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If you are like
me, you want your 67 to 82 Corvette to stop just as good as it goes. So when it comes to your brake system, you
want it to be of top quality. You want
to install everything one time and be sure that everything is right. That is why we contacted Zip Products, Inc.,
8067 Fast Lane, Mechanicsville, VA 23111, (800) 962-9632, and The Stainless Steel
Brakes Corporation, 800-448-7722 when it came time to replace the brake system
on the Sweepstakes 78 Corvette. They were
able to supply everything in the brake system that we needed to do the job
right the first time. We even received a
set of their new turbo gas slotted rotors.
These rotors have a computerized C.N.C. groove pattern on each rotor for
improved wet braking, reduced brake fade and improved pad cleaning. Every one of these enhancements are an
advantage to any Corvette owner. Brake
replacement takes a little more than average mechanical ability and more than
common hand tools, but it is not extremely difficult. You should be able to accomplish this task
easily in one weekend. Now with this in
mind, let’s get started putting the whoa
back in our Corvette.
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01: Here is everything we received from Stainless Steel
Brakes Corporation: 4 Turbo Gas Slotted
Rotors, 4 Stainless Steel Calipers, 2 sets Brake Pads, 4 Brake Hoses and Clips,
Master Cylinder, Emergency Brake Cables and Hardware, Caliper Lines and
Mounting Hardware. We also received Dot
5 silicone brake fluid. A shop and
assembly manual for your year Corvette is also very handy. |
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02: Start by placing the car securely on jack stands. Spray all of the brake mounting bolts, hoses
and lines two or three times with a penetrating oil. It is a good idea to do this the day before
so the oil has a chance to soak each bolt and fitting.
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03: Use a line wrench to loosen all of the brake hoses and
lines. With a line wrench you are less
likely to round the fittings off. Remove
all of the retaining clips. |
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04: Start in the front and remove the caliper and hose.
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05: Remove the grease cap, cotter key, retaining nut,
washer and outer bearing. Then
re-install the retaining nut loosely back onto the spindle.
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06: Now hold the rotor on both sides and give a quick pull
towards you. This will allow you to
remove the inner bearing and grease seal all at one time.
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07: You will have to remove the rotor from the front hub.
These were originally riveted in place.
Start by center punching each rivet. |
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08: Use a 5/16” drill bit to drill approximately 1/8” to
1/4” into each rivet head. Then take a
3/8” drill bit and enlarge this area. As
you drill into the rivet, the head will come off leaving the rivet stud down in
the rotor and hub. Here you can see one
of the heads drilled off and the remainder of the rivet still in the rotor and
hub. |
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09: With all of the rivet heads off, use a flat punch to
push the rivet stud through and out of the rotor and hub. |
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10: Here is the hub removed from the rotor assembly.
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11: While we were at it, we wanted to replace all of the
bearings, races and grease seals in the front hub. Zip Products, Inc.,
8067 Fast Lane, Mechanicsville, VA 23111, (800) 962-9632, was able to
supply everything we needed - bearings, races, seals and washers. |
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12: You will have to remove the inner and outer races from
the front hub. Looking down into the hub
from either side, you will see a small cutout area on each side behind each
race. This is where you use a flat punch
or flat chisel to tap out the old race. |
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13. Place the new race into the hub and use a bearing and
race installation tool to install the race.
In a pinch, you can even use the wide side of the old race and a hammer
to install the new race. Make sure each
new race is seated against the hub lip.
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14: Use a bearing packer tool to pack each bearing. These tools are readily available from most
auto parts stores and they are priced under $10. |
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15: Use some grease to lube the inner area of the hub
between the inner and outer race.
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16: Install the greased inner bearing and then tap the
grease seal into place on the hub.
Always make sure that you start the seal squarely into the hub. |
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17: Place the hub on the spindle and then install the
outer bearing, washer and retaining nut.
Install the nut finger tight. Do
not tighten.
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18: Install the brake pads into the new caliper. Then place the retaining pin and cotter key
into place. The head of the retaining
pin should be toward the outside of the car. |
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19: Mount the new rotor onto the hub, then install the
caliper. You will notice that we marked
each rotor as to their location. The
turbo slots are directional so they need to be installed in the correct
location on the car. Squeeze the pads
apart and slide one end of the caliper and pad over the rotor to start it into
place. Here you will notice that we used
2 lug nuts to hold the rotor tight against the hub. You do not have to do this but it does make
it easier to work with. |
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20: Before you install the brake hose to the caliper, make
sure you install a copper washer between the hose fitting and caliper. This step is very important. |
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21: Install the front brake hose and tap the retaining
clip into place. Now install the front
brake line to the hose. |
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22: If your rear rotor is still riveted into place, you
will have to remove it by drilling them out just like the front hub. |
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23: Again punch the rivets through the rotor and axle
flange. |
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24: The only difference now is that the rivet heads will
probably stick in the emergency brake assembly.
