-TheBandit-

iTrader: (1)

Yes that's what I suspect also, but the the question is why? I am getting fluid at both calipers and the sliding pins seem to be okay. All I can think of is the bore or seals are causing some binding or the hose is partially collapsed/restricted. I guess in either case the new brakes should resolve the problem.

Jimbo1367

Clint,
I'm digging the seats !!! Your Nova has come a long way in the past 1.5 yrs. Congrats

mic

I've seen a side-to-side pad swap identify a similar problem as just being the pads. Car ended up pulling the same amount the other way after moving the pads on a similarly well sorted car.

Seat looks great too!!

ryeguy2006a

iTrader: (27)

Nice looking brakes Clint! Glad they made it safely. Bummer about the Z51 brakes. So nice that Kore3 has those templates online! Now I wished I went with those hubs, they look super nice!

-TheBandit-

iTrader: (1)

Thank you Jimbo! I have given her a LOT more attention in the last 1.5yr than I did the previous 5. Productivity dropped a ton when babies came along, but now that they're older I can tinker while they are out riding bikes or playing ball in the cul-de-sac. I get a lot more time in than I used to!

Thank you! Great to get parts from another builder. I'll get the calipers cleaned up and painted soon. I think I made the right decision for me getting the Kore3 hubs. Functionally/performance-wise I don't see a lot of benefit in going to the aluminum hubs over modified stock drum hubs - I just didn't want to go through the hoops of sourcing used hubs, cleaning them up, getting them turned down, sourcing new bearings/seals, and upgrading the studs. It's worth noting you can now buy new replacement hubs as a kit with bearings, seals, and stock-sized studs for around $80, but they are made in China and would still need to be turned down to accept the 'vette rotors. There is also an ebay seller "lt4extreme" that sells the same new Chinese hubs modified for the 'vette brakes with caliper brackets for $295. Those would be ready to bolt on, but I do not want Chinese-made hubs on my car.

Autocross is 3 weeks away and I have a few things I need to get done besides the brakes. I want to do an oil change, swap the rear shocks (got some Hotchkis-valved Bilsteins to replace the ancient KYBs), and install the driver's side seat. I think I have enough time to also do the brakes too but I'm nervous. This weekend is shot with Mothers Day, so that leaves me just two weekends to prep and very little time to recover if I don't have parts. I *think* I will have everything I need for the swap - the last component is the master cylinder and tracking says it will be here today.

I got the C6 booster in yesterday. The input rod measures 0.390in which would be a pretty good candidate for an M10 thread (major diameter 0.394in). I dug around under the dash and attempted to measure the stock Nova booster input rod - it's hard to tell but I'd guess it has a 3/8" thread (anybody know?). If it is 3/8, the major diameter would be 0.375in. I'm not sure if I want to try cutting the 0.390 rod down to that size with just a thread cutting die or if I should thread the rod to M10 and then re-tap the clevis with a slightly larger hole. Thoughts/suggestions?

-TheBandit-

iTrader: (1)

So apparently the C6 booster is a no go. It has 4" bolt spacing on the master cylinder, but the master I intend to use has ~3-1/2" spacing. I decided to order a Tuff Stuff 2229NC 9" dual diaphragm booster instead. So my booster/master combo will be a 1" 18M974 master from an early 2000s right-hand drive S10/blazer (left side 9/16 & 1/2" outlet threads), Tuff Stuff 9" dual diaphragm booster 2229NC, and DSE low angle mounting brackets 050302. This is the combo recommended by Tobin @ Kore3. Booster should arrive mid next week and then it will be a sprint to install everything before autocross June 3rd.

hookemdevils22

iTrader: (12)

why the S10 master - strictly because of the SAE outlets? It has the same 1" bore as the C5/C6, which you can find fairly cheap on eBay.

