$100 brake upgrade (Page 29/43)
85GT_3800SC FEB 18, 06:35 PM
I have been watching this thread for a while now. What a great brake upgrade this is! Thanks to Phil for coming up with this idea and to his and everyone else’s posts that helped me complete my own booster installation. I did the upgrade last summer and the results are impressive. I have the Grand Am front brake upgrade with a 1994 full size Blazer master cylinder and stock rear brakes. Before installing the larger booster, I replaced all rotors (with slotted) and calipers, installed ss braided lines all around and new carbo-met brake pads. I would say the brakes were good with this much done, but with the booster upgrade, now they are great. Much less pedal effort! I am happy with the upgrade but like other members on the forum, I want to install a brand new unit for peace of mind. I was all set to buy one of Rodney’s ready-to-go boosters, but he has ended the larger booster project for some reason. This post is for those who are looking for more of a ready-made solution.

While looking for a new booster to modify, I came across this item from Summit racing.


It looked familiar so I went to the Tuff Stuff website for more info and found this


Both sites showed that these boosters would fit 1973 – 1993 GM trucks. That sure increases the number of boosters that might be available in wrecking yards! But I was looking for a new/rebuilt booster.

Well, long story short, since the booster looked like a match for the upgrade, I ordered one of these from Summit and it arrived yesterday. It is the exact same size booster as the one I used from a 96 s10 on my booster upgrade. Here is what it looks like:


The only differences are not bad ones. The pushrod is a whopping 5/8” diameter, is much longer than the s10 pushrod, and it has a 3/8”NC thread on the rod end.


The bolt patterns match and a new booster to master cylinder rod is included


The pushrod is closer to the correct length to fit the Fiero. An extension to the rod end is still required. My extension uses a lock washer, a 3/8” NC coupling nut, a homemade adapter bolt (coarse to fine thread),a jam nut and a rod end I had that was 3/8”NF thread (will likely need to drill the rod end 3/8” hole out to fit the brake pedal pin).


The mounting bracket that came with the new booster is unusable on the Fiero, and must be removed. Here’s the new booster with bracket removed and the pushrod all together.


I will be putting it in on the next “warmer” day we have here in the “Great White North”. I don’t foresee any problems but will report back after the install.
While not directly plug and play like Rodney’s was going to be, I think this booster offers a rugged upgrade option with a minimal amount of work required. The cost of $125 from Summit does not require a core to be sent back.

[This message has been edited by 85GT_3800SC (edited 02-18-2012).]

mattwa FEB 18, 07:33 PM
Sweet, good to see another source. I do like the 5/8" pushrod and longer length, but I guess the real question would be is that worth the extra cost. But the added cost might be the difference of remanufactured and "brand new". We bought our remanufactured booster from Rockauto for $99 including a $30 core charge and shipping. This booster looks great, considering I was just planning to pull one from a junkyard for $10 but decided not to.
Rodney FEB 19, 11:28 AM

quote
Originally posted by 85GT_3800SC:

I have been watching this thread for a while now. What a great brake upgrade this is! Thanks to Phil for coming up with this idea . I was all set to buy one of Rodney’s ready-to-go boosters, but he has ended the larger booster project for some reason.




For the moment I have decided to not pursue the larger brake boosters. I have had several people tell me I could be sued even if the booster change was not at fault by someone that was in an accident. All thru the process of developing this booster and getting the sample test boosters made I always have had a terrible amount of anxiety worrying about being litigated. I received the test boosters and send three out to people (at no charge) that I selected. 2 were ME's and one was a person that works on many Fieros and had told me a few times to not do this. So I sent him one to try. A few weeks went by and no one emailed me even saying they received their test booster I sent them. What a let down. So I emailed all three and they told me they did receive them and would install them and let me know. I previously had emailed them and stated that I wanted them to first look at the critical dimensions etc before they installed them. This showed me they were not even paying attention and I felt they did not really want to help me with the R&D. I could send them to anyone to just install and test. I sent them to people I thought would be thorough in looking at them. So after that I lost all interest in this project.

