True Connections

Let’s face it, in the 21st century, drum brakes just don’t cut it. Chevelle and El Camino owners have been upgrading their front drums to discs for a long time now. Article after article has been done on the subject. Anywhere from 10.5” rotors to the latest 14” rotors, multi piston calipers, light weight aluminum hubs, blah, blah, blah. You’ve heard it all before. So we’ve got the fronts taken care of, how about the rears? You’ve probably seen those too. That setup with the homemade caliper mount bracket and older model calipers with the ratcheting park brake, you know the one. What if you want dust shields, or a park brake that won’t bind, or even an aluminum caliper. Too bad? Well not any more.

Recently we have begun offering a kit comprised of entirely new GM parts. The great thing about this kit is that it is a new GM design available on some of their 2002 vehicles. So you are going to get dust shields, 11.5” rotors, aluminum full floating calipers, cast iron caliper mount brackets, and an internal drum style parking brake. To install them, begin by supporting the rear of the car with jack stands and remove the wheels, and brake drums. Seized drums can be loosened by tapping the front face of the drum with a hammer. Next, the axles need to be removed. Begin by removing the differential cover and drain the gear oil into a proper container. On the center carrier remove the set screw for the center pin and push the pin partially to the other side. Be careful not to push to far, as this will prevent you from rotating the carrier and removing the pin from the other side. Once the pin is out, each axle can be pushed in slightly, in order to remove the C clips on the ends of the axles. Remove the axles from the differential. Now that the axles are out of the way you can begin removing the drum backing plates and brake hardware as an assembly. Disconnect the rear parking brake cable at the frame and at the intermediate cable. Use a flare wrench remove the brake line from the wheel cylinder to prevent rounding off the nut. Since everything is removed from the axle tube, now is a good time to check your axle bearings and seals for any leakage or wear. It is also a good idea to inspect your axles as it is common for the axle bearing to wear into the surface of the axle. If so, it is a good idea to replace your axles.

On our GM rear disc kit, the dust cover comes complete with the parking brake shoes already installed so all that needs to be done is to install the spacer first, slide the backing plate over the axle tube, and bolt it to the axle flange with the supplied 3/8” x 11/4” bolts, washers and lock nuts.

Once the backing plate is secure the axles can be reinstalled using the reverse of the above procedure. Don’t forget the gear oil!

Now that the rear end is back together, slide the rotor over the axle studs and install the caliper and caliper hose. Bend the end of the existing brake line slightly to align it with the caliper hose being careful not to crimp the line. Next, install the supplied brake cables to the caliper and the existing intermediate cable. Now that you have rear discs installed, your proportioning valve will need to be change to a 4 wheel disc valve, or if you have an adjustable valve you will need to readjust it. All that is left is to bleed your entire brake system, check for leaks, and adjust your parking brake. We have been offering this kit for the passed few years with outstanding results on Chevelles and El Caminos. We are now proud to offer them for 1967-1972 Camaros as well, and we are working on kits for 1962-1972 Novas which will be available soon.