12" brake questions

[Mike85T]

I have a kit for my third gen firebird i was going to swap it out but then i got a TR. can i mod the front stock spindle on the g body like the f body swap or do i have to have caprice spindles i've been searching but can't find what I need. thanks mike

 

[Mike85T]

anybody

 

[UNGN]

The Baer brakes and LS1 12" setups use caliper brackets that can be attached to stock spindles.

I don't know if your third gen brackets could be modified to work on a stock spindle, though.

The Caprice swap uses stock caprice calipers, nothing dual piston or fancy.

 

[spidereyes]

Any 77 to early 90's caprice with 12 inch brakes will have the calipers and spindles you would be looking for. But not all of them had 12" brakes best bets would be a wagon or old police car and usually a taxi. Easiest way to tell is look for one with large bolt pattern wheels (same lug patteren used on fullsize trucks). Also when using B body spindles which are taller than a G body you will need a different upper control arm , Hotchkis makes one just for this swap and they can be found in Summit or Jegs.

 

[novaderrik]

Any 77 to early 90's caprice with 12 inch brakes will have the calipers and spindles you would be looking for. But not all of them had 12" brakes best bets would be a wagon or old police car and usually a taxi. Easiest way to tell is look for one with large bolt pattern wheels (same lug patteren used on fullsize trucks). Also when using B body spindles which are taller than a G body you will need a different upper control arm , Hotchkis makes one just for this swap and they can be found in Summit or Jegs.

of course, once you do all that, then you have to figure out the bumpsteer and ackerman angles, along with the loss of turning radius.
plus, those spindles, rotors, and cast iron calipers are HEAVY.
sure, the car might stop better, but there are tons of compromises in the handling department.
a better way would be to find a way to adapt C4, C5, or C6 Vette or LS1 (98-02) F body rotors and lightweight 2 piston aluminum PBR calipers to your stock spindle.
Baer has done it- that's what all their kits are- and with a little work, you can do it, too, for half the price.

 

[turbofish38]

You should be able to use your kit. Baer copied GMs original 1LE brakes anyway. This is the kit with an adapter bracket that bolts to the spindle,right? The F-body spindle is just a G-body spindle made for MacPherson struts anyway. When GM invented the 1LE brakes all they did was enlarge the two mounting holes to M12 for the new adapters and cut off the old caliper mounting ears. As far as the stock brakes go, everything but the spindles interchange between the 3rd gen and the G-bodys.

 

[Mike85T]

thats what i thought i'm gonna use another spindle and test fit it all on the bench.