I wanted to improve my brakes on my daily driver 69 convertible to be at least as good as the new cars that I have driven. I have a 383 with a GM L82 cam that makes about 15" of vacuum at idle(in park). I have power brakes with single piston discs on the front and drums on the rear. I thought about upgrading to bigger calipers/rotors and swapping the rear drums to disc, but that costs some serious cash if you by from one of the performance brake outfits!

I heard about hydroboost on this site, so I decided to check it out. After talking with them I decided that I would give it a try since they said that they would give me my money back if I wasn't satisfied. I bolted the system on the other day and tried it out. What a difference!!! I thought that at 15" of vacuum at idle that I was making plenty of vacuum for my brakes, but my brakes were terrible in comparison to what they are now! I could lock up my brakes before, but I had to put my foot in it. With the new system I have much more braking power with much less "foot power"!!

I just thought I'd share my experience. I'm not sure how my brakes would have felt if I would have upgraded my front discs and converted the rear, but with the hydroboost I do not feel the need for any more braking power. I wanted to post this for anyone trying to figure out how to get better brakes in their camaro(or any vehicle with power steering for that matter).

Glad to hear that! That just gives me more reason to look into the setup. I have been considering installing the Hydroboost. I'm curious where you bought your setup from and what part number(s)? And if you don't mind, roughly how much did you pay for everything? Thanks

Patrick

Thanks for the info..!! I've been contemplating all the verious ways to go on the drum to disc swap and also saw the hydroboost option. It's good to know thats it's worth it....

I went with the guys at http://www.hydroboost.com.

Paul is very helpful and the kit that I got bolted in very easily! I don't think that it even took two hours to do the swap. I didn't have to bleed the brakes, just unbolt stuff, bolt on new stuff and add power steering fluid!

I'll strongly second the Hydroboost deal, it really works. I have the C4 brakes on my 69, and could not get the correct M/C for a manual application. I also got my system from Paul at Hydroboost, he is terrific. I paid just over $600 for my setup, delivered. It is the brand new unit with the N2 buffer system, it was what he recommended in that the newer boost systems (versus the rebuilt, slightly older units that he also offers) seem to be a little better in the basic design.

Trust me, if you buy one of these systems, you will be thrilled.

Congrat's Paulm, it's nice to have brakes, isn't it!

Mark

Yes, but nice is a HUGE understatment. It's unbelievable the amount of braking power that this little booster gives you. Before I had to stand with both feet on the pedal to lock up the brakes.....Now it's basically a "big toe" operation!

The price is reasonable too. After all of the money I put into the drivetrain to make it go fast, $600 is pretty cheap to make it stop fast!


One other thing that I forgot to add......

I was slightly concerned that if I lost the power steering belt or if the engine died that I would also lose my brakes, so I tested it. I was driving 60 MPH and killed the engine. I hit the brakes three times and had plenty of braking power all three times. I would have tried more but I was going pretty slow after hitting the brakes three times with the engine off.

[ 04-20-2003, 02:46 PM: Message edited by: paulm ]

Any photos? HOw does it look under the hood ?

They have been selling kits recently on Ebay for the "Buy It Now" price of $399.

Here's one of the auctions:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2412020799&category=42605

I'm not sure if this is the new, rebuilt or universal kit.

Here are a couple of pics:

http://www.stratagaz.com/Hydroboost-01.JPG
http://www.stratagaz.com/Hydroboost-02.JPG

It's pretty simple. One hose goes from the unit to the power steering pump, one hose goes from the unit to the power steering box and a return line goes from the unit and T's into the return line. All required parts are included which makes it an easy bolt on.

Got an email back from Paul this AM regarding the kits on Ebay. Here is what he said:

"Technically this listing is for a '77-'82 Vette. We really should stipulate that better in the ad... Our Camaro systems are listed in detail on our website in the products section (and are more expensive per the stamped steel firewall mounting plate costs are WAY expensive by comparison to the flat Vette plates)."

First time I have ever seen a Vette part cheaper than and F-body part.

I talked to him this morning too and asked about the Ebay add. He said that he set that up a long time ago to run and automatically restart a new auction when it finishes. He said that the add is misleading, but since someone bid on it he can't change the text. When this auction ends he will change the text.

I was not implying anything negative on his part. He was quite honest and would not hesitate to do business with him.

I ordered mine today. With the Pro+ 13.5" 4-piston Alcon front system from Baer, and their rear 13 1/8" Eradispeed/PBR combo and the hydroboost, I think I will have braking to match the acceleration of the twin turbo LT1 I'm doing. The hydroboost will give you more pressure than any vacuum system can.

Jody

He is a very nice and honest guy. The ad was kind of misleading either way. I'm sure he didn't mean to mislead, but it happened....Oh well.

Jody, you are going to have killer brakes with that setup!! I think that my brakes are great and I just have the stock type single piston front discs and cheesy drum rears!

Yes, very nice. I ran into a problem with my Hydroboost kit and the pump fitting. Paul provided EXCELLENT customer service. And now because of the problem that I and a few others ran into, the kits will include both male and female fittings for the pump on 1st Gens. My Hydroboost is in the car, but I'm thrashing to get the DS&E dash installed, so I haven't had it on the road yet.

[ 04-22-2003, 07:10 AM: Message edited by: 69ProTouring ]

I had the same issue with the pump fitting on my 69, and concur that Paul is going to include both fittings. I said it on a different post, but when I discovered the the issue with the wrong fitting on a Saturday morning, I called and reached Paul during off-hours. He did his best to offer suggestions on how to remedy the situation over the weekend, and if that failed he would send me a part overnight the following Monday. He even called me back after a few minutes with a part number of an Aeroquip fitting that would also be an alternative.

I compare this to a situation that I had on a customer support phone call to a cam company in Memphis, who shall go un-named but goes by the intials Comp Cams.... Had a brand new motor, with brand new cam and lifters from them. During the first few minutes of running, one of the lifters actually ended up breaking, littering the oil pan with shrapnel. I called the tech line, and explained for many minutes exactly what had happened in detail. After all of this, the guy says, "okay, now explain to me again, what happened???" That of course was followed by, "go ahead and send the whole cam and lifter kit back to us, and we will see if we can figure out what happened."

Anyway, it is rare to see support like Paul has demonstrated.

Jody: Whatcha doin' with the rockin' supercharged rat motor?????

That supercharged big block will be on the chassis dyno soon(I swear!). The car has been sold to finance the twin turbo 69 I'm building.

Jody

I've got another vote for his system. Paul is a good customer of mine @ the local speedshop. Buys alot of fittings and what not. He has shown me his car a few times and demonstrated the awesomeness of this system. Better improvement then 95% of disc upgrades out there.

Has anyone done this upgrade without the kit and pieced the parts together himself? Let me know if you have, thanks!

Check out Torker's site:

www.geocities.com/torkerscamaro/torker.html (http://www.geocities.com/torkerscamaro/torker.html)

Do ya'll know if the hydrobooster from Hydratech is the same as 90's model heavy duty trucks hydrobooster? I know where I can get one pretty cheap. Brand new.

Does hydroboost allow you to eliminate the vacume power booster?

Where do I find hydroboost for my Camaro?

M