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Part Number: SUM-bk1626
I'm creating this post because I suspect I'm not the only one who will encounter this kit and will need this info. This is the cheapest rear disc brake conversion kit available for early mustangs. By comparison, the SSBC Kit is to $150 more. I just wanted a single piston kit and didn't feel like paying for the branding and the kit had good reviews so I went with it.
The calipers are from 1979 Cadillac Eldorado.
There are some quality youtube videos on this caliper. Apparently this is a common caliper used in swaps across many makes and models.
FYI: The instructions provided by Summit Racing stink. I'm halfway through and wondering if I should have just bought the more complete SSBC kit. This kit is unpainted, included no new t-bolts, no new wheel studs.
Edit: Summit gave me the wrong info. Calipers are from an 1979 eldorado style. NOT 1978. The piston size is different. Get the rebuild kit for the 1979 if you need it.
Last edited by TremendousWand (11/06/2018 11:40 AM)
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This is main reason I chose to no longer sell that kit. I sold about ten of them and decided I would revert to my Ford kits.
I do have a set of those summit style small bearing caliper brackets and rotors for the 79-80 Eldorado calipers if anyone wants it. Cheap. The calipers can be bought at OReilly for $180 including core charge for the pair. I will take $50 for the brackets and rotors, but I don’t want to ship them. And that includes a pair of core rotors to save the core charges.
Suggest you go cobra or Mustang rears. They work great.
And NO RETURNS.
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I really advise you to use anything but the Eldo calipers. You will encounter more than $150 worth of headaches with those Caddy calipers. Back around 2002 while walking wrecking yards, I thought the Eldo caliper would be an easy swap. I gathered the parts to swap in 1980 Eldo rear calipers. Then I started finding horror stories online about the difficulties adjusting those calipers. I found a set of 2001 Cobra rear discs and installed them a few years ago.
As mentioned in the you tube vid, they are a pita. If you're set on using them, and $150 is going to change your life, I'll send you my Eldo calipers, rotors, brackets and the cube adjusting tool for shipping cost. You'll need to source the rotor centering ring.
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I'll second that, or is it third? I have those calipers on the '87 K5. It has a rather poorly designed rear disc conversion kit from WARN. At some point I'll make up my own conversion using commonly available parts that don't need to be modified (long story), but those Eldo calipers will be going bye, bye for sure.
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At this point I'm standing on the chair and the noose is already around my neck. So I'm jumping off.
I had no way of what was in the kit before ordering. I supposed I should have asked. Hopefully someone can learn from my situation.
Before I found the youtube videos I was really worried but I feel better now. I tore one of the gaskets in taking it a part to paint. Btw, the paint cost $25 bucks and the rebuild kit was another $25 to replace the gasket. I can't really take a $400 hit right now. I'll make it work. Staying positive.
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Shoulda, woulda, coulda. Good Luck.
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What about returning the kit? I've never had an issue with Summit when I wasn't happy with something. Granted, its got to be within 90 days I believe, and returned in saleable condition.
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I painted the calipers and it very clearly says that painted calipers cannot be returned. The good news about something so widely used is that there is plenty of info on getting these too work. They don't seem great but they have been installed across just about every make and model restoration seems. Getting this ebrake adjusted correctly seems like the real challenge.
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Yep, they can't be returned painted. Seems to me the only problem is the paint...
They are an absolute nightmare. The e-brake will not stay in adjustment. There's that old saying about throwing good money after bad, though there's also that one about horses, water, and drinking I suppose.
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TKOPerformance wrote:
The e-brake will not stay in adjustment.
It's a pretty interesting little mechanism. I see how it works after taking it apart and seeing a few videos. The e-brake 'auto adjust' by way of an internal ratcheting mechanism. This is independent of the hydraulic activated piston that is activated when braking. As the pads wear out, the e-brake ratchets out ever so slightly to close the gap. Otherwise you would have to pull e-brake the handle further or press the brake pedal further to get engagement. This is why the instructions on these e-brake repeatedly say you must use the e-brake frequently to maintain correct adjustment. It's a low-tech 100% mechanical solution. I'm sure there are better ways of doing it but this is fairly simple. I get why these are so cheap and popular now. Regardless, the drum e-brake w/ the under dash pull handle barely locked the wheels no matter how I adjusted it and was restricted by how hard I could pull the damn handle anyway. This will be an improvement. Staying positive. Be on the lookout for a post in a month about how I can't the damn e-brake adjusted, lol.
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Consider that Cadillac only used this setup for two years. That tells you everything you need to know. It was an idea that worked well in theory, but not in practice. I use the e-brake EVERY time I park my Blazer, yet still the e-brake comes out of adjustment in about every ten uses. Its just really not a good setup, and comes from a time when rear discs were still relatively uncommon.
The factory parking brake was also about a joke. There are several better solutions, but nothing that's really turn key so to speak.
