Write-Up: F-Body Brake Mod

RivMan wrote:

Hey guys

I'm here!

There is no easy way to swap out the newer brakes on the 95-96 Rivs. They don't have a seprate caliper bracket, the bracket is cast in to the steering knuckle. You have to replace the knuckle with one from a 97 Riv. (Not sure if the 98-99's are the same as 97, so I can't say if those work.) Also, if you swap out the 97 Kunckle, you have to use the 97 Spring and Strut assembly.


-Rob

so it sounds like its best to wait (if possible) until you upgrade your front suspension too. hit two birds with one stone.

i must be one of the few 96's with no problems. But then again, I never have to slam on the braks and I coast as much as possible (as these cars will coast forever is seems like).
I've only had the brakes serviced once in about 60,000 miles. and NO rotors were warped or had to be replaced. just pads. maybe I shouldn't mess with what works huh?

Ok, now i'm gonna do the f-body caliper upgrade and get new rotors and pads from work. I have a 97 so i already have 12" rotors so I get my stock rotors right then the f-body calipers, brackets, pins, and pads.. then all i have to worry about is the tapping/sleeving the bracket bolts right? last question is is there any problem using my existing brake hose on the f-body caliper. in this...

http://www.clubgp.com/newforum/tm.asp?m=2434239&p=1&tmode=1&smode=1

...excellent write up, he used new SS hoses that cost over $100. personally, i don't feel the need to spend that kind of money on the hoses.

current status with calipers...
just painted them with caliper paint. it took half an hour just to tape it off the way I wanted it. got 5 coats of paint so I'm supposed to let it dry for like a week before I mount them. the brackets are black. Those are easy to paint.

Great!!! Keep us updated on your progress . I will hopefully be picking up 97 front spindles and control arms to do the the upgrade as well. Your calipers look outstanding, I hope my calipers come out half as good as yours .

Very nice Codith, you're staying busy with the mods. The brake upgrade is one I want to do also! Keep us posted.

Very cool! Nice work on the paint, looks clean.

im buying Cody's(turtleman) rims 19" konig imagine's , with the bigger size i dont want to risk my braking .what is the F-body brake mod . just bigger rotors and F-body calipers or what

The F-body brake upgrade generally refers to upgrading to 12-13 inch rotors and to 2 piston calipers. For your year, you are going to need 1997 riviera front spindles. They sell the kit at the w-body store.

http://www.wbodystore.com/grandprix/w-body-store-12-inch-dual-piston-brake-kit-p-82.html

http://www.wbodystore.com/grandprix/w-body-store-13-inch-dual-piston-brake-kit-now-includes-lines-p-228.html

wont it be easier to go to a junk/scrap yard and get a set of F-body calipers and then order a set of 12" rotors

That's what I did but I also have a '97. You will need the '97+ spindle to do this. It shouldn't be that difficult. I think after locating the spindle you need to machine the holes to fit the ball joints it think. There's some trhead on how to do it somewhere here...

ok thank Eric

I would be interested in finding that Write up too.......... i think i might do that mod......

so could i get a list im going to the bone yard in the morning(well non cuz im sleeping in)

97+ riviera spindle (lower knuckle)
f-body caliper
f-body caliper bracket and hardware
12" rotors
pads for a f-body
posible longer brake lines
that should be all, but then again i havent done this so i cant say for sure.
rivman did this on his 95 and he is the one who did the write up. i dont know where it is (either it has been moved to this site or it is still on regalgs.org i also think rivmans cardomain site had some pics of the mod

thanks for the help guys

from: https://rivperformance.editboard.com/suspension-handling-f6/grinding-noise-but-good-brake-pads-t2748.htm

Quote :

Jack the R: I wanted to do the F-body brake mod, but the more I think about it, I'd rather keep this car stealthy, and the f-body brake mod would require bigger rims. So I may do what he suggested after all, or go with the Hawk brake pads and Summit cross-drilled/slotted rotors.

F-body brake mod won't cause you to get a larger rim. The difference is that they are dual pot and aluminum. They might cover a little more rotor but they don't stick out or up any further.

but the more I think about it, I'd rather keep this car stealthy

The cross drilled/vented rotors will draw more attention than the LS1 calipers.

So the F-body brakes can be fit with 16" OEM chromes?

AA,

Don't hold me to it but, yes, I think they will clear the stock wheels. they have fins but I would doubt they add more than 1/4" to the diameter. If anyone is near by me, I would be happy to see if stock would fit.

Mr.Riviera wrote:

97+ riviera spindle (lower knuckle)
f-body caliper
f-body caliper bracket and hardware
12" rotors
pads for a f-body
posible longer brake lines
that should be all, but then again i havent done this so i cant say for sure.
rivman did this on his 95 and he is the one who did the write up. i dont know where it is (either it has been moved to this site or it is still on regalgs.org i also think rivmans cardomain site had some pics of the mod

OK. I am very interested in doing this mod. But what kind of rotors do I get? F-body rotors?

ewolfe0050 wrote:

F-body brake mod won't cause you to get a larger rim. The difference is that they are dual pot and aluminum. They might cover a little more rotor but they don't stick out or up any further.

Did you stay with an 11" rotor? I didn't know that was an option.

ewolfe0050 wrote:

but the more I think about it, I'd rather keep this car stealthy

The cross drilled/vented rotors will draw more attention than the LS1 calipers.

Ah, I'm only worried about drawing extra police attention while speeding. I'm not worried about guys wanting to race me, since I won't do street racing.

I have a '98 with the 12" (nominal) rotors.

Can I just put F-body calipers/brackets on the fronts? No other changes (like a proportioning valve or some such)? and they'll work right?

Please advise, thanks.

Albertj

Albertj,

It's as was as easy as that.  You need the front calipers from the LSI (I think my are from a 2000) and the brackets.  You should be able to find brackets from the junk yard 20-40$ just make sure the floating pins float.  I bought reman calipers from the local parts store so I wouldn't have to screw with rebuilding them myself.  You will need a small spacer which is addressed in this writeup...  At the end, I detached my brake line mounting bracket from the strut and zip tied it out of the way until my slightly longer SS brake lines were built.  I don't see why you couldn't permantly use the ziptie...

http://www.clubgp.com/newforum/tm.asp?m=2434239&p=1&tmode=1&smode=1

VERY EASY MOD TO DO!

Note from Admin: DO NOT USE THE BUSHING SPACER SLEEVES AS SHOWN IN THE CLUBGP WRITE-UP. THESE HAVE SHOWN TO WEAR AND CAUSE LOOSENING OF THE CALIPER. SOLUTION - HAVE YOUR F-BODY BRACKETS DRILLED AND TAPPED TO ACCEPT THE OEM BUICK CALIPER BOLTS.

If you can't cut and paste the link go to www.clubgp.com and look in their forum about F1 brake mod.

Dosen't matter whether you order for a '97 or up Riv or F-Body. Same rotors.

Wow, that ClubGP write-up was the shiz-nit. I'm going to do this sometime this year. Guess we'll find out for sure if they clear the 16" chromes.

I was just at AutoZone. They have Fenco remanufactured calipers for 2000 Z28 for $40.99 per side + 40.00 core. I don't think they would accept my calipers for a core, or else I might've gotten them.

Also, W-body store has these PBR calipers as part of a kit for $290. Anyone know if this kit includes the correct brackets and hardware? Looks like it should work:

AA wrote:

NICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

they also have a kit for $20. then you supply the pads, calipers and brackets.
great deal if you find a f-body in the bone yard.

btw their site says it comes with caliper brackets and everything you would need for a w-body. not sure what differs on the g-body front brakes...