Caliper upgrade?

[Richio1]

I have 4 wheel discs on my 69 camaro. They are dual piston and the previous owner had them chromed so I dont know what brand they are. The rotors are slotted and drilled and are 12".

I am wondering if it is just posible to upgrade the calipers and not have to buy a whole new kit. If so any input on which brands offer direct replacements would be great.

Thanks!

[paul67]

Can you post some pics of them, someone might khow by the pic's.

[ProdigyCustoms]

We have these Wilwood Calipers. D52 direct replacement aluminum, 2 piston caliper that uses factory pads.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

[67 455 Bird ragtop]

We have these Wilwood Calipers. D52 direct replacement aluminum, 2 piston caliper that uses factory pads.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif

Sorry to hi-jack this thread but have a question for Frank -

I know the single piston calipers also use the D52 pads. Will these two-piston calipers work as a direct replacement for the single piston calipers or are the GM III the only ones that do?

[ProdigyCustoms]

The D52 caliper is a direct bolt-on 2 piston replacement for the factory original single calipers on many 1968-96 GM Passenger Vehicles and Trucks. Forged billet aluminum bodies, stainless steel pistons, and competition style high-temperature seals put and end to the rust, bore pitting, and seal failures that plague the OE caliper design. D52 calipers provide low-maintenance performance and a huge weight savings with high temperature reliability for the street and track.

[67 455 Bird ragtop]

The D52 caliper is a direct bolt-on 2 piston replacement for the factory original single calipers on many 1968-96 GM Passenger Vehicles and Trucks. Forged billet aluminum bodies, stainless steel pistons, and competition style high-temperature seals put and end to the rust, bore pitting, and seal failures that plague the OE caliper design. D52 calipers provide low-maintenance performance and a huge weight savings with high temperature reliability for the street and track.


Thanks Frank. I'll be in touch.

[rebelgtp]

I was wondering about using these D52 calipers to replace the factory ones on my '80 Cutlass. Is there a set that will fit the stock disk or will I need to upgrade to a 12" disk setup?

[AtomicFirebird]

I want the D52 calipers for my 68 Firebird. What do I need to do?

[ProdigyCustoms]

Call me tomorrow and I will get you a set coming.

[ProdigyCustoms]

I was wondering about using these D52 calipers to replace the factory ones on my '80 Cutlass. Is there a set that will fit the stock disk or will I need to upgrade to a 12" disk setup?

They fit wherever a stock caliper fits.

[67 455 Bird ragtop]

I had a brief chat with Frank about these since I hadn't visited the Wilwood site in a while. These are pretty new calipers on the market. They replace the single piston calipers just like the GM III's did. There is a nice write up in the May issue of Car Craft on these calipers. I plan on getting a pair of these for my 67 'Bird and ditching the heavy cast single piston calipers.

[critter]

Frank, I'm pretty sure that I understand this caliper will take any D52 pad, correct? So if I want to run Hawk HPS pads I can? For those of us running the 1LE setup this is a nice, relatively inexpensive step up. And please tell me that red isn't the only color they come in. :)

[ProdigyCustoms]

You are correct Critter

[rebelgtp]

Sweet I will be ordering a set in about a month or so.

[Skip Fix]

I know some guys using the 1LE and the factory caliper upgrade to the larger police Impala/Caprice pad(D61 I think). Wonder if that will fit these calipers also.

[BonzoHansen]

If it fits a d52 caliper I'd think it would fit. The problem guys seem to running into with the D61 stuff is the pads are too thick. I use Hawk pads for 94-96 Impalas, which are D61s but the friction material is not as thick, so they fit OE D52 setups fine.

[Richio1]

Thanks for all the great info guys.

Frank can you PM me with a price and BTW do they come in black too?

[ProdigyCustoms]

They are red only

[a67]

I too am interested in knowing whether the D61 pads fit the Wilwood D52 calipers. Right now The '67 has '69 mid size (GTO) Pontiac spindles, brackets, rotors, and D52 calipers with D61 pads.

Which the D52 calipers weigh a ton. Been thinking of going with PBR dual piston with 12" rotors (ala '86-'96 Vette). But like the idea of the replacment aluminum D52 calipers.

Note to get the D61 pads to fit the stock D52 calipers I milled a smidge (1/32"?) off the face of the pads. There was also a rivet head protruding from the backing plate of 2 pads (one on each side) that needs some filing. That was to get the pad to sit flush with the caliper.

Although heavy, these brakes work!

In calculating the piston area difference between the stock D52's and the 2" bore Wilwoods. The Wilwood would have about 7% less braking pressure with the same line pressure. Which is not enough to worry about.

I used 2-15/16" bore for the D52. Some places list 2-7/8", so I'm not exactly sure of the bore size.

Although with the dual bores the Wilwoods would have a better sweet spot. IOW, they would have a better feel to the braking. As long as flex isn't an issue.

