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Post by 406vette on Jun 2, 2015 7:49:30 GMT -5
Just thought I would put this info back out on this site since the old site went down.
Parts List:
1966-69 Corvair or 1967-69 Camaro front hubs- 5x3/4 bolt pattern.
Timken wheel bearings-
Inner- Set 30
Outer- Set 2
Wheels Seals- 710224
Rotors- 2001 Pontiac Grand Am
Caliper, brackets and pads- 2001 Pontiac Grand Am
2 inch pc of 4130 DOM tubing- .7500 od with a .035 wall thickness. Got mine at OnlineMetals.Com
1. Machining bearing spacers from tubing: .600 long spacer O.D needs to be turned down to .7505. This will give you a press fit into the Set 2 outer wheel bearing. Then you will need to hone to I.D. to .6875. This will give you a slip fit on the spindle like the original bearing.
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2. Machining hubs:
The hubs will need to be machined as follows. The seal surface I.D. need to be enlarged to 2.441. This will allow the seal I spec to fit the hub and the spindle without any spacers required. Next the O.D. of the wheel mounting flange needs to be turned down to 5.680. This will allow any rotor to slide over the flange. Last the outer bearing stop needs to be set .125 deeper. This will keep the bearing spacing the same as the Chevette’s.
3. Chamfer inner bearing:
The inner wheel bearing, Set 30, will need to have a radius added to the side that rests against the back of the spindle. My bearing didn’t have proper clearance to clear the radius on the spindle.
4. Remove dust shield and file down raised area on spindle so the bracket will sit flush on the mounting tabs. These are the dimensions for the bracket too. The bracket will need to be shaped so it clears the piston area of the caliper.
5. Install rotor:
The Grand Am rotor 11” dia. And has a 5X115mm bolt pattern. This is close enough to the 5X4 3/4 that it will just slip right on with no modifications. The factory brake hoses are also still used, but you need the banjo bolt for the Grand am calipers.
Old vs. New!
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Post by 406vette on Jun 2, 2015 7:53:56 GMT -5
This is how nice a Chevette looks with some Weld Draglites.
Also switched to a 1" bore Corvette master cylinder at a later date.
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Post by druggles85 on Jun 12, 2015 22:37:42 GMT -5
Wow thank you for re-posting this, I thought it was lost with the ACO turned Platform-T site I love seeing the details of this swap. I actually have most of this setup on my kitchen table, unfortunately I on't think it will work with my choice of wheels... Do I recall you posting pictures of a corvette wheel that was too wide for the front?
I'm using third gen z28 wheels and am going down a terrible gm metric road, wish they fit more favorably with your swap. Are you on any other forums or the facebook group?
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Post by 406vette on Jun 15, 2015 5:32:32 GMT -5
What's your plans with the front end to better fit the 3rd gen wheels? You almost need to narrow the track width to get them to sit under the fenders.
Here's how the corvette 17X9.5 wheels look. I think they would fit but would require a shorter tire and some inner fender work.
Same car with your typical 3.5" wheel on front. I think these are 1.75" BS.
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Post by druggles85 on Jun 15, 2015 18:19:28 GMT -5
I'm just caliper brackets (no free time) away, I'm using s10/camaro/g-body 10.5" rotors, install using the Timken set30 like yours,outer is a set32 with a spacer made, I had a ring made to expand the grease seal area. The caliper brackets are being a pita but only because I don't have a band saw. It's kind of a backwards way to upgrade brakes, I'm only going this route to make the wheels fit.   Tires are obviously too big but they came with the wheels lol  |
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Post by 406vette on Jun 17, 2015 8:34:36 GMT -5
Lookin good.
The wheel/tire combo in the 2nd post is a Weld Draglite 15X7 with 5.50 backspace and a 205/50R15 tire.
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Post by druggles85 on Jun 17, 2015 20:45:45 GMT -5
yikes!! what rear axle did that car have? my wheels are 15x7 with a 4.5" backspace. It might take some effort to keep them under the car where they belong.
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Post by 406vette on Jun 18, 2015 5:36:09 GMT -5
The Chevette had a Ford 8.8 rearend, which is far superior to the 7.5" 10 bolt S-10 rear. My 8.8 axle had plenty of 10 sec 1/4 passes on it. There's really not much involved in prepping a 8.8 for a Chevette. I bought my rear for around $50 out of a pick and pull yard. What you want is a 83-92 Ranger 8.8 axle. The axle codes are listed on the driver side door and below is a list of the codes you should look for. R5 and R6 axles are more common than you might think. I was running the R6 rear. R5= 3.55 gears Limited Slip R6= 3.73 gears Limited Slip R7= 4.10 gears Limited Slip R8= 4.56 gears Limited Slip The stock axle is 56" from axle flange to axle flange, but these rears have an offset pinion and 1 axle is longer than the other. So you will also need another right side axle from another rear to use in the left side of the rear you plan to use. I swap the axles out in the yard so I don't have to pay for a rear plus another axle. You will need to cut down the left side axle tube by 3" and reweld. Once complete the overall axle will be 53" using all factory parts. I also upgrade the stock limited slip with Ford Racing Carbon Fiber clutches. Part # FMS-M-4700-C. This set-up will handle 10 sec ETs on slicks with no problem. This is the 8.8 ladder bar set-up I used.    |
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Post by ricrx7 on Oct 29, 2015 21:54:06 GMT -5
I thought Fiero front hubs would work on the Chevette?
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Post by druggles85 on Oct 29, 2015 22:30:00 GMT -5
yeah, the 84-87 Fiero fronts will work, but the bolt pattern is 5x100 this swap is to convert to 5x4.75
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Post by joedvette41 on Dec 3, 2016 11:42:13 GMT -5
I did a similar swap using s10 front brake/hubs that I cut down to be just hubs. Then I mounted C5 corvette rotors and floating calipers via a bracket, so they are like 12.5" rotors and wont fit under anything smaller than 17" rims. I don't think I can add pics as a guest...
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Post by ricrx7 on Jan 6, 2017 22:14:27 GMT -5
Re: modification by 402vette: Did this move the rim inward? And how much if it did? What I mean is did the rim mounting surface on the new rotor move inward from where it was with the old rotor?
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Post by bigcreek123 on Apr 18, 2018 10:06:31 GMT -5
Is it possible to see these photos? I am unable to view them and I am needing to do the conversion.
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Post by 406vette on Apr 19, 2018 5:38:28 GMT -5
Pics are fixed.
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Post by austin53 on Dec 14, 2019 17:55:31 GMT -5
406vette can u reload those pics of the brake swap?
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