Bond007

I'am going to do a complete brake job including PARKING BRAKE. Can I get some help with good reputable brake venders, tips, and maybe a picture or illustration on how to do the parking brake which really concerns me, to do ,I mean. As Always Thanks FELLOW VETTEHEADS IN ADVANCE.
PETER :seeya

jerryp58

Here's a good link to some brake links http://www.corvettefaq.com/brakes.asp

This one http://rowleycorvette.com/corvette_repair.html may be particularly useful for the parking brakes if Tip #7 "Compress spring w/string" is as great a tip as it appears it could be. By far, getting those two springs back on was the biggest pain and longest part of the parking brake job on my car. Also, my actuator levers were rusted solid and I had to drill the rivet out to get the two pieces out. The condition of my existing PB components is why I bought a stainless steel system. Hopefully, I'll never have to touch the parking brakes again.

As far as the disc system, it was pretty straight forward. If your rotors have never been removed, you'll have to drill the rivets out of the rear rotors. I've read you should mark a lug & the rotor on each wheel so that you can put them back on in the same orientation that they came off. Be careful with any brake blocks that you have to connect a line to. I replaced the rear crossover line, tightened it too much into the driver's side rear block and ended up breaking the block :mad It's soft metal and unfortunately, I don't have (have never hear of) a torque flare wrench, so it was pretty easy to break. I'd say with all of the flare fittings, tighten them down snugly, check for leaks, and tighten more only if necessary.

As far as vendors, there are several out there. I got everything from Zip (mostly because they're so close to me) and was happy. I did have to return one caliper because of a sticking piston, but that wasn't much hassle. I got AC calipers from Zip. You may want to look for ACs because some of the vendors used to require them for a core (a future consideration).

Finally (sorry to be so windy), you may want to consider painting the calipers. Mine looked very nice out of the box, but they're nasty splotches of rusty orange right now. :nonod: I guess that's NCRS correct, but it sure is ugly. Something to consider if you're ever going to put on aftermarket wheels that will show the calipers too.

Good Luck.

GTR1999

Peter,
The brakes aren't as bad as some think. Go to corvettefaq.com and there's a good site or two on the parking brakes. ZIP has one at their web site too. If the rear rotors are still riveted then you'll have to drill out the rotors to get at them. Vendors sell a screw driver with notches cut in them to use as a vette parking brake "tool".
Also Stainless Steel Brakes in NY used to have a vette brake manual that covers the whole system. It was only a few bucks when I bought it years ago but you may want to see if they still sell it. You can't beat the price or service of Muskegon Brakes for parts, ask for Shawn Fox, she's a sweet heart who knows her business.
Good luck and ask questions if you're unsure of something.
Gary

Tex71BB

This tip works pretty well - I can see where it would be a real bear trying it any other way. The job really isn't that bad - just take your time, be patient, and use the string trick. Go ahead and replace everything (incl. cables) with stainless, that way you'll never have to do it again.

mrvette

I think your' best bet is to use stainless ebrake kit, and iron original type shoes....that combo is the best, the stainless shoes tend to hand up a bit, I suspect the stainless is not good for that job....
the calipers should be stainless lined, and have the O ring pistons installed allready....or just buy a set of O ring pistons kit and do your probably allready stainless calipers over.....

GENE

Bond007

Thank ALL of you once again for your HELP. :cheers:

PETER :seeya