Budget caliper brackets?

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Adam Strasser

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Hey guys, I’m on the hunt for a set of caliper brackets to swap my rear drums to discs. I’d like to use my original front caliper but the only brackets I can find are the Cunningham machine and $130 is super steep just for a bracket. I’m open to going to a different caliper but if I can use mine that’d be best. Truck is a 95 c1500 btw
 

Schurkey

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Getting rid of the original 254mm (10") leading-trailing shoe drum brakes is a GREAT idea.

Doing it by installing a bottom-feeder disc conversion is not such a great idea.

If the "Cunningham" bracket is anything like the flat-steel Little Shop of Horrors bracket, it's a disaster. The caliper pins are over-worked, supporting the caliper in a way they were never designed to do.

But you didn't give me a link, and I'm too lazy to look it up. I'd think that the bracket(s) you use will depend on the rotor you use...but I've got zero experience with rear disc conversions.

Bigger drum conversions are--generally--easier, safer, and cheaper than bottom-feeder disc conversions, especially ones that disable the park brake. But 2WD is tougher than 4WD due to the five-lug axle shafts and wheels.
 

sewlow

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Hipster

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I want it now and I want it for nothing, lol $70 a side is not a bad deal from a cnc'd perspective. My concern here is not taking the entire braking system into consideration. Calipers generally require more volume than wheel cylinders so the rest of the system such as master cylinder bore size/volume or proportioning devices needs addressed or you could end up with less performance than a dialed in stock set-up.
 

Adam Strasser

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I want it now and I want it for nothing, lol $70 a side is not a bad deal from a cnc'd perspective. My concern here is not taking the entire braking system into consideration. Calipers generally require more volume than wheel cylinders so the rest of the system such as master cylinder bore size/volume or proportioning devices needs addressed or you could end up with less performance than a dialed in stock set-up.
I’ve done a nbs hydroboost and master cylinder swap. Took the proportioning valve off the nbs truck as well. Also swapped to hd calipers up front. I’m looking into taking the whole rear brake setup from a 4th gen camaro so a budget set up might be possible. Going to the junkyard tomorrow to find out if it’ll work
 

Adam Strasser

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Quick update. Got calipers and brackets off a 97 v6 camaro. The bore on the brackets are slightly smaller on the camaro brackets compared to the diameter of my axle. Parking brake stuff on the caliper hits the leafs so that’ll have to get removed. Going to get 95 impala rotors to try out. Only thing that is making me skeptical is that the impala rotors are slightly bigger than the camaro rotors. 11.530” outer diameter on the camaro and 11.610” for the impala. It’s barely any difference so I’ll see if I can locate some rotors at a junkyard just to test fit. Bright side is that I spent $40 on brackets and calipers at the junkyard so I’m somewhat hopeful I can pull this off for less than $80-100.
 

Hipster

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Parking brake stuff on the caliper hits the leafs so that’ll have to get removed.
Forego the safety aspect of a parking brake just to say you were successful doing this.? Not really following your statement. Please clarify.

Hydraulic systems can and do fail. Disabling the parking brake is pure stupidity.
 
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