Does anybody have any information on swapping a 3rd or 4th Gen disc brake rear end into my 69 Camaro. What I'm interested in finding out is what suspension options were available on the newer Camaros that would make for a high performance swap into my 1st Gen. Also, is the width of the newer rear end compatable with the width of the older Camaro?

Thanks for the help.

Mark
69 Camaro - Dover White, Med Green Deluxe Interior

Why do you want to do that? If you want rear disk the disks can be swapped real easy. 3rd and 4th gen rears only have a 7.5 inch ring gear and are not all that strong compared to the older rears. Plus you have the brackets and width to deal with along with u-joint issues and such. They all basically had the same rear no matter what perfomance options the car had. To me its definately not a swap worth doing even if it was a bolt in which it is far from. Why did you choose this rear? I'm just curious in case I am missing something.

BTW, Welcome!! I didn't notice the first time. Interesting color combo for your car, any pictures?

hi mark,

you are probably looking at the posi and the rear discs, but like 68 says, it is not very strong. you may be better off with an 8.5" 10 bolt or 12 bolt. the 8.5 is easily found in 70-74 nova's and should bolt right in. for a posi you could grab one from a late 70's TA, and the brakes can be grabbed from a 79 seville.

good luck, Jesse

Guy's this is an interesting topic I think we should all look into. We've all come to the conclusion we can swap 72-74 Nova rears into our first gens and get a really strong 10 bolt, a swap I completed a while ago. We also have figured out how to swap disk brakes onto the front, another swap I complted, thanks to your help.

Now here's the next step. How can we swap disks to the rear. I saw a guy at a car show a while back who had rear disks on his first gen. He told me you could get the rear brakes off any GM car which had an 8.5 10 bolt and it would swap right over. I haven't checked yet but it made sense to me. My only question is, will the proportioning valve still work. He had the standard one you see an all GMs with front disk brakes. He claimed it worked well, but I wonder how it can, since disks require more fluid.

Anyone know anything about this. I would love to find some rear disks off a GM 10 bolt and swap them over.

Piece of cake, did it on mine. I have the 79-81 TA rear disks with a adj. pro valve I bought from Summit Racing. You can do it just as easily with the 82-92 setups but the 79-81 had larger rotors and calipers. Never seen the Seville setup but I hear its just as easy. I used the 79-81 TA rear parking brake cables also but had to modify them. All the rear disks mentioned are a direct bolt on.

OK, maybe the 3rd/4th Gen was a bad idea, haha. At least I hadn't bought it yet.

Next question, I know where I can get a late 70's Camaro or T/A rear, 10 bolt, 8.5" posi, 11 inch rotors. What will I be looking at as far as having to change mounting brackets, etc? if I go with this rear end?

Sorry, no pictures yet 68...she's really not even all Dover White anymore, lot of primer and even some remnants of orange Z-28 stripes that someone tried to put on. Originally she had a Green Vinyl top also, I'm not sure if I'm going to put that back on or not.

Mark, On the drum rear pull the axles (to get the backing plates off), backing plates and all brake hardware. On the disk rear pull the axles (to get the backing plates off), backing plates, the rest comes with them. Bolt the disk parts on your rear, thats it. I bought a master cylinder for the 79-81 TA and I think I had to cut the rod down in between the booster and master cylinder. Real easy though. Then I plumbed the adj pro valve into the rear line after the distribution block and I even still have my brake warning light.I used the rear parking brake cables from the 79-81 TA but had to cut the cable down and weld the end back on to match the factory cable length.

68ss396, I'm using the same rear brake set-up on my 67. I purchased the pieces from a guy parting out a 81 TA. Haven't started the brake work yet. Was wondering what booster did you use. I have the whole front disc set-up from a 71 nova. Can I use that booster and run the proportioning valve as you stated after the distr. block? thanks, chris

Mark to answer your question, you can use a later camaro rear but they are about 1 in wider. Therfore you will need to move the spring perches and possibly get wheels with a different offset. Several guys here have gone that route. The best route is to get the 72-74 Nova rear since it is a direct swap. These are very plentifull. When I went looking the first junk yard I stopped at had three. I recommend after you get the rear take it to shop which does rears for a living and have it rebuilt. Looking at around $450 for this.

Thanks guys, appreciate the help. I'll let you know how it goes.

Chris, I am using the booster out of a 69 Camaro because thats what I had access to at the time and mine was no good. I am almost positive that the 71 Nova booster is the same and wouldn't be afraid to try it. If your going to use the TA pro valve then I am not sure how that plumbs in. You would have to look at one of those cars to find out. The adj one from Summit only has one in and one out and goes right into the rear line. I believe the factory setups have all the lines running through it. Anymore questions just ask but I'll be leaving later today and won't be around a computer until Monday

I used the proportioning valve mounting bracket from a 79 Seville which actually mounts similar to the 69 camaro along the axis of the master cylinder and is easier to plumb than the TA valve. I think the Seville parking brake cables will fit without modification BUT I haven't actually tried it. My rear disks are from a Fleetwood and the cables are different.

68SS396,thanks for the response. I will probably use the adj.pro. valve as you did. everything I got from the TA was just the rear brake hardware, I didn't get the stuff up front at the booster. It will be awhile before I get to the brakes but I like to do my homework before I get there. right now I'm getting ready to fire the engine on a stand I built for it. it's a zz502. once the thing is running and tuned up I'll get to the rest of the car. thanks for your help, chris

I'm currently in the process of upgrading the rearend in my car, 1969 Firebird, I know this is a Camaro forum but the drivetrain is the same. So I hope this will help someone wanting to do a upgrade from a 7.5" to 8.5" . I had gotten a rearend from a 1979 Cadillac Seville for the disk brake setup and I got to looking closer at the size of it and starting taking some measurements. It is a perfect fit, 54" width and 43" spring perch(center to center). As I was going to upgrade the axles anyways, the Cadillac(5 on 5)bolt pattern wouldn't work with the AR 5 spoke mags I had bought (5 on 4.75), as for the rotor's needed to work with the axles I have ordered rotors for a 1979 Firebird that I hope will work, otherwise I'll have to drill the corrct bolt pattern to work with the axle bolt pattern. I know some of you will argue that I should have used the 5 on 5 bolt pattern, but after investing in the AR 5 spoke mags/tires I didn't want spend more to buy new rims.