Vega Front brake calipers

[avewhtboy]

So I am trying to get a solid brake pedal on my new/old Vega and found both bleeder screws in the front
calipers frozen and heads stripped down. I tried heat and vise grips but no luck so I decided I would just
replace the front calipers but all the parts houses have none in stock and also report no drivers side calipers
are available.

I have been able to source 1980 Monza calipers, but they will have to be ordered and I am afraid they won't
fit since they are not actually listed as fitting a Vega even though the look identical.

From what I understand the difference could be the Monza caliper is for a "vented" rotor but those don't appear
to be available at all!

So I am not really wanting to buy new wheels and tires so i was not trying to do the S10 swap. Any ideas?

[dindin]

I got mine at Rock auto for 75 Vega https://www.rockauto.com

Al

[avewhtboy]

I got mine at Rock auto for 75 Vega https://www.rockauto.com

Al

I checked them last night they show out of stock from what I can tell, when you go to checkout it removed the item
from my cart saying not available.

[dindin]

I had that happen and it was a computer on my side, But Amazon has them also http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sx_as/192-0 ... 591-------

Al

[cjbiagi]

Parts for all H body brakes are getting scarce. If you want to upgrade to the late 1976 and up vented rotors I have some available. You would also need to get the matching calipers and I should be able to source those as well. You can't mix and match rotors and calipers as they are different between early and late style. If you prefer to stick to the early solid rotor design I may be able to source calipers for those but it really makes sense to at least upgrade to the late style rotors. Let me know....happy to do what I can. cjbiagi@yahoo.com

[avewhtboy]

Hey thanks for the replies, I just took the calipers to a friend that manages a muffler/brake shop and we
were able to get the bleeder screws out thankfully!!!

I will probably do the S10 swap at some point but need to make some other decisions before I tackle that.

I checked Amazon too and even though they listed them as available the delivery time said 4-6 weeks, who's got
that kind of time to wait?????

I want to drive this weekend dammit!

[cjbiagi]

if anyone else thinks they need either vented rotors, calipers of either style or any other parts feel free to let me know.

[avewhtboy]

So I just went to Autozone, because they have the best parts looker upper around me.

They are unable to order, Driver side Vega Calipers, Vega Rotors, and Monza Rotors, I think you
may find the other parts stores have a similar problem at the moment.

[dindin]

Does upgrading to monza front brakes make a huge difference on a Vega?? and does the rear drums need upgrading also??

Al

[avewhtboy]

Does upgrading to monza front brakes make a huge difference on a Vega?? and does the rear drums need upgrading also??

Al

I don't think "huge" would be the term for and upgrade from a non vented to a vented rotor, but its a step in the right direction.

My car has a Ford nine inch with big truck drums so they should be more than sufficient for this light of a car.

[cjbiagi]

Besides being vented rotors the piston size in the caliper is also larger. The brake pads also have more pad material on them compared to the early brakes. So, everything is upgraded over the original design. Not saying they are "killer" brakes compared to what's out there on some cars and in the aftermarket but it is a worthwhile upgrade. Most of the stopping force comes from the front brakes so you could probably use them with the stock rear drums although upgrading them to the later 9.5" x 2" gives you rear brakes equal to most other larger GM cars. I have recently sold several sets of vented rotors on ebay and to members here direct.

[dindin]

Do you change out anything besides rotor pads and calipers??

Al

[cjbiagi]

When I did my 75 Monza (which still had the small early style brakes) I also swapped the spindle to the later version. I did this before the internet so I had nothing to go by except GM part numbers. I have heard that others have kept the stock spindle and just swapped the rotors, pads, calipers and hardware. There may be very minor filing but nothing to worry about. Very few cars ever had solid front disc rotors, it was really a cheap design at the time to keep costs down I guess. When the Monza was introduced and went through testing the front brakes really got hot and were cause for a lot of negative criticism. GM responded the very next year (pretty fast for them) with the redesigned vented rotors and larger caliper piston and more material on the brake pads. They also upgraded the rear brakes at the same time to the same setup already in use on other GM cars, the standard 9.5 x 2 brakes.

[avewhtboy]

As long as we are talking brakes and swaps....

Is there any Chevrolet Drum that will fit the ford nine inch brakes?

I assume since I can't locate that via google there must not be one. So everyone running
a Ford nine inch with Chevy wheels is having to re drill the new drums for the chevy bolt pattern still?

In 2015???? I see a market for that product

[cosvega76]

There's nothing magic about redrilling the bolt pattern on drums. I redrilled my Explorer rotors to a Chevy bolt pattern. Just place one drum on top of the other, carefully line up the center hole and mark the centers of the stud holes in between the existing holes. The holes are large enough to give you some leeway and they will end up close enough to not have to worry about a balance problem.


Chuck