69 GTO Build

['71cutlasluvr]

Gus,

I agree with Eric, get the Global West Tall strut set up. Unfortunately, they came out with that about six months after I bought my set up. Oh well... I'll make mine work, just fine. When you call Global West, ask for Eric, and let him know Mike in San Diego, with the GTO, recommended you call him. I got the Willwood's from them too. They even mounted the front rotors and calipers on powder coated spindles, of my choosing.

To drill, or not to drill, is a long ongoing debate with everyone in the big brake world. In my opinion, it depends on how well the holes are machined. If the hole edges are not rounded or chamfered appropriately, it will lead to stress build up at that spot. Therefore leading to cracking. That said, routine inspection is always recommended on hard use rotors, and cracking is somewhat easy to see. That said, notice how my rotors are painted black? The pads will wear the black off the brake surface, where the holes and slots will remain black. Kind of a cool way to prevent oxidation. (I had Baer brakes on a prior project where the rotors were bare metal... it looks nasty when the slots, holes, and vents start to oxidize.) Again, the above is just my engineering opinion.

Great to hear you have a reliable body guy lined up that'll coach you and take over to spray. At least if I scratch or dent my car, I'll now know how to fix it.

I hope to get some progress done this weekend, in between naps, etc...

Talk soon, Mike

Hey Mike

Thanks for the detailed response and the contact name at Global west. I appreciate it. The point about oxidation is a good one. Yeah, I can imagine how the baer's look as the holes oxidize. And there's no easy way to clean 'em up either. Going with the black was very smart on your part. However, my spindle situation is a bit different... The tall spindle setup from SC&C have oversized ZR1 corvette ready bearings as part of a promotion I fell into when I placed my order with Mark. So hopefully Wilwood sells a big brake setup like yours that's compatible with the Corvette's caliper bolt pattern and tall spindle setup that have been engineered into my components. It will be a while before funds are available or the need for the brakes to be installed will be a necessity, but thank you so much for the food for thought. Great ideas!

I am finding that as time goes by, more and more great ideas and innovations are popping up for our a-bodies. But then I think that maybe I should wait a while longer to see what else comes down the pike... but then nothing gets done. Such a conundrum, eh?

btw: The light setup I'm using is this one, if anyone is still interested.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Lithonia-...10PS/202516724

Will post pics during the weekend of lights and my cutting progress on the 442.



Enjoy your weekend Mike. Good luck on getting some project work done AND some sleep!
Take care,
Gus