Going Back to B-Body Front Brakes

[pagrunt]

It's been ages since I have seen anything on the GM 12" brake conversion so I'll have to ask this, wouldn't the '70-'81 F-body & '73-'77 A-body spindles also work since they use the same (as almost all '67-'77 GM cars) D52 brakes?

 

[ssn696]

First of all, welcome back, glad you're in the game again!

I think the spindles use a different inner bearing, and the Fbody rotors that fit them are only 11".

I bought the spindles and Hotchkiss uppers in the 1990s. I too discovered the 3/8" offset - my tires rubbed the fender arches. But I also found how much wider apart the tie rod ends are - the Gbody ends were threaded out pretty far.

I have the whole setup with drilled rotors, in boxes. Never really drove the car, but the car was outside. The spindles and gravel shields are painted. The surface rust on the rotors would probably go away in a few stops.

For sale but shipping will suck.

 

[81cutlass]

I don't think they will fit without spacers and the LS1 brakes with spacers is super sketch. The broken stud on my LS1 brake picture was done without spacers. Wheel adapters might stabilize things, but the LS1 brakes already space the wheel out almost 3/8", so a narrow front tire is required if a spacer is used.

Ok I found my proof! Lol.
That is a t type vector on ls1 caliper setup, no spacer. I called BS that it would fit too but a local g body guy had ls1 brakes on his MCSS with the stock wheels and he said it cleared with minimal grinding on the fins. He claimed most any 15" aluminum wheel would clear and I tried my t type and by God he was right.

The tire would only turn 20 degrees before the slight run-out in the wheel started rubbing but a 2 minute shot with a flap wheel would clear.

 

[JAMCAR223]

Diggin' this thread. I love swapping GM parts around to achieve the best results. Looking forward to the final combination, and your thoughts. Glad to see my fellow Texan back on the forum!

 

[motorheadmike]

I ran this B-body set up for eons on my old Buick. It worked fantastic residual bump steer and all. Despite certain similarities between the wagon's LS1 set up and the Buick's B-body I can attest that the steering quickness is absent in the wagon. Disappointingly so. Even the HellKitty feels lazy based on my muscle memory of autocrossing the Buick and it has a modern tuned R&P. Best factory GM steering feel I've had was the Mrs' old LS1 Camaro.

I can only imagine what the Howe C/L does to aid in feel.

I believe one of the other added benefits of the B-body/1LE swap are the increased bearings sizes.

Thanks for making me all nostalgic - and welcome back!

 

[UNGN]

Ordered new StopTech drilled 1LE Rotors from Classic Industries. The internet doesn't have any good pictures of them yet, so I'm curious to what they actually look like. Rotors were $100 Each + shipping after 20% discount coupon.

Ok I found my proof! Lol.
That is a t type vector on ls1 caliper setup, no spacer. I called BS that it would fit too but a local g body guy had ls1 brakes on his MCSS with the stock wheels and he said it cleared with minimal grinding on the fins. He claimed most any 15" aluminum wheel would clear and I tried my t type and by God he was right.

The tire would only turn 20 degrees before the slight run-out in the wheel started rubbing but a 2 minute shot with a flap wheel would clear.
View attachment 152574

You can grind the ribs down, .050" and they will fit, but the problem I had when I first installed them was with my new pads, the outer face of the caliper wedged against wheel web. I had just painted the calipers and scraped large chunks of paint off and the caliper couldn't properly float.

That was before I got my $10 harbor freight 4.5" cut off wheel. Now I can make anything fit inside anything.

 

[ssn696]

That was before I got my $10 harbor freight 4.5" cut off wheel. Now I can make anything fit inside anything.

 

[UNGN]

Got My New 12" StopTech Rotors from Classic Industries, today. They were the only ones that seemed to have them in stock. Regular Price was $120, but there was a 20% off coupon.

I've bought lots of Stop Tech rotors for my Miatas. Jags and my Mustang and these have the nicest finish so far.

The Black coating is a very nice touch:

Next I have to clean up my old Spindles to get ready for the swap. Maybe Friday.