------------------
Rodney Dickman

Fiero Parts And Acc's Web Page:
All new web page!:www.rodneydickman.com
Rodney Dickman's Fiero accessories
7604 Treeview Drive
Caledonia, WI 53108
Phone/Fax (262) 835-9575

85GT_3800SC FEB 19, 04:54 PM
I totally understand the liability worries.Even if it looks like the perfect upgrade, there's always some obscure chance of somebody trying to find a reason to sue. And with the prototype testing not unfolding as planned, leaving you with little or no R&D data, well that would make me a bit nervous too.I hope the project can still fly sometime in the future but if not, thanks for trying and proving once again how dedicated you are to the Fiero community!
85GT_3800SC FEB 20, 04:50 PM
It made it to a balmy 40 degrees today so I decided to go out and swap the boosters. After I got the s10 booster out, I layed it side by side with the "Tuff Stuff" booster for comparison.The bodies are identical. Only the pushrods differ.


Here is a shot from above with the old booster removed.The shiny black area is where the sheetmetal needs to be adjusted to fit the larger booster.


Here is the new booster installed. There were no fitment problems.


All that was left was to adjust and attach the pedal rod.Measuring from the booster back body to the center of the rod end hole, I found that 9 3/8" was about right (as found by other members) but fine tuning can be done with the threaded connections if needed.
mattwa FEB 20, 05:06 PM
I installed my big S-10/Blazer brake booster today. Can't test it yet because there isn't a cradle in it yet.



Edit: I do like the thicker pushrod of that booster, very nice.

[This message has been edited by mattwa (edited 02-20-2012).]

Blacktree FEB 20, 05:14 PM

quote
Originally posted by Rodney: For the moment I have decided to not pursue the larger brake boosters. I have had several people tell me I could be sued even if the booster change was not at fault by someone that was in an accident. All thru the process of developing this booster and getting the sample test boosters made I always have had a terrible amount of anxiety worrying about being litigated. I received the test boosters and send three out to people (at no charge) that I selected. 2 were ME's and one was a person that works on many Fieros and had told me a few times to not do this. So I sent him one to try. A few weeks went by and no one emailed me even saying they received their test booster I sent them. What a let down. So I emailed all three and they told me they did receive them and would install them and let me know. I previously had emailed them and stated that I wanted them to first look at the critical dimensions etc before they installed them. This showed me they were not even paying attention and I felt they did not really want to help me with the R&D. I could send them to anyone to just install and test. I sent them to people I thought would be thorough in looking at them. So after that I lost all interest in this project.


That's regrettable.

I hope I'm not one of the people you mentioned above. I don't think I am, but just curious.

Thanks for being up-front with us, though. That's really appreciated.
Blacktree FEB 20, 05:17 PM

quote
Originally posted by mattwa:

I installed my big S-10/Blazer brake booster today. Can't test it yet because there isn't a cradle in it yet.

http://i67.photobucket.com/..._20120220_154042.jpg

Edit: I do like the thicker pushrod of that booster, very nice.



Hey Matt, you may want to paint that booster. That's bare metal. It will start to rust quickly. While surface rust won't hurt the booster, it will look ugly.

Just FYI.
85GT_3800SC FEB 20, 06:00 PM

quote
Originally posted by mattwa:

I installed my big S-10/Blazer brake booster today. Can't test it yet because there isn't a cradle in it yet.
Edit: I do like the thicker pushrod of that booster, very nice.




You will enjoy that upgrade! It really gives a lot of bang for the buck. I like the look of the thicker pushrod too, even if it is overkill.For anybody who might be interested,
I looked up the booster I installed using the application data from Summit and found this at A!-Cardone - part #54-71046.


It's for a 1993 Blazer.This looks like the one needed for the booster upgrade too,and it has a longer pushrod which would make modifying it a bit easier.

[This message has been edited by 85GT_3800SC (edited 02-20-2012).]

mattwa FEB 20, 06:06 PM

quote
Originally posted by Blacktree:


Hey Matt, you may want to paint that booster. That's bare metal. It will start to rust quickly. While surface rust won't hurt the booster, it will look ugly.

Just FYI.



Oh now you tell me!! Lol, alright, thanks, I will. Not removing it for that though.