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TremendousWand wrote:
TKOPerformance wrote:
The e-brake will not stay in adjustment.
It's a pretty interesting little mechanism. I see how it works after taking it apart and seeing a few videos. The e-brake 'auto adjust' by way of an internal ratcheting mechanism. This is independent of the hydraulic activated piston that is activated when braking. As the pads wear out, the e-brake ratchets out ever so slightly to close the gap. Otherwise you would have to pull e-brake the handle further or press the brake pedal further to get engagement. This is why the instructions on these e-brake repeatedly say you must use the e-brake frequently to maintain correct adjustment. It's a low-tech 100% mechanical solution. I'm sure there are better ways of doing it but this is fairly simple. I get why these are so cheap and popular now. Regardless, the drum e-brake w/ the under dash pull handle barely locked the wheels no matter how I adjusted it and was restricted by how hard I could pull the damn handle anyway. This will be an improvement. Staying positive. Be on the lookout for a post in a month about how I can't the damn e-brake adjusted, lol.
I understand what you mean. I put 2017 GT calipers and rotors on the rear of my 66. Stops great but I can't pull the stock handle hard enough to set the parking brake. I'm going to put a '92 Escort hump mounted lever on it.
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Late model cobra and gt rear discs use the same adjustment syetem, and they work very well. You do have to use the parking brake for it to work.
The cobras on my 66 hold very well using the stock pull handle, even with my reduced leverage of a shorter lever nder the car ( for exhaust clearance). They wll work very well if your cable can pull one full inch. You should be able to easily achieve holding on a steep hill using stock linkage. Probably not lock-up, but sufficient to hold the car on a hill.
If you have gt rear calipers and route the stock drum cables as suggested in my instructions, they will hold the car very tight.
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MS wrote:
Late model cobra and gt rear discs use the same adjustment syetem, and they work very well. You do have to use the parking brake for it to work.
The cobras on my 66 hold very well using the stock pull handle, even with my reduced leverage of a shorter lever nder the car ( for exhaust clearance). They wll work very well if your cable can pull one full inch. You should be able to easily achieve holding on a steep hill using stock linkage. Probably not lock-up, but sufficient to hold the car on a hill.
If you have gt rear calipers and route the stock drum cables as suggested in my instructions, they will hold the car very tight.
I agree with MS about using late model Mustang rear brakes. And....Why mess with Caddy calipers. The SSBC kit uses 84 SVO/Lincoln Calipers. All Ford and pads are std size. One of the kits will fit 15" wheels if you are not a 17" wheel person.
Last edited by lowercasesteve (11/04/2018 10:16 PM)
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TKOPerformance wrote:
I'll second that, or is it third? I have those calipers on the '87 K5. It has a rather poorly designed rear disc conversion kit from WARN. At some point I'll make up my own conversion using commonly available parts that don't need to be modified (long story), but those Eldo calipers will be going bye, bye for sure.
I'd like to see some pics of those on your 87........I'm migrating away from this blue oval stuff and am about to pick up an '88 K5 so, seeing pics of your K5 would be helpful...
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Sure, I'll snap some later today. They're great trucks, you won't regret your purchase.
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Parking brake cables are off of it at the moment because I was looking at them to see if they were the cause of the parking brake not staying in adjustment. I got fed up with it a couple years back and just haven't messed with it since. The kit was from WARN. It was part of a full floating axle conversion they used to offer for the 10 bolt rear in these trucks, but that kit is NLA. The brakes required machining out the hub bore in a set of front rotors from an IFS 4X4 Chevy to fit over the hub (which is huge now due to the bearings, etc. for the full float conversion), the brackets came with it, and I had to source the calipers and brake lines (I think they were from a Monte Carlo, can't remember the year). To say this was a some assembly required deal would be a gross understatement. The caliper brackets had no means of adjustment, and due to the varying thickness of the backing plate mounting flange from rear to rear required milling some material off to move the brackets outwards and prevent the calipers from being cocked on the discs. The rotors, obviously cannot be directly replaced with anything because of the custom machining. They forgot to mention that the lug holes are different size than the ones on these trucks, and the rotors are lug centric, so I had to make sleeves to get the rotors centered properly. The rear brake lines, well, if anyone had any illusions that you were going to marry a Monte Carlo soft hose to a K5 rear hard line with no modification I'd have to say you were smoking something. I just made new rear hard lines. Same deal for the parking brake cables. All in all, if I'd any idea going in it was going to be like that I'd have come up with something better using commonly available parts that didn't require custom machining. As per usual, the description of the kit made it sound like a simple bolt on. Oh, of course the stock combo valve and master cylinder also were not going to work. You know, details, details. I used a master from a C3 Vette (custom adapter needed for that to mate to my K5 booster too), and had to modify a combination valve and install an adjustable proportioning valve in the rear line. The best advice I can give on this kit is thank God its NLA, don't try to track one down, and NEVER use it.
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