Just to add, one item I don't like about the Wilwoods is that there aren't any dust boots. I'm not sure about how this affects long term longevity for street use. Dirt and water may be an issue.

Bob.

[TnBlkC230WZ]

Frank,

I notice Willwood has two pistion sizes for these. what would you recommend if Installing a a Nova with Cadillac D122 rear brakes?

Also How do these compare SSBS two piston calipers performance wise? I'm going to do something in the near future.

Dave

[BonzoHansen]

Again, the D61: The 94-96 Impala SS use a D61 size pad that is the same thickness as our stock D52 pads. Thinner than the standard D61. I have the B-Body/'1LE' setup on my 77, hawk HB131F-595.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/03/1LE_HawkPads-1.jpg

My car has much more brake than tire. :(

[a67]

Again, the D61: The 94-96 Impala SS use a D61 size pad that is the same thickness as our stock D52 pads. Thinner than the standard D61. I have the B-Body/'1LE' setup on my 77, hawk HB131F-595.

My car has much more brake than tire. :(

Good info along with the added picture.

Dos anyone know if the D61 pad fits the Wilwood D52 replacement caliper?

Bob.

[BonzoHansen]

Some one send me a set of the calipers and I will test fit. :)

[Richio1]

Great, keep us posted.

[ProdigyCustoms]

One easy way to tell if a Wilwood D52 caliper will replace the existing caliper is to measure the bolt spread on the original caliper. If the existing caliper is 7.05" bolt spread, our D52 will replace it.

I sent a inquiry to my guy at Wilwood:


There seems to be some confusion about the D61 pad. A D61 pad comes from an Austin Healey. A D614 pad comes from a late model Impala. The D614 pad appears to be nearly identical to the D52, but I cannot find any reason that someone would want to run the D614 pad. The only advantage I can gather is that the D614 is slightly thicker, which would make it last slightly longer which is important if you're running a 24 hour race, but completely useless on a street car. I can't find a friction material advantage because the D52 is offered in all of the Polymatrix compounds which include everything from street pads to the highest friction pads in all racing, the A compound pad. So the answer is yes, it looks like you could run the D614 pad, but I can't think of a good reason to run the D614 pad.

I would recommend the smaller piston version for any rear application. Keep in mind these have no parking brake feature, so if a guy is going to replace his Cadillac parking brake caliper with ours he would lose the parking brake. Not to mention, ours would not be a direct bolt on, he would need to make a new mount.

Our calipers fit 1.25" or 1" rotors, and only weigh 5 lbs each, a 50% weight savings.

Our calipers are superior to SSBC for two reasons. First, our calipers use much larger pistons, essentially the equivalent of the factory size. SSBC uses dramatically smaller pistons, resulting a loss of brake torque and a reduction in stopping power. Secondly, ours are way cheaper than SSBC.

Lastly, we are working on having black D52s available in the next couple of months, but keep that to yourself until I've got some on the shelf.

[Skip Fix]

Frank if you look at his picture you can see the Impala pad has more surface area than the D52 pad.

Hard to want to put a red caliper on an all black TA! Might be waiting for those black ones Frank!

[a67]

Frank, thanks for the additional info. D614 it is, and calipers in black will be better then red (at least on this car that is).

As for running the D614 pads in the Wilwood calipers, I already have those so it would be saving some coin to be able to continue running them. Along with the fact that they are already bedded to the rotors.

As Skip Fix mentioned, the D614 pads have more surface area then the D52 pads (quite a bit at that). Which is why I am currently running them.

Bob.

[BonzoHansen]

If the wilwood guy can't find decent impala ss pads he's not looking hard enough. Hawk & Porterfield make them.


He's right, they are D614. I never knew where the D61 moniker came from. I figure that's just one of those things.

[TnBlkC230WZ]

I would recommend the smaller piston version for any rear application. Keep in mind these have no parking brake feature, so if a guy is going to replace his Cadillac parking brake caliper with ours he would lose the parking brake. Not to mention, ours would not be a direct bolt on, he would need to make a new mount.



Thanks for the reply Frank. I'm asking which size piston for the front brakes if I have Cadillac callipers on the rear? I'd vote for the black calipers too, but red will work if that is all that is available. It is nice that powdercoating is included in the price.

Dave

[Rod]

If you have a 4-wheel disc brake set up choose the smaller 1 1/4 Bore models to maintain proper front to rear bias

[ProdigyCustoms]

Dav, I do know what size the rear cliper pistons are. You have any information on that?

[Skip Fix]

Frank do they have O ring in the outer part for the caliper to slide on the bolt/pin? I can't tell for sure with the picture.

I know some of their GM single replacement calipers do not and the hole ID is about 0.035 bigger than the bolt end.

[TnBlkC230WZ]

Dav, I do know what size the rear cliper pistons are. You have any information on that?

I don't know the exact size. They are about 2 inches though. The D122 pad is slightly (about 20%) smaller than a D52 pad.

[BonzoHansen]

Are they the same as 2nd gen firebird calipers? I have a set in the garage, I think.

