Little shop mfg rear disc installed

[Northpole1]

As far as I can tell, "PB Calipers" is a whole brand name of all sorts of different styles of caliper, with the company based out of Communist China.

PB Brakes and Coilovers - High Performance Street and Track Parts, Direct From The Manufacturer

Big brake kits and Coilover suspension upgrades shipped from the source directly to your doorstep, abolishing the traditional distribution network and passing the saving on to you!

www.pbbrakes.com

I was hoping that the calipers you chose were different from the typical conversion-kit GM-Delco units in the way that they mounted.

GM-Delco (and others) do make calipers that would work well for rear disc conversions, but the "Kit" companies don't tend to select them. They go for the cheapies, and then disregard proper mounting practices.

I see. When I say 'PB', I mean parking brake, not necessarily a brand. These parking brake calipers mount to the rear of the axle, tho I have seen them mounted opposite.

Not sure the source of the calipers, but if they are made in China.... I do feel a disappointment in that as well. But I also understand it's the nature of the beast these days.

 

[Northpole1]

As far as I can tell, "PB Calipers" is a whole brand name of all sorts of different styles of caliper, with the company based out of Communist China.

PB Brakes and Coilovers - High Performance Street and Track Parts, Direct From The Manufacturer

Big brake kits and Coilover suspension upgrades shipped from the source directly to your doorstep, abolishing the traditional distribution network and passing the saving on to you!

www.pbbrakes.com

I was hoping that the calipers you chose were different from the typical conversion-kit GM-Delco units in the way that they mounted.

GM-Delco (and others) do make calipers that would work well for rear disc conversions, but the "Kit" companies don't tend to select them. They go for the cheapies, and then disregard proper mounting practices.

This pic is from drivers side rear. The caliper bracket sandwiches a spacer between the mounting flange....

 

[Schurkey]

OK. That's the Little Shop of Horrors caliper-and-mounting system I've been warning folks about. The caliper guide-pins and bushings are expected to accept stresses that GM never intended.

 

[someotherguy]

I'll throw this little side note in; it's really not difficult to pull the axles in order to get your backing plates off. This also is a perfect opportunity to replace the cross shaft lock bolt (hopefully before it gets a chance to shear off), and replace the gear oil with fresh, while inspecting the magnet for signs of wear or broken parts.

Any perceived improvement in braking is often the result of having replaced worn parts with new ones, replaced old fluid with new during bleeding, and of course simply the act of bleeding the system. The different MC surely accounts for some of it.

Do they offer the kit without drilled rotors? You'd be better off with smooth or just slotted, no drill. Something to think about when it comes time for new rotors. The drilling is just bling, zero benefit, and to a small degree (who knows how much) is actually a decrease in performance. Less mass to the rotor is less heat it can absorb and shed. Even Porsche admits these days the only reason they do drilled rotors is because the customers want that "race" look.

Richard

 

[Caman96]

Any perceived improvement in braking is often the result of having replaced worn parts with new ones, replaced old fluid with new during bleeding, and of course simply the act of bleeding the system. The different MC surely accounts for some of it.

 

[1998_K1500_Sub]

OK. That's the Little Shop of Horrors caliper-and-mounting system I've been warning folks about. The caliper guide-pins and bushings are expected to accept stresses that GM never intended.

Yup, no caliper bolsters / abutments to manage the braking forces.

 

[95C1500]

The only reason the kit is on my to do list is because disc brakes are easier to change than drum brakes when they wear out

 

[1998_K1500_Sub]

There's a disc conversion kit out there, somewhere, I've seen for the GMT400s that overcomes one shortcoming of the Little Shop kit (and other kits like it), on first glance anyway.

It uses a more recent caliper bracket and caliper assy, akin to this one pictured, with abutments (which Little Shop doesn't have) which properly transfer the braking forces back to the mounting bracket.

The kit I saw didn't have a parking brake though. Maybe there's another, somewhere, that does.

And unless the mounting bracket's quite rigid, the caliper will tend to twist during braking.

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[Caman96]

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But they sure look nice….

 

[94K3500PROJECT]

There's a disc conversion kit out there, somewhere, I've seen for the GMT400s that overcomes one shortcoming of the Little Shop kit (and other kits like it), on first glance anyway.

It uses a more recent caliper bracket and caliper assy, akin to this one pictured, with abutments (which Little Shop doesn't have) which properly transfer the braking forces back to the mounting bracket.

The kit I saw didn't have a parking brake though. Maybe there's another, somewhere, that does.

And unless the mounting bracket's quite rigid, the caliper will tend to twist during braking.

You must be registered for see images attach

Ruffstuff 4x4 used to sell weld on brackets for a “14 bolt” that were essentially just square plates with a big hole in the middle and 4 bolt holes.
I used those on my K1500 to mount stock 99+ rear disks to my 96’ SF14 bolt (6-lug).

This allowed you to use the GMT400 rear axle and GMT800 rear disks without spacers or funky caliper positions