good Luck.
Don>>>

 

Here is the cable mounting brkt. It can be tack welded to the floor to fasten the 4th gen cables.

 

Thanks for the pic Don! That wouldnt be hard to make.

 

I will be trying this swap pretty soon. Getting the LS1 brake setup for $250. I want to install them on my 88 Borg Warner 9 bolt, but if I cant do it, they'll end up on my 10 bolt. I know AndyZ28 is 'The Man' when it comes to these kind of swaps, and he's still developing the LS1 - 9 bolt swap kit. Hopefully it comes out soon. Sure beats the $700+ price of the 91-92 disc brake kit.

 

If anyone is interested, you can get the LS1 calipers new from GM for $60 each. The whole LS1 setup new cost approx $550. I'm putting an article together with all the part numbers and pictures.

 

Now thats a deal Justin! What about the mounting brackets on the axle?

 

The mounting brackets on the axle are those round black plates with the parking drum shoes on them. Will bolt right up to a 10 bolt rear. Since you have 3.73 gears, you've got a 10 bolt, so they should mount right up with ease. That tech article has good pics of what needs to be cut off and drilled for modding the drum rear.

These are nice 12" rotors too. I should have taken a pic of the width, but they are approx 1" wide.

 

On second look I saw those. was tired last night . Looking forward to your write-up and Im planning a brake upgrade this summer. My drums are shot!

 

Okay
I have a incomplete site about this mod. Plenty of pictures (large).
I wanted to update the site but my unit is deploying to the middle east.
Check it out here:


88irocarmy.worldbreak.com

Hope to finish when I return

 

88IROCARMY- I saw your site while doing searches. Your site, along with the Trans Am Temple site, were the main reasons I decided to look into using LS1 brakes.

I recommend those interested in upgrade to read this thread:
https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...t=ls1+brake%2A

Keep up the good work.

 

why would you want this instead of the disc setup much like on my 91? is it mainly cost?

 

In 98, GM redesigned the parking brake. Alot of the hi-po metallic pads will lose their bite as they cool, so a car could roll even when the parking brake is applied when the brakes cool off. Instead of pulling on the caliper to clamp down the pads, these have a drum built into the rotor and the parking brake operates like a drum brake car.

Plus these are thicker rotors.

 

The advantages are
1. Larger/Thicker rotor which improves braking and heat disipation.
2. The drum style parking brake has less moving parts and is more duarbile.
Later

 

I went for it mainly because of the cost and avalibility. Its alot easier to find a LS1 rear disc setup @ the junkyards than 91-92 z28's (well around here anyway). If I was buying new stuff I probably would have bought the 91-92 rear disc setup or the Baer rear kit.

 

very good point! thanks guys....

 

Why would you want the bear rear kit?
Thunder Racing list the Baer Claw Systems, Rear 84-92 F-body. (Touring) PBR Single Piston, 12" x .81" for $715
when
The stock LS1 rear discs are 12" x 1" and are PBR Single Piston and cheaper.

 

for starters the LS1 kit uses a generic looking rotor where as the baer uses a better looking piece.

i personally would stick with the stock setup since i already have it, however when the new bracket is released to house the 2 piece eradispeed rotors then i will make the change.

until then i'm happy with my gm performance rotors and stock pbr calipers. if you were to switch rearends i could certainly understand going that route but besides cost factor i don't see the advantage.

if you were really worried about size why not fit some expedition rear brakes on the car like so many are starting to do.

 

I currently have an LT1 disc rear in my 91z. I want the LS1 rear for its bigger brakes. Can the LS1 brakes bolt to my LT1 rear without modification? Do all 98+rears have posi. I may be able to get one from a 98 V6 with disc. Also what gears came in the V6 cars with the disc rear

 

no they don't all come with posi. the bolt on should be easy with the exception of a few different brackets and changing the e-brake style.

also, the brakes aren't that much larger where you'll notice the difference. if you don't have disk brakes and need a new rear end then it's a good idea, but in the long run your just costing yourself more money for something that won't really benefit you much. again, unless you don't have the nice disc rear setup.

good luck with it.

 

well, if i can get the car off its rotors and spin one of them and both spin in the same direction then it should prove it has a posi rear right? also, Im thinking of this because i do not want my 3.73 gears anymore. my car rev out too fast with them and the t56. plus the LS1 rear will have less miles on it. and I can sel my Lt1 rear for the price of the LS1 rear.

 

On the newer camaro's if both wheels do not spin in the same direction, it does not necessarly mean it doesn't have a posi. I just put a zexel in my 87 and when you spin one tire forward, the other one goes backwards. A clutch type posi would (should) spin the tires in the same direction, but not a zexel equiped car.

So the best way on newer camaro's is to pull the cover off and verify what it has.