-TheBandit-

iTrader: (1)

Yes my primary reason for using the 18M974 master instead of a C5/C6 unit was for the standard inverted flare ports which I'm confident I can flare standard tubing for and I have nuts on hand. I thought about doing a complete C5/C6 master & booster combo, but at the time I thought I was taking the least expensive route and I thought the masters were interchangeable and I was getting the benefit of a brand new master with appropriate outlets. The new AC Delco 18M974 master was about $50 from Rock Auto plus I got the used booster on ebay for $40 (total $90). That seemed pretty good. If I went with a complete used C5/C6 master and booster, it would be about $150 (based on ebay pricing). Where I am going instead is using the 18M974 master from Rock Auto with the Tuff Stuff 2229NC booster from Summit for $50+$150 = $200. I could have saved about $50 going to used 'vette parts, but for the additional $50 I will have brand new parts and standard inverted flare fittings.

I think I'm happy with the final result, I'm just a bit frustrated about buying and returning parts I don't need.

ryeguy2006a

iTrader: (27)

What I would suggest is if the RHD S10 doesn't bolt right onto your current booster, just go to autozone and buy one of the manual brake C3 master cylinders ( I think I paid like $15 bucks several years ago and it was in stock) that we talked about. It would be a direct bolt on to your car, no bending lines or reflaring. You could just swap over the front brakes, and then you could do a booster swap when you have more time.

Project GatTagO

iTrader: (7)

This is why I like manual brakes. LOL...

Andrew

-TheBandit-

iTrader: (1)

Ryan - That's a good backup plan. The S10 master should bolt up to my stock 11" booster, so if for some reason the new dual 9" booster does not make it in time or isn't the right part, I could use that combination. It probably would still need some tweaking or remaking of lines, but that's not too big of a deal. I have tracking info on the new one and it it should be here mid next week.

-TheBandit-

iTrader: (1)

Here are some photos of the 18M974 master cylinder. It is meant for a right hand drive early 2000s S10/blazer. It looks very similar to a C5/C6 master and it has the same 1" bore but it has standard inverted flare ports with 9/16 and 1/2" threads.



The master is similar in size to my original master but it's about 1" taller. I checked and it looks like it would clear the hood if I directly swapped it onto my single 11" booster, but of course I plan to put it on a dual diaphragm booster with the DSE low angle brackets.



I also picked up a new tool for bleeding and flushing the brakes: a Motive 0118 pressure bleeder.







This bleeder will allow me to pressurize the system to about 15psi so I can just open the bleed screws at the calipers to flush and bleed the system. Motive has two bleeders that come with the late GM adapter caps: 0115 and 0118. The 0118 that I got has a metal adapter cap while the 0115 has a plastic adapter cap. I decided the metal cap was worth spending a little more money; I've heard the plastic ones can flex and pop off. If you want to do this on the cheap, you can get a garden sprayer, add a pressure gauge, and modify a master cylinder cap to add a fitting.

hookemdevils22

iTrader: (12)

Looking good! I have a significant amount of room with the C6 setup and the DSE brackets, so you shouldn't have an issue.

Motown 454

iTrader: (15)

How did you like the Motive bleeder? I've been looking at them.

-TheBandit-

iTrader: (1)

I haven't tried the Motive bleeder yet. I have read a number of positive reviews and watched some videos. I think it's going to help a lot with flushing and bleeding. I plan to use it "dry", meaning I will not add any fluid into the bleeder itself. That could cause a mess if the cap or anything leaks during use. I will just add fluid to the reservoir and use the Motive unit to pressurize. I chose the metal cap because I've read the plastic cap doesn't always hold pressure as well. Alternatively you can buy just the cap by itself and then hook that to a regulated air compressor - I may end up doing that if pumping is too laborious. From what I've read, the recommended pressure is 15ps max. That can take a while to pump up by hand.