[opnwide]

Can you run these Wilwood calipers with the s10 rear disc conversion?
Looking to convert my '76 when I get my car back from body shop (Cool Cars of Austin).

[HotWired]

Frank,
Looking to install these on A-body 68-72 spindles on a 74 buick apollo. I noticed on the wilwood site that they will except up to a 12" rotor (stock a-body is 10"). Do you know if I could use ILE rotors on a-body spindle and use these calipers? This would allow a great brake upgrade and keep me under 13" to be able to run my 17" TT2. I also vote for BLACK!!!!! Thanks

[Nothingface5384]

I;ve ordered these a few weeks ago and got some 95 impala d614 pads..

my only question is what the hell holds the one pad to the pistion side of the calipers?

my old stock 1 pistion caliper there was a clip that goes onto the pad and compresses/expands inside the pistion to hold the pad in place?

do I ned two smaller clips for the 2 pistion and where may I get them?
did any camaros have a setup like the wilwood d52s where I may just go to advanceauto and order these clips?

also, didnt see it answered but people with edelrado 79+ the piston bore is like 2.126 ...for some weird reason you for a 78+caliper(unlikely as the kits use the 79+) the piston bore is 2.497...either way you'll want the wilwood 2in bore (2pistons = 4'bore) and not the 1.5x

BTW hotwired, I see you're on v8buick

[HotWired]

I;ve ordered these a few weeks ago and got some 95 impala d614 pads..

my only question is what the hell holds the one pad to the pistion side of the calipers?

my old stock 1 pistion caliper there was a clip that goes onto the pad and compresses/expands inside the pistion to hold the pad in place?

do I ned two smaller clips for the 2 pistion and where may I get them?
did any camaros have a setup like the wilwood d52s where I may just go to advanceauto and order these clips?

also, didnt see it answered but people with edelrado 79+ the piston bore is like 2.126 ...for some weird reason you for a 78+caliper(unlikely as the kits use the 79+) the piston bore is 2.497...either way you'll want the wilwood 2in bore (2pistons = 4'bore) and not the 1.5x

BTW hotwired, I see you're on v8buick

yeah what can I say you caught me i'm a buick nut, good to see there are other tri-sheild fans out there. :cheers:

I could not come up with a bearing set that would work, would need an adaptor sleeve to make it work. I decided to just install stock disc on the GS400 with my 17" TT2's and some other mods.

As for the Apollo, after talking to Tobin at Kore 3 again I decided to go C5 front and rear and may upgrade to 18" wheels:pat: great back on the wheel hunt again, so many choices and yet still comes back to a classic 5-spoke.

[Nothingface5384]

yea I'd go that route too if I was going 17+ but I have yet to see a 70-72 buick look good lowered with bigger rims
64-65 buicks look sweet lowereed though along with some 66/67 model years

[HotWired]

I'll post pics of the 68 next week when my tires get here:
rear 17x9.5 275 50 17 27.8" tall
front 17x7 225 50 17 26" tall
Eibach springs 1.3 drop front and rear
should give a nice stagger, wanted more of the muscle car look and not so much pro-touring :idea: on second thought maybe i'll post pics on the other site.

BTW thanks jon driverz inc.

[70Blwnova]

Me waiting for black too Frank. Or how about a flat charcoal / gunmetal.....

[70Blwnova]

Frank - any news on Black? I need calipers TODAY - I'll be in touch - I'll ahve to go with red if that's all that's available now. I need the Wilwood Prop valve too - thanks

[ProdigyCustoms]

I will make the call today. Stay tuned

[Skip Fix]

Wilwood tech guy PM'd me black later this month hopefully and they will also be doing a similar caliper for GM metric size.

[Zanie]

my only question is what the hell holds the one pad to the pistion side of the calipers?

my old stock 1 pistion caliper there was a clip that goes onto the pad and compresses/expands inside the pistion to hold the pad in place?



That's just a rattle clip. It stops the inner pad from rattling around when the pads are not engaged.

The guy that did the brakes on my dually before I bought it was nice enough to leave them off.

Rattle, rattle over every bump! unless you gave it a little brake.

I want black calipers for my Shovel!

[Skip Fix]

I just can't bring myself to add a red caliper on my all black TA, maybe a black or silver.

[ProdigyCustoms]

I talked to the man at Wilwood today and he said 2 more months for black. He is aware of this thread also.

[critter]

Skip, I feel your pain. My car, as you know, is white with a blue vinyl top. Can you imagine red calipers with that? :)

[Skip Fix]

I can of like a more stealthy appearance myself.

[ProdigyCustoms]

As and you shall recieve.

They are here!

I have a VERY limited supply Black D52 calipers in stock and since they are only a few sets...............$1000 Dollars (does his best Dr Evil)

Or regular price of $360 a pair with pads!

Supply is limited, more supply will come in a couple months, but we did sneak a few through for now

[gold79ta]

I think I want a black set for my gold 79 T/A.