philbey Posted August 19, 2007 Report Share Posted August 19, 2007 Bought myself an engine crane, so the 4K will be coming out the next few nights. Speaking of that mate, I've been tryin to get onto you to come pick it up. I'm in no rush, I just don't wanna miss out on it :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foc64 Posted August 19, 2007 Report Share Posted August 19, 2007 After looking through endless web pages for information on a cheap brake upgrade, and not finding anything useful (some people have a different view on what “cheap” is – my definition is as cheap as possible) I’ve decided to throw this article together. My set up (not yet cleaned and painted) http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p232/fo.../Image00002.jpg Close up: http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p232/fo.../Image00003.jpg I’ve used T18 struts as the basis of my upgrade as they are fairly easy to find (compared to AE86 struts) and they’re 51mm in diameter and this means strut inserts that fit AE86’s, Celica’s, Coronas etc will fit these. Parts needed: Suitable front struts, in my case from a T18, but you can use the existing struts. VB to VK Commodore Girlock brake callipers – cheap and easy to find, rebuild kits are dirt-cheap and you can take your pick of brake pads (from cheap and nasty to race spec pads). New or good used brake discs from a Mitsubishi Magna – TN, TM or TP – the early model before the V6 Magnas came out and 24mm Thick!! – they look big and meaty on the work bench! Depending on the type of calliper on your standard struts, you may have to make or get made up an adaptor to bolt up the Commodore callipers. If you’re lucky, your standard brake callipers will be Girlock with a 75mm mounting distance between bolt centres. If this is the case you probably won’t need the adaptor as the Commodore calliper also use the same bolt spacing and already have a bigger offset built in to cater for the original Commodore (disc) set up. You need to slightly mod the calliper slider (the part that bolts to the mounting bracket) as it catches on the edge of the strut when you try to bolt it up, you’ll see what I mean when you try it on the strut for the first time (look at the photo to see how I fixed mine) I ground off a little metal with a bench grinder, taking a little off at a time so I didn’t remove any more metal than I had too. The slider is very solid and the small amount of metal I removed won’t affect its strength (but check with your local transport organization if you’re concerned). Calliper mod: http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p232/fo.../Image00005.jpg One last thing you will need is 4 x 4mm wide spacers to suit 12mm bolts. I got some made up out of alloy but you may be lucky and find a suitable washer off the shelf some were. Just remember if you use second hand discs you can get away with thinner washers (just) but if you upgrade to new discs latter on you’ll find your calliper mounting brackets rub on the outside of the disc (trust me – I used old discs to set up my brakes to start with and found this out once I installed my new discs). Calliper slider, adaptor bracket and 4mm spacers assembled: http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p232/fo.../Image00001.jpg Brake building 101: If you have one, mount your strut on a bench in a strong vice and unbolt the original brakes and hub assembly. Once the hub is off the strut you need to unbolt the disc from the hub – only 4 bolts and a gentle tap with a hammer to slip them off – if you can’t get them off with a gentle tap you haven’t undone all 4 bolts so check again. Now degrease your hubs, if you intend on using longer wheel studs now’s the time to remove the old ones – early model Hilux 4wd and drum brake Land Cruiser studs are about 8mm longer and fit with a small adjustment (plus there cheap – mine cost $4 each for new studs from a 4wd shop, they do need about 3mm of the spline ground down so the studs will fit in to the hubs) Now you need to get your hubs turned down to 142mm outside diameter so the new discs can slip over the top of them. Don’t worry about the centre hole being too big, the studs and the slip fit over the hub will keep the disc in place once the wheel and wheel nuts are fitted. Mounting brackets. I made my bracket from a length of steel bar: 10mm (thick) X 40mm (wide) X 150mm (long) ($6 from Sims Metal for a 1 mtr) with 4x12.5mm (or ½” in old measurements) holes centred on the bracket to give the correct mounting points (look at the pic of the bracket for a better idea). As there is a slight difference in mounting offset with the new calliper, you need 2 x 4mm wide spacers (per calliper). The ones I have are made from Alloy but steel will do just fine, the only critical dimension to note is that they must be 4mm wide. Any less any you run the chance of new disc rotors rubbing on the inside edge of the mounting bracket (new discs are 24mm thick!!). http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p232/fo.../Image00004.jpg Calliper hose: If you’re car has Girlock brakes already you can run the same hoses on the new brake set up (threads should be the same & the calliper to hose mount should be fine as well). Master cylinder upgrades: I haven’t looked in to this yet but the ex-Commodore callipers should be a similar bore size to the old Corolla ones meaning the brake pedal feel and travel will be the same as before (except the car will pull up significantly better with no fade). Other things to think about: If you’ve gone this far why not spend a bit more and replace the wheel bearings, ball joints and bushes? All up these parts won’t cost that much but worn parts will effect the ride and handling significantly and any wear problems you had before will be increased once you bolt up the bigger and better brakes. Cheers Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deathsminion Posted August 19, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 19, 2007 Speaking of that mate, I've been tryin to get onto you to come pick it up. I'm in no rush, I just don't wanna miss out on it :P Hey mate, yeah, sorry about that I got absolutely rolled over the weekend. And Chris, great info, thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philbey Posted August 20, 2007 Report Share Posted August 20, 2007 yeh no worries, just let me know. should I give you a call tonight? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deathsminion Posted August 20, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2007 It'll probably be this coming weekend, so in an effort to apologise, I'll throw in a new oil filter and a new bottle of oil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philbey Posted August 20, 2007 Report Share Posted August 20, 2007 mate, really no stress - you can keep the oil and filter! just wanna make sure I get it, and not pixelated_goat haha :P plus the sooner I get it the sooner the head goes to the head shop! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deathsminion Posted August 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 28, 2007 Donor car: My mate thought it would be funny to drive down the road into a powerpole, hence the front bar. It was hilarious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deathsminion Posted September 2, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 2, 2007 Well, we had a day of drift-preparing the rolla today. Unfortunately no motor changes courtesy of my engine hoist being on loan. Stripped back to a bare interior, and bolted back in the front seats, and guages. Also installed a "drift button" for the hand brake. Windows are all removed now except for the front windscreen, and will be replaced with perspex this week. PS: I have a few fractures in my right hand, so I'm not really doing a lot in the below pic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jordan Posted September 2, 2007 Report Share Posted September 2, 2007 Dude, GT20 way too small. use a GTiR T28 for something cheap that'll get you 180RWkW no worries, but wont be too restrictive on the exhaust side because of the 0.86 T2 rear housing. If you've got some spare cash look to a GT30R with 0.63 T3 rear housing. but expect to pop and old astron pretty quick with one of them. GT20's are good for 1.3L 4K's not 2.6L astrons unless you watn boost at idel and then it to be all out of ideas by 3000RPM. Cheers Jordan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deathsminion Posted September 2, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 2, 2007 Hi mate, I'd already organised a GT30 - Cheers. The Astron won't be staying stock either. I've already got two donor motors, one which will be used for the conversion, and one which will be built on the side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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