Third-Gen Camaro Brakes - A Quick Change for Quick Stops

Once the rotor was in place...        read full caption Once the rotor was in place we installed the pre-lubed outer wheel bearing followed by a washer, castle nut and new cotter pin. You'll want to tighten the nut by hand as far as you can, then use a wrench or Channel Locks to run it down further as you spin the rotor with your other hand. Tighten it a little at a time until you feel the bearing begin to bind. This will help seat the bearing and force out any excess grease.	Back the nut off until the...        read full caption Back the nut off until the rotor is just loose and the cotter pin lines up with one of the slots in the nut.	The new rotors are installed...        read full caption The new rotors are installed and ready to roll. Reusing the old bearing dust covers doesn't hurt anything but you'll want to fill them about half full of grease before installing.
It's best to preassemble the...        read full caption It's best to preassemble the calipers on the bench. These clips are provided to conveniently hold the pads into place. Like everything else in the SSBC kit, the brake pads are the same configuration as the stock pieces.	If you needed to purchase...        read full caption If you needed to purchase new pads in a pinch, you could go to any auto parts store and buy the same ones that came stock on the car to get you home. Of course you would want to get a new set of the SSBC high performance pads back on the car the first chance you got.	Time to bolt on the pretty...        read full caption Time to bolt on the pretty pieces.
Remove the stock brake hoses...        read full caption Remove the stock brake hoses from the fender well bracket. Try this little trick to loosen brake hoses, especially like those on our Camaro that have never been removed: tighten the hoses a bit first and then attempt to break them loose. They should come apart easily without twisting and distorting the bracket.	The new Earl's stainless hoses...        read full caption The new Earl's stainless hoses made a nice transition into the stock frame mounted lines.	The hoses had provisions that...        read full caption The hoses had provisions that let them fit right back into the stock mounting brackets. A slight tap from a brass hammer was necessary to persuade the mounting clip to re-seat in the collar of the hose, holding it in the bracket. Note the yellow tag clearly marking the line as the "right front." We do love those efficient companies that dummy-proof everything.
The spindle side of the line...        read full caption The spindle side of the line needed a bit of a "pinch" in order to secure it against the mounting collar on the brake hose.	Here we are, all buttoned...        read full caption Here we are, all buttoned up and almost ready for action.	Having the luxury and safety...        read full caption Having the luxury and safety of a rack allows you to run the car and bleed the brakes with the wheels still removed. It took us about six or seven cycles to get the brakes bled and pumped up.
We love our Billet Specialties...        read full caption We love our Billet Specialties Apex-G wheels, but they've never looked better than when they got highlighted by the bright red SSBC caliper and zinc plated Big Bite rotor.

Burn 'em In
Having just completed one of the simplest and most straight forward installations of an aftermarket part that we've ever done, we were real anxious to get the car to the track and see how the SSBC's measured up to the stock units. While we did make it out to the track, the new rotors require 200 miles of driving before the zinc is properly worn off of the rotors and the new carbon metallic pads are correctly bedded in. So, as of this writing, we haven't made any banzai test stops. We'll report on our findings in the next issue. Until then, we'll just enjoy the newfound aesthetics that the billet brakes have brought to our disco-era beauty.