Alright you guys, I have a 1969 F250 4x4 with a rebuilt 79 front axle and now i want the discs in the rear also. What year should i go with for the Cadillac rear calipers so i can keep the parking brake. I would be posting this in the bump forum but i feel like i find more and more of my answers over here in this one.
Thanks in advance,
Mike

 

Anybody I was trying to get all the parts ordered up today

 

76-78 Eldorado I believe. They are very pricey too.

 

And that is assuming you have a Dana 60/70 since you did not say which rear axle you have.

 

You will have to fab the e brake arms on the caliper they don't come with them.

 

so what do you guys suggest. Should i go with the caddy calipers in order to obtain an emergency brake or should i do something else. What other options would i have? Ive heard of a mico lock, how much would those cost.

Oh and yes i do have the dana 60

 

Do you have to have an emergency brake? If so you can do the caddy calipers which cost the most, you could use a drive line e-brake which may be cheaper, or you could use a brake line lock which would be cheapest but most likely not street legal.

Its up to you, they all work. Some are just more expensive or not street legal.

 

Im in texas and they have been sticklers on all my inspections on this old truck. I finally got tired of it and got it registered as an antique so i dont have get it inspected anymore. Only problem is is that they limit your driving, so im trying to get it back to street legal. is there a way to get a driveline brake for my Dana 24 transfer case. I wanna retain my driveshaft.

 

Do a quick search here . There is a decently long, really informative thread on the caddy rear calipers (and line locks, etc.). I think it was called "emergency brake with rear disks" or something like that

 

Maybe I can save you time, and a lot of money. I started the thread mentioned: ebrake with disc swap. The Caddy calipers work fine, but to get to a functioning, finished product, you have a lot of modifications to make. If you have the equipment, ie grinder, wire welder, tap and die set, and have the time to round up the parts, and enjoy projects like that, then I'd say proceed.

However, if you want everything to just bolt together licketysplit, then I say to buy the calipers from TSM (for about $350). They are reengineered caddy calipers. The pads will fit right over the chevy rotors w/o being shaved. You won't need to use the caddy ones upside down and drill/tap new bleeder screws, or hunt the j/y for the later, shorter style piston. If I were going to do it again, I would use the TSM calipers. They sound expensive, but by the time you finish rounding up parts, making several trips to the j/y's to find them, and buying replacement parts, doing the rebuild, etc., you'll think the $350 was a good price.

Most of the info you need is in the thread. Be aware: I know the brackets you see online are appealing, but GM mounting the caddy calipers vertical. Most of the brackets you see hold the cal. at about a 45* angle.

Something else to consider: When I finished the rear disc mod, I still was not satisfied with the stopping ability of my truck, and went right into a hydroboost swap. Now, having 4x disc, with the hydro, the brakes are incredible. I still want to laugh every time I make a quick stop.

Good luck.

 

I swapped a 78 f150 9'' into my 2000 grand cherokee about a year ago and went with the caddy calipers to keep an e brake. I got the calipers from classic performance products and I think they were pretty cheap compared to other places. I got the mounting brackets and rotors from TSM, and modified a lokar universal e brake cable to hook it up. The braking action works great and maybe even a little bit better than the stock discs on the back of the grand cherokee, but the caddy calipers are a bit bigger too. The pads on in the calipers did rub the drum of the disc a little at first but that didn't last long. The e brake action, however, is not worth a flip in my opinion. Thats why factories went to the drum e brake set ups inside of the discs. They take a lot of force to work, I had to get a new ratchet in the handle for me to use the stock grand cherokee handle with the caddy calipers. They work with a ratcheting action and never seem to release properly. My whole set up turned out to cost a lot more than I wanted but I had discs to begin with and wanted to have them on my 9''.

In my opinion there is nothing wrong with drums in the back, there simple and work well. I just don't think the disc conversion on a 9'' is worth it if you want to keep the e brake. I wanted to keep discs and I needed an e brake to pass inspection so for me is kinda made sense but I wouldn't go through all the trouble with them on a 69 f250. I can guarantee that the drums on the 9'' will stop just as good or better than the caddy caliper, have an e brake, and there already there.

 

Well just went ahead and ordered the regular front chevy calipers. If I ever reregister this thing as a normal vehicle I'll get a driveline brake or something. Thanks for all of your help.

 

[quote=gharris54;10579980]The e brake action, however, is not worth a flip in my opinion. Thats why factories went to the drum e brake set ups inside of the discs. They take a lot of force to work, I had to get a new ratchet in the handle for me to use the stock grand cherokee handle with the caddy calipers. They work with a ratcheting action and never seem to release properly. My whole set up turned out to cost a lot more than I wanted but I had discs to begin with and wanted to have them on my 9''.

Anyone using the caddy calipers needs to read how to adjust the ebrake during install. The info is on the TSM site.