Difference in stock chevelle & nova calipers

[jimmer]

OK...As I let the Nova "settle" on the new springs...time to take onthe brakes.

This car is factory discs (73 ss) and considering I'm pounding the unemployment line...the c5/c6 brake upgrade will have to wait.

Question I have is...will the calipers from a 69 Chevelle bolt up and work on the Nova brackets? I know that the rotor is the same...

Looks like the brake hose inlet is opposite on on the Chevelle calipers. Of course nobody in town has the Chevelle parts so I can compare them to the Nova.

Reason I ask is that my dad has the 69 calipers and rotors with about 6K miles on them that he took off his 65 Elky since he swapped to c5/c6.

Possible to use or am I smokin like Cheech and Chong ;)

[HILROD]

Those should bolt right up, and work fine. The Camaro'68-9 and Chevelle 68-72? are the same as Nova 68-73 or 4.

[jimmer]

FINALLY found a store in town that had a Chevelle caliper. The Chevelle and Nova calipers differ in where the brake line attaches.

The Chevelle attaches on the "backside and front part of the caliper" and the Nova attaches in the "backside and rear".

I will bolt the caliper up and see what to do about brake lines. I wonder if the Chevelles had the hard line terminate "forward" of the wheel centerline...thus the reason for the hose to attach to the "front" of the caliper?

I'm sure I can make anything work...and especially if I can save a few bucks by using almost new parts that my dad has laying around.

[Tudorwagon]

The Chevelles' hardlines approach the spindle from the rear of the car (behind the centerline of the front suspension).

The first photo on this page is from my '65 Chevelle project, but the spindles and brakes are '69 Chevelle components (for purposes of this discussion the frame differences from 65 to 69 aren't a factor): http://www.geocities.com/tudorwagon1...ailspage3.html

I'm not exactly sure what would be dramatically different between where the hardlines terminated and how the flex hoses approach the caliper as compared between a Nova and a Chevelle, but I would think you could use the '69 Chevelle spindles and brake brackets and simply use the Nova calipers and hoses.

[jimmer]

Tudorwagon...GREAT shots of your frame...thanks for the pix.

I mentioned in my first post that I can get a complete 69 Chevelle DB setup...rotors/bearings/calipers/pads with under 10K miles from my dads 65 Camino project for FREE... Don't need spindles. My 73 Nova SS HAS discs but the parts are junk. Was gonna do C5 swap..but the unemployment bug hit...sooo to keep the projet moving I need brakes. If I can get Free instead of giving my money to the local NAPA for new nova stuff...I'm better off...

Looks as the hose "mount" is on the side of the frame and mine is on the top. I do know that my hose is shorter than yours... I mean that the Nova hose is shorter than Chevelle.

Here is a pic of the Nova hose mount at the frame



In my cold medicine induced stupor of my last post...I mentioned the hose placement between the calipers. The nova is on TOP and the Chevelle caliper hose opening is on the bottom.

So...If I use the Chevelle caliper with lower hose opening with the Nova's hose attachemnt point on the top of the frame...I need a LONG hose... to make it work... I will send for the parts from Seattle and then go a looking for "hoses". I love looking thru parts books.

[Tito]

Sounds remarkably like the info from Davidpozzi's site (bottom of the page)
http://www.pozziracing.com/brakes.htm

Here's a comparison between a Monte Carlo (Left) caliper and a stock Camaro caliper (right). The 69 hose comes out near the top and has a clip that bolts to the upper A frame lip just back from the ball joint. You can see two holes, one for the bolt the other for the clip to hook on to keep it from rotating.

The Monte Carlo caliper has a hose that is shorter and comes out at the bottom of the caliper.

I used the Monte Carlo caliper on my 67 but the brake hose caliper fitting rubbed my bump stop a little. 67 bump stops are different than 68, and 69 is different again.

For ref, the "stock" brake hoses on a '69 camaro (and I'm assuming a 68-74 nova?) are 16" long, so you'll probably need something in the 18" range. Probably over-stated by (everyone?) but consider braided hoses if you have to replace them anyway.

[indyjps]

Watch out for the Cheech and Chong, You'll be building pro-touring ice cream trucks

good luck with your brakes