Kevin Hall Posted April 14, 2004 Posted April 14, 2004 So, along with changing the springs, doing something with the rear end, fixing the power steering leak, and installing the camber plates that should be arriving shortly, we desperately need better brakes. I've found New Old Stock 1LE control arms and knuckles, so could do that, but even with a killer discount, it's going to cost almost $700 just for those parts. Are there any other options to upgrade the front brakes on a 3rd gen? I'm tired of having to get out of the gas so early. Kevin Hall #82 Quote
bsim Posted April 15, 2004 Posted April 15, 2004 Kevin - I had the same problem - what to do! Anyway, the knuckles are the biggest impediment to upgrading the brakes. IF you find 'em, they're pricey. And you still need the calipers, lines, etc... After I looked into upgrading to 1LE, I found that unless I could find some on a junkyard car I'd be spending well north of $1000 to get the bigger fellas. So, I went with the BAER kit (I think it's the 'sport' model). It's the one that's listed on the website as American Sedan legal. Check them out, I was under $1000, and it made more difference to the car than any other $$ could have. Tips - the brake pads will then be the same as the 3rd gen Corvettes, and the rotors are actually Corvette rotors milled down to our legal diameter. Bonus is that the rotor also becomes 'floating', so you can change rotos without redoing the bearings! Quote
Kevin Hall Posted April 15, 2004 Author Posted April 15, 2004 Brad, Thanks for the advice, this is exactly what I was looking for. The only problem is it'll be harder for you to pass me under braking next time!!! I found a rt side suspension at a local junk yard, and we can get the rotors and calipers for a good price through my teammate Dave (helps to have a Carquest Salses rep on the team). Do you know if I can just use the knuckles with the existing lower control arm? The guy at the junkyard says yes, but I'd like another opinion. Kevin Quote
Lady in Nomex Posted April 16, 2004 Posted April 16, 2004 Brad, if you can find out WHICH Corvette rotor that is (works with our Baer kits), I will buy you dinner. I have been trying to find this out for years. Unfortunately there are multiple kinds of C5 rotors (likely suspect). Quote
Richard Pryor1548534703 Posted April 16, 2004 Posted April 16, 2004 Kevin...in order to adapt 1LE brakes to stock spindles you'll need to buy a bracket adapter kit from Baer or Stainless Steel Brake....the 1LE spindles are simplly stock spindles with this bracket tapped and bolted on....then add the mounting hardware and you're home for a few hundred plus parts..rp Quote
bsim Posted April 17, 2004 Posted April 17, 2004 Jules - I hear that it's a ZR-1 rotor that gets cut down, have you checked that one? I'm getting hungry! RP - don't forget the spindles not only need the adapter plate bolted on, but the 'ears' for the stock bracket need to be cut off. Also, I choked on drilling out the dust cover holes and re-tapping them. Something about having my stopping power resting on whether I tapped the holes straight! Anyway, with the Baer kit, you pay a core charge for your old spindles, and return them to Baer. I have a ton more confidence in their machining capabilities than I do in mine. Quote
Lady in Nomex Posted April 17, 2004 Posted April 17, 2004 Brad, have not checked the ZR-1, you'd have to have them side by side to be sure. Let me know if you find a combo that matches. Quote
Kevin Hall Posted April 21, 2004 Author Posted April 21, 2004 Richard, Is there a part number from GM for the bracket? The spindles do have a different part number, I've got a pair of new ones on order from a GM source, as we had hoped the spindle was a bolt on with the new caliper-yikes if it is not, we'll have to figure something out. We also learned this week you can't put a mini spool in a posi rear carrier, nor could we even figure out how to take it apart! Oh well, we keep telling ourselves sorting out these issue is why we like to build our cars, rather than buying one "turn key." We'll have it sorted out in time for the next race at Buttonwillow. Thanks for the help everyone. Quote
Richard Pryor1548534703 Posted April 22, 2004 Posted April 22, 2004 Sorry, I don't have my parts book here but from memory here are the 1LE part numbers for: left knuckle (spindle) - 18060581 right knuckle - 18060582 left front caliper (gm calls it a housing) - 10132827 right front caliper - 10132828 front rotors - 18016035 front brackets (two needed) - 18016034 front plate (two) - 10132829 front plate (two) - 10132830 now that you have the above what I recommend is going to: www.spohn.net and ordering their complete front 1LE kit for $850.00 they also have the caliper carrier brackets and caliper carriers if you just need those..they're $350 for the set...hope this helps you...Richard..ps...I've found that the Hawk HT-10 is the best brake compound for the CMC cars we've built. Quote
Tim Bullock Posted April 23, 2004 Posted April 23, 2004 I've researched the brake rotor issue as I have the same set-up. The rotors are the Heavy Duty brake rotors (RPO: J55 brake option) for the '88 thru '96 corvettes (including the '96 grand sport). The rotors are 13 inch diameter with 1.1 thickness. They must be milled down to 12 inches (cost $20 to $30 each). Baer sells them milled for $280 a set including delivery. I just found another source at $40 each, not including milling and delivery. They are raybestos with PN 56494 and 56495 for the Left and Right sides. It is www.rockauto.com, but I have yet to order from them. If anyone has more/better info, let me know. Quote
Lady in Nomex Posted April 23, 2004 Posted April 23, 2004 Tim- thanks for the research! My expensive Baer rotors just arrived right before you posted this! Sounds like a great deal, however, is the quality of a Raybestos rotor up to snuff? Just curious. I doubt Tim that you will find anything cheaper. If you order these and try them please keep us posted on how they did racing. Quote
CobraKilla Posted May 2, 2004 Posted May 2, 2004 You can order Baer brakes from ThirdGenResource and there is NO CORE charge, and you don't have to send your core to him either. That's what I did and it worked great. Plus he stocks a lot of stuff you don't have to wait the 6-8 weeks. Give Roy a call! Link- http://www.thirdgenresource.com/home Quote
bsim Posted September 15, 2004 Posted September 15, 2004 The latest update is that the Baer rotors are up to $360 per pair, NOT including shipping. I went to Kragen, and got the Raybestos rotors for the C4 Corvette using Tim's numbers above. The right rotor was ~$50, and the left was ~$80 (huh?). I had a local machine shop take them down to 12" for $40. They worked great... Quote
Lady in Nomex Posted September 15, 2004 Posted September 15, 2004 Cool, why spend any more $ than you have to! Quote
Adam Ginsberg Posted September 16, 2004 Posted September 16, 2004 For a change, racing a Chevy is more expensive than racing a Ford. Quote
bsim Posted September 16, 2004 Posted September 16, 2004 Heh - why are Ford parts cheaper? VOLUME! Quote
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