Dumb disk brake swap question

I know this is probbably somewhere in the forum archives, but will a set of calipers & mounts from a mid 80's work for a Dana 25/27 disk swap? I was given a set of Blazer axles from a 82ish K5 and was hoping they were what I was looking for.

 

I think they might. My calipers are from an 80 Blazer. Not sure what years they are the same. 76?? or so to 80?? Seems like any K5 model blazer setup should work. Just have to use the thick 77/78 rotors.

 

Should be ok.. you want the backing plates, claipers and don't forget the spindle studs and nuts.. you need at least 8 of them to put in your knuckles.. not a requirement but a little insurance..

BUBBA

 

The write-up I am using for my disc swap lists the caliper brackets froma '73 - '91 Chevy, but uses the calipers from a '71 - '78 Chevy. I don't know why the discrepancy in years unless the brackets stayed the same but the calipers changed. You might try going to the auto parts and see if they can show you calipers for the years in question and see if there is any difference.

 

thats funny because I Have a 79 chevy it had the same calibers as my 74 /78 chevys

 

For fullsize Chevys, they switched from a front dana 44 to a corporate 10 bolt in 79. What you want to look for is a dana 44 on a fullsize application mid to late 70s. I have used plates off fullsize wagoneers and chevy trucks. The wagoneers were the mount with the thin type dust shield, whereas the chevy was the full thickness mount all the way around. I have the mounting plates(wagoneer), rotors and calipers, that used to be on my Jeep, used and dirty. They are for sale if interested. The plates are not that heavy so shipping might not be to bad.

 

Dang. This is a GM 10 bolt front.

 

Well, to tell you what I think, it might still work, just never done it. I have read directions that said the backing plate may have a locating "tab" on the back that needs to be ground off or hammered flat. Also have seen them listed as a left and right. The ones I have used had neither of these pecularities. They had no tab and were the same left and right. And I think Hawk is right the calipers are the same from 74-? maybe all the way to 88 when the new IFS came out. BTW IIRC the calipers are super cheap at FLAPS, like 8 bucks a piece or something.
Disclaimer: the stuff I have used is off 77-78-79 Chevys or wagonners. (backing plates and calipers)
Rotors 78 CJ (thick,ventilated style)

 

On my 74 I used 44 on the front and corp 10 on the back the only different is the backing plate I think I took the thin metal off , my kid said it just bend in and rubs.

Jerry M

 

Yes, you are referring to some be pretty thick (3/16"?) all around and some only for the caliper mount itself and the rest a thin "dust shield". I have used both. I used the thin one on my Jeep with the idea it saves a little weight. The full thick one would be better if you planned a lot of hard wheeling.

 

Yep, this has the HD caliper mounting plates. The calipers are the floating style that attach with two bolts to the mounting plates. They float on the pins (hopefully if they were lubed correctly). Are the calipers the same for the 70's?

 

In my experience they are the same for 1/2 ton and 3/4 ton from at least 73 to 80. I actually like the GM style of caliper and mounting system better than the later CJ style, and have heard you can convert those also (talking about disc brake dana 30s). I am strongly considering doing this on our 83 -7. It has been converted from 5 bolt hubs to 6 bolt hubs but still has the single thickness rotors. I think I will use the parts I have to convert it to the GM style using the double thickness rotors.

Just be sure to carry the allen wrench (3/8 I think?) to take off the caliper if need be in the field. I go one step further and got a socket that fits a 3/8 ratchet with the right size allen head. Much easier to get the bolts loose than the allen wrench.