10 bolt disc swap??

[Dan Verde]

I'm recently new to these forums but I have an '83 Monte sitting at home with drums and a 10 bolt and before the fan boys call out no I'm not putting in a 12 bolt. I'm looking for rear disc swaps that could be done relatively cheaply. I know third gen f bodies are bolt on rear disc swaps but I was wondering what other platforms would work? Would a blazer rear disc set up bolt on? Any info would help! Thanks, Dan

 

[Bar50]

2WD Blazer is a bolt on swap.

12 bolts are for muscle cars. 9 inch or Dana 60 to go fast. To have a beefy rear in a G-body you can upgrade to 28 spline axles and a posi (same as the 12 bolt and venerable turbo Buick 8.5).

 

[V8 Rumble]

You can look up the 98-01 fbody rear disc swaps too.

 

[ssn696]

The 98-02 F-body and 98-03 Blazer rear disc brakes are cheap if you can find an axle on Craigslist or at the boneyard to rob of the backing plates, calipers, etc. They both require you to make a no-turning-back change to your 7.5" 10-bolt. For some reason (likely savings in labor) GM changes from a four-bolt trapezoidal bolt pattern on the axle ends, for the brake backing plates, to an elongated 'tab' with a two-bolt pattern for the backing plate and a large hole for the wheel cylinder, with a clip to retain it. This made them easy to assembly at the factory, but allowed the wheel cylinder to float a little and permit some slop in the rear brakes. The mod to the axle is to cut off the tab and drill four holes. What I discovered when I did this, using the F-body backing plates, is that I ended up with the old GM trapezoid pattern. Two of these holes, ironically, line up with eh G-body holes, just need to bore them out. The other two you have to mark them and drill them out yourself. Use care to get them right, and there is not a lot of meat left on the tab.

What I don't know for sure, but others can confirm, is that aftermarket disc brake swap kits for legacy cars like 64-72 A-bodies and 70-81 Camaros are probably bolt-on once you cut and drill your axle to the trapezoidal pattern. One of the main advantages, besides cost, is that both the F-body and S-10 rear brakes use a small brake shoe inside the 'hat' of the disc brake rotor. GM used calipers through the 70s into the mid-80s where the caliper had an arm built into it that acted on the back of the caliper cup. The 89-97 F-body 'PBR' calipers had a slightly different take on the cam/lever arrangement (others weigh in). If either approach hung up, you had problems driving down the road. The aftermarket kits I have seen have varied choices for calipers and parking brakes, but expect to pay $450-$600.

Here is a step-by-step F-body conversion: https://gbodyforum.com/threads/how-to-camaro-rear-disc-brake-swap-to-g-body-axle.55480/

 

[Dan Verde]

The 98-02 F-body and 98-03 Blazer rear disc brakes are cheap if you can find an axle on Craigslist or at the boneyard to rob of the backing plates, calipers, etc. They both require you to make a no-turning-back change to your 7.5" 10-bolt. For some reason (likely savings in labor) GM changes from a four-bolt trapezoidal bolt pattern on the axle ends, for the brake backing plates, to an elongated 'tab' with a two-bolt pattern for the backing plate and a large hole for the wheel cylinder, with a clip to retain it. This made them easy to assembly at the factory, but allowed the wheel cylinder to float a little and permit some slop in the rear brakes. The mod to the axle is to cut off the tab and drill four holes. What I discovered when I did this, using the F-body backing plates, is that I ended up with the old GM trapezoid pattern. Two of these holes, ironically, line up with eh G-body holes, just need to bore them out. The other two you have to mark them and drill them out yourself. Use care to get them right, and there is not a lot of meat left on the tab.

What I don't know for sure, but others can confirm, is that aftermarket disc brake swap kits for legacy cars like 64-72 A-bodies and 70-81 Camaros are probably bolt-on once you cut and drill your axle to the trapezoidal pattern. One of the main advantages, besides cost, is that both the F-body and S-10 rear brakes use a small brake shoe inside the 'hat' of the disc brake rotor. GM used calipers through the 70s into the mid-80s where the caliper had an arm built into it that acted on the back of the caliper cup. The 89-97 F-body 'PBR' calipers had a slightly different take on the cam/lever arrangement (others weigh in). If either approach hung up, you had problems driving down the road. The aftermarket kits I have seen have varied choices for calipers and parking brakes, but expect to pay $450-$600.

Here is a step-by-step F-body conversion: https://gbodyforum.com/threads/how-to-camaro-rear-disc-brake-swap-to-g-body-axle.55480/

I appreciate the help guys I found a later f body with the disc equipment I needed for 75$ from a local yard and as to rear ends I don't buy into the whole 12 bolt thing I've had multiple gm cars run close to 1000hp through a 10 bolt with a Detroit truetrac and they never give out... ever so despite the common judgment 10 bolts are robust

 

[pontiacgp]

I appreciate the help guys I found a later f body with the disc equipment I needed for 75$ from a local yard and as to rear ends I don't buy into the whole 12 bolt thing I've had multiple gm cars run close to 1000hp through a 10 bolt with a Detroit truetrac and they never give out... ever so despite the common judgment 10 bolts are robust

If you are running a truetrac in a 7.5" 10 bolt then your limited to 28 spline axles...you ought to be making ads for the axles you are running and truetrac. What brand of axles are you using?. The 28 spline Moser Engineering axles will handle up to 450 foot lbs. of torque