I decided to get the Motive bleeder because I want to completely evacuate and "flush" the system. I am going to switch from silicon DOT5 back to polyethylene glycol DOT3/4. The two fluid types do not mix and there are some anecdotal claims that mixing the two will result in gelling or seal swelling/failures. I have not personally experienced those issues and based on my research I am willing to take the risk. To be quite honest, I have already committed the sin of mixing fluids since I used DOT5 to push out the old DOT3/4 and I'm sure there is still a small residual mixed in the system. What I am going to do to flush the system will be to clear the lines using air first. Then I will fill and flush with a good amount of cheaper DOT3, again clear the lines with air, then do a final fill and bleed with DOT4. Given how difficult it is to rid a system of silicon, there will probably still be trace residual left in the system, but I don't expect any reaction. One thing I definitely will not do is put any sort of petroleum based solvent into the system (for example denatured alcohol or brake cleaner) because petroleum distillates are not friendly to natural rubbers and could cause problems for hoses and seals in the system. I suspect some of the horror stories about switching between DOT3/4 and DOT5 may have more to do with flushing the system with petroleum distillates than the actual brake fluid itself.

mic

I've used the Motive on the big GM plastic B-Body rectangle master/reservoir with the universal clamp-on/strap on adapter and am reluctant to use it again without a cap, or the correct cover. I've had it function fine with less than 10 pounds of pressure. I've also used the universal round clamp-on/strap adapter on a Nissan MC that was I think 4 in round and in both cases found it tough to get the adapter sealed well. Instead of using the chain/straps for securing the adapter I just used big C-clamp(s) that worked fine. The sealing surface on the universal style adapters was not very thick so the clamping tightness needed to seal without damaging the plastic reservoir was something I had to be careful with.

Long story short, with a metal cap/adapter it should work great and I think you will be happy with the functionality.

-TheBandit-

iTrader: (1)

I've heard the universal clamp style is awful. Nobody seems to have good luck getting it to seal. I think this metal twist-on cap is the ticket. We'll see soon enough!

Here's a video showing how this is used:

Yesterday the new Tuff Stuff 2229NC dual 9" booster came in.







This is the "last" piece I need for the front brake upgrade. With just 2 weeks to autocross, I am torn about starting the swap. Normally 2 weeks would be plenty of time but I have concurrent projects going for my wife (putting in cabinetry for her craft room) that I need to complete and a handful of small projects on the Nova to do too (driver's seat, rear shocks, oil change). More than likely I will run the autocross with the current brakes as is

ryeguy2006a

iTrader: (27)

Just put the S10 master on with the C6 fronts. It honestly took me about an hour for each side taking my time. And the master cylinder has the same size fittings as your stock lines right? If so, that should only take another 30 mins to swap the MC. You already have the adjustable proportional valve somewhere right?

-TheBandit-

iTrader: (1)

I have two weeks, no days off, lots of kids activities, and a slew of things I have to get done that have nothing to do with the car. It will probably take me about 2hrs to swap the driver's seat, another 30min for the oil change and maybe 45min to swap the rear shocks, so say a half day in priority items. I'm anticipating a full day for the brakes given I need to lift and support the car, pull off all the wheels/tires, install the new booster and master, come up with a pedal rod extension, make a couple of lines to connect the master to the distribution block, flush out the DOT5, assemble the Kore3 hubs, disassemble the existing hubs/brakes, install the new hubs, install rotors, calipers, hoses, do a final flush and bleed, reattach the wheels, put the car on the ground, bed the new pads and get at least an initial adjustment on the proportioning valve. That's if everything goes well and I don't have the wrong parts or need to chase down parts that I can't get locally.

Doing the brake swap without changing the booster may save a small amount of time if the lines match up well enough (they would be close and might work with some tweaking), but I really just want to do the master swap one time with the new booster so I don't have to open up and rebleed the system again. I think I am either going to go for the whole shebang or not, but I will defer the decision to after I get the other items done (honey-dos, shocks, oil change, seat).

hookemdevils22

iTrader: (12)

Kids and free time are mutually exclusive. It's why I've been keeping my projects (aside from the radiator) to quick-hitters that I can knock out after the boys go to bed. Kick the oil, shocks, and seat*, then see if you truly have time to do the brakes before attacking the cones. As a great man once said, the nice thing about autocross is, if you miss it, all you gotta do is join in the next time it comes around.

*Full disclosure: I saw your IG posts, so I know that's what you're doing.