I found a deal on a rear disc brake setup that should work with Buick 15" wheels and not rub. It was what used to be a Summit kit that is no longer available. It uses 10.5" 3rd gen Camaro rear rotors. With an 8.5" non-C clip rear, is there anything I need to be aware of with the bearing retainer and spacing type issues?
The center hole in that bracket looks too large to act as the bearing retainer,so the existing retainer will need to be used. You will cut a slot out of that to be able to slip it over the shaft. This will put the bracket closer to the rotor,so you will need shims/washers between the bracket and caliper.
This is how they show it being setup and it doesn't show a non-C clip diagram. I was more worried about the space previously taken up by the backing plate. If it goes back without the backing plate, will it cause any issues with the bearing or the bearing retainer? That big fat piece is quite a bit thicker than a backing plate. I had planned to pull the axles out of my 1971 8.5" and remove the drum backing plates more or less intact. Also, I think this is Summit's version of the SSBC kit A125-3 but I can't find the instructions for it online.
Yes. It would be an issue if you installed it in place of the backing plate. It is thicker,so your axle will side in & out and not stay in place. I can send you a thin shim plate that takes up the thickness of where the backing plate was. As I referred to earlier,you would need to install the shaft with retainer first,then the caliper bracket would need to go on top of or after the retainer plate. That will make everything safe and secure. However,now the caliper bracket will be closer to the rotor than originally designed,which will result in needing washer/spacers between the caliper bracket and caliper to get the caliper in correct location with the rotor.
The first thing I would do is check to make sure those caliper brackets have the correct pattern to match your housing end. They look like they do not.
It is kind of a convoluted system. It uses Mustang calipers and some kind of Ford rotor. I'm not going to mess with it until after the GS Nats. I don't want to take the chance of having the car apart for that. I reread the instructions. They talk about some kind of split shim. I think that is what is just below the flex hoses in the picture.
This kit is a little more simple. It’s a late-70’s Caddy caliper with a late-70’s Firebird rotor,and a bracket to make it all work. You will see two square bumps on the face of these calipers. If the face of the caliper is machined,it will clear the flat style rally wheels that a lot of these cars have.
Yes, I have that style on my 70 Stage 1 from Right Stuff. It would require a lot of grinding if I wanted to use stock Buick chrome wheels. The 2nd gen F-body rotors are too shallow of a hat and 11" diameter. I used a TSM rotor, that was about an 1/8" taller hat to move everything toward the back and adjusted the bracket accordingly. It works without spacers or more grinding. It was a bit of a challenge as I didn't want to give up my Buick wheels. This kit uses a 10.5" rotor and says it will work with 14" disc brake wheels. It also works with factory parking brake cables.
The Right Stuff kit actually fits some 14” wheels too,but if they are flat on the backside,like a Buick rally,Olds SS1,etc,they hit the face of the caliper. Those are the situations where the face of the caliper got milled. How much more offset is on that rotor you are using?
I have not measured precisely but the specs show the 2nd Gen F-body rotor to be 2.19" tall and 11.14" diameter. The TSM rotor was at least 1/4" taller. I used to have a post here where I worked on it and detailed the issues I had with Right Stuff but I can't find it or the link fails now. I did find a picture from when I did it. This illustrates the difference in depth of the rotors hats.
You could use the deeper rotor with the right stuff style kit. Those kits come with shims for the caliper brackets that I never use,but that would put them to use. All good stuff here.
I just turned the bracket around so that it had the cutout edge facing away from the axle flange. That was enough to make it clear and center on the rotor. If you run across a deeper hat rotor with the same specs as a 2nd gen F-body, please share. I've causally looked and the closest I've found is a 3rd gen F-body but it is a 1/2 smaller diameter at 10.5. They would probably work with this kit I'm going to put on my 71 and I will see what they look like on my 70 with the Right Stuff kit. Also, the TSM rotor fits over the standard axle without requiring it to be turned down or the rotor hat machined. UPDATE: I just found this rotor at Speedway for Currie. It is 11.25" and has a 2.5" height.
Yes flipping the brackets around would work too. So,is the rotor readily available at a typical parts store? I just try and keep parts common,so they can be replaced.
I can't find the info anymore, but it is some sort of Ford rotor that is redrilled to the 4.75 bolt pattern. Found it. My thread says it was an 82 Lincoln Continental rear rotor. I had it turned down to 11" since the TSM/Lincoln rotor was .315" taller and rubbed the caliper pins. It also cleared the axle without turning it down. The 2nd Gen F-body rotor is around 2.2" tall and the Lincoln rotor is 2.56" tall. That was the extra room I needed. Here's the thread I did in 2010 when I started my project: Right Stuff Rear Disc Brakes & Buick Wheels
The more I look at it and think about it, I'm not sure I trust this kit to give me proper axles end play of .018" with it between the axle flange and the bearing retainer. I am considering taking out one of the flange bolt holes and making it fit behind the axle flange bolt more like the Right Stuff AFXRD14 kit. It appears to use the same rotor and caliper but a better designed caliper bracket.
No,you will not be able to put any bracket between the housing flange and bearing retainer. The result will be excessive end play. Some brackets have a small enough center that they can act as the retainer,but that one is too large.
The Right Stuff one pictured above goes inboard. The SSBC one in my first post goes outboard, which is why I'm thinking cutting it to look more like the Right Stuff bracket to fit inboard, instead of between the axle flange and the bearing retainer. I'll either figure it out during mock-up or get a bracket cut like the Right Stuff pictured above. I should be able to use what I have to replicate it, though. The big, thick bushing/spacers should not be necessary with it on the inboard side. Will I need a shim the thickness of a backing plate to keep the axle end play from being too tight?
This is the part that worries me. I don't see these split shims doing the job properly, especially when they are putting them inside the housing and the axle is being spaced outward from the original position. This is clearly a kludge of a kit for bolt-in axles.
I helped a person install those split shims before on a similar kit from Summit. I didn’t care for it. There are shims included with the Right Stuff and similar kits that take the place of the drum backing plate. I have some,if needed. That way,the retainer plate still has something to seat up against,when torqued down,instead of mangling it over.
If you have a couple of spares, I'd buy them. If you are coming to the GS Nats, I can pick them up there.
