86 s15 v8 corner carver

Having only done my blazer's shoes once, I didn't recall there was a backwards, let alone be able to recognize it, lol. I hate drums.

primary shoe (leading shoe) is the "shorter" one, or more accurately the one with less friction material.

so my stock "low drag" calipers wont work well with the manual master. another thing i painted and didnt need to, oh well. i was going to get some standard style oversize 2.75" bore metric calipers from speedway for $60. i decided to check ebay first to see if any ls1 setups were around, i got a set of calipers and brackets for $30+$25 shipping. rotors on rockauto are about $80-$100 for a pair, pads are yet to be determined, i will make my own brackets. so ill be in this swap for just a little more than the "temporary" calipers cost alone!


these things are monsters compared to the stock caliper. i think im going to paint them natural aluminum like all the lines, and paint the abutment black, screw the blue. anyone need some blue calipers?

I thought the camaro calipers were iron, only the corvette calipers were aluminum. Either way, nice find. I paid much more for my C5s.

98-02 fbody with ls1 had aluminum calipers from the factory cast by pbr. the 97- were iron

C5 caliper pressure cast AL, late 4G F body cast AL,  early 4G F body cast steel as you probably know. Can't beat c5/6 parts for price, effectiveness, options and off the self replacements

Sean, rereading the thread can't help but wonder why you didn't build a full frame. You are a beast! Keep up the good work of making us all jealous.

C5 caliper pressure cast AL, late 4G F body cast AL,  early 4G F body cast steel as you probably know. Can't beat c5/6 parts for price, effectiveness, options and off the self replacements

ill 2nd all that info. i was looking at c5 options, but they demand a little more money on ebay, none of the yards around me seem to get sports cars. i got these calipers for $30

Sean, rereading the thread can't help but wonder why you didn't build a full frame. You are a beast! Keep up the good work of making us all jealous.

well, i have a problem. im anal and i can never leave anything alone. im obsessed with optimization. this project was originally meant to be a cleanup and engine swap, and was going to stay lifted, and it just got out of control. i pulled the engine and said, "well hey i can clean those frame rails while theyre exposed". then its "why not paint them?" i told my self i would just do the parts you can see and the outsides. i said i would leave the fuel lines, brakes, electrical, body and everything alone, next thing i know the frame is naked. then i told myself why have 300hp in a chassis that cant turn? hello tall bjs, static drop etc. then the wife walks out into the garage and asks why i have no cage plans... next thing i know the body is on saw horses and im ding a full frame resto. how the f@ck did that happen?  that might explain why i have done a few things in reverse order, or why some things werent planned out.  if i had started out with these intentions, it would probably be back halved with a watts, and fully caged, my own tubular lowers etc.

so this build is all about compromises- what i can do for relatively little money in my garage and still pass off as professional, all while keeping in mind that its still just a truck, a street legal one at that. the law of diminishing returns comes to mind.


thanks for the compliment!

You and I have a very similar problem, except I'm even more limited in equipment and experience, lol.

just a small update, ive been busy with my newest project

the wife and i started this one earlier in 12'. i laid the plans if you will, she did most of the build, and this is what it looks like so far.

hi_im_izaak 1-23-13.



so i had my camaro calipers all apart by the kitchen sink, (because thats where that stuff belongs) and i forgot the cat love rubber bands, or anything resembling a rubber band. so i woke up one morning and the caliper seals were missing, i found one all chewed up, the others are still mia.


f@ckin butters!




so i just went and got a whole rebuild kit. it looks like someone had pieced together slider pin boots at one time anyway. so new rattle clips, boots and seals. old stuff on the left, new stuff on the right, middle items im reusing.



the seal goes in the caliper first, then the dust boot on the piston, then the boot goes intot he caliper and the piston gets slid in. ive seen people try to install the dust boot on the caliper first.





all painted and done.

looks like i got 2 different castings.... only ill know







ill see if i can get some rotors/pads on the way soon, then i can start making some brackets.

i usually have the seals sit in brake fluid overnight before installing them to minimize the chance of damaging them during the install

thats not a bad idea. i usually just lube them up right before i pop them in.

i went to pick a part today to get some 98+ blazer brakes. im going to put the drums on my 94ss instead.



i found a 97 with discs, so unless someone swapped these (didnt look like it) some 97s may have also come with rear discs.



for some reason someone had taken apart the drivers side of 4 out of the 5 disc equipped blazers in that lot, and most of the pieces were missing, scattered. thsi is my bitch with pickaparts. the one that was left was a total rust bucket and the first pin i touched was seized solid to the abutment. so i had to piece this setup together from at least 3 different blazers for $60, just need some rotors and pads. more wire brushing..... nnnnnooooooooooooooooooo!



the reason i wanted to go with the speedway metric caliper rear setup is to make the e-brake setup easy and reliable. after pondering it for the last few months i decided i could figure something out with all the tools i have, and itll save me a few hundred $ on the rear setup over the speedway metric stuff, and will probably be a better match to my camaro front setup.

here is what im dealing with. the blazer cable end is just a flat rectangle of steel with a square hole in it that fits over the lever. the drum brake cable end is just a ball, like a bicycle brake cable.



i also need to gut the combo valve now that im losing the rear drums. anyone know how?

I've got a pdf for gutting the combo valve somewhere, but don't know where.  I'll try to remember to look around for it this week.

For anyone planning on running the rear S10 calipers I highly recommend taking them apart and relubing the pins about once a year.  With how little the calipers move in the rear they like to rust up.  Seems like every time I go to do repairs on them I'm replacing a caliper due to a stuck pin.

after more research i think im going to just toss the combo and install a prop valve on the rear line. the front line will bolt right up to the master. that way i can adjust things like it should be. a guy on v8s10.org has the same brake combo with no proportioning whatsoever and he claims its well balanced. i still want the adjustment and our chassis are different.

id still like that pdf if you find it

This is the best I can find on the net at the moment.  I'll have to check on my computer at home for the pdf this coming weekend.

http://www.v8s10.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=22212&sid=ca3878ac8ac95e58de53d16ed49869d3

The gutting works ok on the long bed, but the rears still like to lock up first.  On the Blazer I've purchased an adjustable.  I've also eyed these on ebay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/250198106537?ssPageName=STRK:MESINDXX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1436.l2649

cool thanks! im probably going to end up with this little guy

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Wilwood-260-8419-Brake-Proportioning-Valve-1-8-NPT-Female-100-3000-psig-Brakes-/200884140594?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item2ec5a0ba32&vxp=mtr

a good friend of mine is a wilwood dealer, i trying to see if he has one in stock.

I liked the big lever style, so ended up with this one.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/til-90-1003

I was always worried about those holding position properly.

I was always worried about those holding position properly.

per the description " Lever types have seven distinct "click-stop" positions"

They are certainly distinct from the few times I've played with it.  It will be easy to find and grab under the hood too.