Make sure that you remove any rivet that ends up in the emergency brake
assembly. Use a pair of needle nose
pliers to fish the rivets out. With the
rivets removed, pull the old rotor off the axle flange. |
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25: Disconnect and remove the rear emergency brake
cables. They are held in place by two
retaining clips and the equalizer |
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26: To install a new front cable, remove the emergency
brake cable and handle from the car.
Open the handle all the way up and remove the old cable from the slotted
retainer. Feed the new cable up into the
handle and slide the end up into the handle slot. Now feed the cable back through the floor and
bolt the handle back into place.
Remember to re-install the small rubber grommet on the cable where it
seals the hole in the transmission tunnel.
NOTE: You will have to
remove the side console covers and center armrest to remove the emergency brake
handle assembly. |
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27: Install the new rear cables onto the emergency brake
assembly arm at the rear hub and into their retaining brackets. |
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28:
Place the new
cable retaining clips onto the new cables.
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29: The equalizer can now be placed over the rear cable
and the front cable stud slid into place through the equalizer. Attach the spring and snug the cable making
sure the handle is in the off position. |
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30: Install the new rear rotor onto the axle flange. Make sure that one of the access holes line
up with the access hole in the axle flange.
This will allow you to adjust the emergency brake shoes without
disconnecting and removing the rear caliper and rotor. |
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31: Install the new caliper onto the rear rotor. You may want to use 2 lug nuts to hold the
rotor tight against the axle flange. Use
the flat side of the lug nut to bolt up against the rotor. After the rotor is bolted into place, attach
the new lines and hoses. |
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32: Use a line wrench to loosen and remove the master
cylinder lines. Remember to place a
towel under the master cylinder to catch the fluid that drips out. Now remove the master cylinder from the
booster. |
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33: You will have to bench bleed the new master cylinder
before you install it. There are
numerous ways to do this, but the easiest is to purchase plastic master
cylinder fittings and rubber hose from any auto parts store. Screw the fittings into place and put the
hoses into their respective portion of the master cylinder. Securely mount the new master cylinder in a
vise. Fill both sections of the master
cylinder with fluid. Stainless Steel
Brakes Corporation recommends using their competition grade DOT 5 Silicone
Fluid. Now use a punch or large phillips
screwdriver to push the plunger into the master cylinder. Make sure that the hoses stay submerged in
the fluid while you push the cylinder in.
Use short, even strokes. As you
do this, you will see bubbles coming up into the fluid. What you are doing is removing the air from
the master cylinder valve and ports.
Continue to slowly work the master cylinder until the bubbles
disappear. You will feel the plunger get
harder to push as the air is expelled and replaced with fluid. When you are done, re-install the master
cylinder. |
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34: Now you are ready to bleed the system. Again there are numerous ways to do this but
the easiest is gravity bleeding. Start
by opening all of the caliper bleeder screws.
Disconnect the power brake booster hose and check valve from the
booster. Place the front tires on the
rotors and then lower the front tires onto the ground. Jack the rear of the car up so that the
center of the rear axle flange is 15” above the plane of the floor. Observe each bleeder valve. When fluid starts to flow out constantly,
close the valve. Make sure fluid comes
out of each bleeder valve. Whenever you
are installing a complete new brake system, you want to make sure you purge all
of the old fluid out of the lines. When
the fluid starts to flow out of the open bleeders, it will be the old brake
fluid. Wait until you see the clean new
fluid start to flow out of the bleeders. When all of the bleeders are closed,
top off the master cylinder. Re-connect
the power brake booster hose and your system is bled. If fluid does not flow out in 10 or 15
minutes, you probably have some type of restrictions which you will have to
locate and correct. Remember to keep the
master cylinder full while you are gravity bleeding. Also by attaching a clear hose to each
bleeder valve and into a container, you will keep brake fluid from running all
over the garage floor. |
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35: With the brake system bled, you can now adjust the
emergency brake cables as per your shop manual.
Tighten the front wheel bearings as per your shop manual. Install the tires and wheels and place the
car on the ground. Press the brake pedal
down and make sure that you have brakes before venturing out. Also, try your emergency brake and check to
make sure it is adjusted properly. Here are our new Turbo Gas Slotted Rotors and
stainless steel calipers. Ready to put the Whoa Back in our Corvette. |
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BRAKE SYSTEM OVERHAUL:
67-82 BRAKE SYSTEM REPLACEMENT
SOURCE:
Zip Products, Inc.
8067 Fast Lane
Mechanicsville, VA 23111
(800) 962-9632
PARTS LIST:
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69-82 Front Bearing Kit |
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69-82 Spindle Washer |
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69-82 Spindle Nut |
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77-82 Master Cylinder with Power Brakes |
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Silicone DOT 5 Competition Fluid |
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65-82 Brake Kit: Stainless Steel Calipers-Pads-Hoses
- Mounting Hardware |
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65-82 Rear Turbo Gas Slotted Rotors |
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67-82 Front Turbo Gas Slotted Rotors |
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64-82 Parking Brake Cable Equalizer |
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65-82 Rear Parking Brake Cable |
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67-82 Front Parking Brake Cable |
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Shop/Repair Manuals |
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