Improved 11.25" brake setup
Moderators: The Dark Side of Will, Series8217
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Improved 11.25" brake setup
I've been looking at the "normal" 11 1/4 brake setup using LeBaron rear rotors and 3rd Gen Camaro front calipers. I've never been really satisfied with it, as the location of the banjo fitting on the Camaro caliper is very close to the mounting ear on the Fiero knuckle and interferes with things too much for my taste. The fitting is so close that factory hoses can not be used and aftermarket braided steel lines MUST be used. Yes, it does work, but it always seemed like backyard engineering to me.
I just found a solution that satisfies my finicky sense of design. I took the front caliper from an '84 4WD "S10" Blazer in a junk yard. It is EXACTLY like the 3rd gen F-body caliper EXCEPT for the position of the banjo fitting. Instead of being on the bottom of the caliper as with the F-body unit, the Blazer banjo fitting is on top of the caliper, right next to the bleed screw.
IOW, the Blazer caliper will bolt directly in place of the F-body caliper on all 11 1/4" kits, but will not require longer brake lines, and can be used with factory hoses. Slight modification to the Fiero fitting will be necessary, but this can be done with a file.
Application:
The calipers come from 4WD '83-'94 "S10" Blazers.
The left is CarQuest P/N 18-4129 and the right is CarQuest P/N 18-4128 for unloaded calipers.
The loaded caliper P/N's are 16-4128(9) for right and left, respectively.
Do NOT get 2WD calipers. Those are exactly the same as the F-body calipers.
The 4WD S10 pickup of course also uses these calipers.
I just found a solution that satisfies my finicky sense of design. I took the front caliper from an '84 4WD "S10" Blazer in a junk yard. It is EXACTLY like the 3rd gen F-body caliper EXCEPT for the position of the banjo fitting. Instead of being on the bottom of the caliper as with the F-body unit, the Blazer banjo fitting is on top of the caliper, right next to the bleed screw.
IOW, the Blazer caliper will bolt directly in place of the F-body caliper on all 11 1/4" kits, but will not require longer brake lines, and can be used with factory hoses. Slight modification to the Fiero fitting will be necessary, but this can be done with a file.
Application:
The calipers come from 4WD '83-'94 "S10" Blazers.
The left is CarQuest P/N 18-4129 and the right is CarQuest P/N 18-4128 for unloaded calipers.
The loaded caliper P/N's are 16-4128(9) for right and left, respectively.
Do NOT get 2WD calipers. Those are exactly the same as the F-body calipers.
The 4WD S10 pickup of course also uses these calipers.
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Whoa! Slow down egg-head - jK. So you are using 11.1/4 front and rear(?) Chysler rotors re-drilled to 5x100mm pattern? So you are using 4x4 blazer front calipers front and rear? Maybe instead of playing of playing 20 questions I should have asked if this is 4 wheel application or just front or rear.
Forgive my ignorance, I'll try to be less of a moron in future posts.
:blah5:
Forgive my ignorance, I'll try to be less of a moron in future posts.
:blah5:
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- Peer Mediator
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I have the 5x115 conversion rear, which gives me 10.5x1 rotors and larger piston calipers (although no hand brake... looking into that).
What I'm talking about is for the front. It uses 11.25" LeBaron rotors. These already have the 5x100 pattern. Normally, people use 3rd Gen Camaro calipers, but those have issues with hose placement. The Blazer calipers are identical to the Camaro calipers except hose placement.
What I'm talking about is for the front. It uses 11.25" LeBaron rotors. These already have the 5x100 pattern. Normally, people use 3rd Gen Camaro calipers, but those have issues with hose placement. The Blazer calipers are identical to the Camaro calipers except hose placement.
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I imagine you've already read about this brake buildup? http://home.earthlink.net/~david.cole/f ... t/walt.htm
sounds interesting anyway, too bad I already paid the overinflated price for the stock rotors. Canadian tire prices suck ass. :thumbleft:
sounds interesting anyway, too bad I already paid the overinflated price for the stock rotors. Canadian tire prices suck ass. :thumbleft:
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Will, does this require adapter blocks to fit the calipers to the Fiero's front spindles/knuckles? Got specifications? I was wondering about modifying my control arms to accept 2WD S-10 spindles/knuckles, and their balljoints, but then I'd have a bolt pattern for which there are no wheels that would stay inside the fenders. Still, a taller knuckle would give a better camber curve.
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I figured the Blazer front calipers would use the same piston dia. and travel as my T/A front calipers, and I already have this stuff, since putting a stroker 454 in the T/A means calling Baer for some bigger brakes. And has anyone compared those Cad rear calipers to T/A calipers? GM did much more interchange back then.
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what's the current build with the lebaron rotors? that link won't work for me. are they just turning down the fiero rotor into a hub and sliding a rotor over it? i had gotten bored one day at the parts counter and started running the numbers on a hub style lebaron (89?) rear rotor to slide over the fiero spindle. IIRC it seemed like it was gonna work, I think even the outer bearing was the same BCA#, but that was as far I as got; i didn't find a bearing for the inner.
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