brake argument at work

[bigmac73]

Guys,
I am in a conversation with a co worker about putting rear disc brakes on my truck, I already have Disc on the front, so if I put a aftermarket set on the back.
Do I need to replace the front set up with a aftermarket set as well?

so right now single piston stock caliper on the front and maybe a 2 piston caliper on the back or go with the Capitan fab brackets and use the GM factory style calipers D52 on the back

will it really make a difference if I do not match the front and rear

[chiefcfd]

No it doesn't have to be matched. The master cylinder and proportioning valve separate the two systems. Lots of people have used Caprice, Impala and Cadillac rear disc setups on these trucks. Do a search on rear disc conversions. There are numerous write-ups on this.

[davepl]

All that really matters is that your master cylinder is appropriate for discs (has enough reservoir size and swept volume, since discs take more) and that the bore sizes are matched.

If you took rear discs intended for a 7/8" master and ran them with a 1 1/16" master, you'd have a hard pedal and the fronts would over-assist, and vice versa.

But there's nothing magic about aftermarket.

All that said I'd personally leave it alone unless it's for looks behind fancy wheels or something. Drums are just fine for trucks in the rear, IMHO, unless you're maybe doing extensive mountain towing. They don't stop any faster, really, just more resistant to heat fade and maybe water.

[snipescastle2]

I'm running the rear disc setup from "CaptFab" it uses late model Camaro/Firebird rear calipers (1993-1997 models) and Caprice SS rotors.
I am running the factory disc/drum master cylinder with the CPP Disc/Disc pro portioning valve, stops really well, the only thing I did different, was to install an electric vacuum pump for my power booster. I have a pretty big,lumpy cam in my 383 stroker, and it only makes 11 inches of vacuum at idle, and I wanted to make sure this thing stops. It works rather well, makes 25 inches of vacuum with no sweat...got it off an Audi A4 at the local pick n pull for $20.00

CaptFab's kit is top notch! You can get it plain or powder coated, your choice, and it comes with great instructions and all hardware! When you go after your brake calipers, make sure you get "pre-"LS1" calipers, reason being, in 1998, when GM started putting LS engines in the Camaro/ firebirds, they changed the e brake setup to an integral drum brake shoe set inside the brake rotors, you want the '93 to '97 with the external e brake cables. The one thing that needs to be re-arranged is, the shortened e brake cable (non-400TH) if you move the cables towards the inside of the rear cross member (holes on either side of the driveshaft loop) that will make it easier to attach the cables to your brake pedal cable with out making extensions.
HTH,
Ben

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[ryanv70c10]

It takes a lot of the guess work and tweaking out of the equation if you have a matched set of brakes. I put front and rear brakes from a 98-02 Camaro on to my 63 Nova and it was the best stopping classic car I had ever driven. Incredibly balanced and it wanted to put you through the windshield and never locked up a single time.

I used a 68 vette' manual disc disc master

[leftybass209]

In theory I understand the argument; you don't want your total piston surface area in the rear, to be larger than the front. Pad size isn't relevant in this instance. The larger the piston, the larger the output pressure when you step on the brakes. It would make brake bias hell, even with an adjustable prop valve.

It's easy for the factory to match brakes because they have the engineering info, but that stuff doesn't always trickle down accurately. Ideally, don't increase the amount of pistons on the Rear calipers and you'll be fine.

[snipescastle2]

I just wanted to share the piston size of a Camaro/Firebird rear caliper just for comparison. Now, this isn't the actual bore size, but it will at least give perspective to size. It's close, but the bore is bigger.my rear brake line from the master cylinder to the rear axle "T" distribution fitting is 1/4" then the tubing to the calipers is 3/16"

I'm running the factory disc/drum master cylinder, delco/moraine
booster, and CPP disc/disc prop valve,
mine stops very well, no issues.

Here's the picture of the caliper. Take in
mind,bruise is an "LS1" rear caliper, hence, no E brake lever.
Have a good one!
Ben

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[snipescastle2]

Sorry, don't know how my picture came out upside down...
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