New bits and pics

[GTVnut]

Which model commodore calipers work?

[77SudTi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fly33boxer also this car has won 1st outright in the SA AROC

[fly33boxer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by damonb You can use Alfa 145/155 16V discs with those commodore calipers. They fit straight on the hub, with 4 x 98 hole pattern, and the offset's correct for the calipers. Couldn't be any easier. Good range of off the shelf race pads available for those calipers as well. Trickiest bit is mucking around with the rear brakes and the master cylinder to get the pedal travel and balance right.

[Spooty22]

Quote:

the sud has the same master cylinder as the 33's

[fly33boxer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spooty22 I thought the Sud had a single rear line, while the 33's had 2?

[damonb]

Well really it's not hard. Didn't say it was. Just noting that compared with the bolt on ease of the front brakes, sorting the rear brakes and front to rear balance is somewhat trickier.

[GTVnut]

Ummmmmmmmmmm; what year/model commodore was that again?

[BigSud]

The messing around that Damon was talking about is really a matter of doing the right thinking first. When we fitted those calipers to my sud, I'd already upgraded the rears to 75 rear calipers (with handbrake - uses Sprint lever and cables) and was suffering too much rear brake. The 75 calipers have much bigger pistons than the sud ones - but even with too much rear brake, it was still infinitely better than the evil sud inboard leaky sticky crappy calipers... So the fronts were then upgraded to the much bigger (than std 33 ones) VL Turbo / Corvette etc calipers.

Having done that, the pedal was thena bit long, so a bigger master cylinder was installed. A Wilwood bias adjuster is installed on the rear line. The discs are from a 155 2.0 TS (four bolt). The 16v ones are identical but use a five bolt hub.
Yay fun.

[81Sprint]

BigSud do the commodore calipers bolt right up to the 155 rotors or do you need spacers/adapter brackets?

[BigSud]

I had to take 2 mm off the mounting face of the caliper bracket, otherwise the caliper would sit slightly off centre. If you use a 20 mm thick disc, it would be perfect. I'm about to pull the wheels off to have some tyres rotated, so I'll take some piccies of the installation - since this thread is Bits and Pics...

Those calipers were used in a number of racing series here, in Oz, and in the States (Corvette, remember) so there's a multitude of pad compounds available.

[81Sprint]

Interesting, thanks.

[BigSud]

OK, pix as promised. Alfa 75 rear calipers - they bolt straight on, although you need two spacers as the mounting tabs aren't as thick as the original sud ones, and you MAY have to do a little panelbeating on the end of the axle, depending on how generous the welders were feeling that day at Pomigliano. Note the moved bleeder on ethe very left - you don't HAVE to do this, but the alternative is to remove the caliper and hold it upright every time you bleed it.

The brake cable is ex-QV Sprint, as is the lever. I've welded a little bracket to the bottom of the petrol tank which carries the cables high and stops them tangling. NO, you shouldn't try to do this with the tank in the car. YES, you should fill the tank with water first...

Cable stops are welded to each end of the axle, just visible to the right of the photo.

Then there's a pic of the front caliper setup, 155 disc. Note that a lot of the disc isn't swept by the pad. An aluminium bell and bolt-on disc would be a lighter solution, but $$$$...


And a pic of the inside of the car - see the brake bias valve on the floor just in front of the seat, where it's easy to reach while driving.

And finally a pic of the engine - 'cos its nice and shiny and new and won't ever look like that again

Chris