If you’re thinking about installing disc brakes on your first generation Camaro there are many ways to go about it. The first thing to take under consideration is your wheel and tire choice. First gen Camaros came with 14" wheels with the exception of Z/28’s and a rare RPO JL8 4-wheel disc optioned '69 which came with 15" wheels. There were factory disc brakes available for all Camaros, RPO J52 disc's fit behind 14" wheels. If you are staying with 14" or 15" wheels your rotor and caliper options are somewhat limited. There are many kits available as well as a large list of donor cars you can get disc brake parts from if you are energetic enough to piece everything together.

Now if you have opted to jump up to taller wheels, you will have all the choices available for the shorter wheels as well as brakes from cars like the fourth generation Camaro, C4 and C5 Corvette and a long list of companies that offer big brake packages.

Your next decision is whether or not you want to invest the time to hunt down the parts or go for a package deal. Your budget, your knowledge of automotive brake systems and your mechanical skills are going to help guide you in this decision. Jumping into deep water and not knowing how to swim is something you wouldn’t do, much the same if you have never changed pads and rotors, bled brake lines or changed wheel bearings you might think twice before attempting to put together your own brake system. You might find a good kit with directions that are easy to follow and great tech support less intimidating. Which ever direction you go, from factory stock to 13" rotors and PBR Calipers they all require the same basic parts and pieces.

Let’s go over the hardware used with disc brakes; (you'll enjoy this part of the article more if you don't block pop-ups. All pictures should display none the less just use your back button to get back to this page)

• spindles
• caliper mounting brackets
• calipers and pads
• caliper baskets
• hubs and wheel studs
• wheel bearings
• brake lines
• rotors

And of course an assortment of mounting hardware to bolt it all together. That’s just the list at the wheels. In the engine compartment the hardware list consists of;

• master cylinder
• proportioning valve
• possibly a residual valve. (rear drums)
• power booster (if you choose power brakes)

In order to connect the brake components in the engine compartment to each other and those down at the wheels you may need tubing for hard lines which you can get and bend yourself or there are pre-bent lines available as well. Proper flairs in the ends of the tubes are necessary for leak free connections and are something you may need to practice on as well. This can also mean borrowing or investing in some specialty tools.

As the story goes:

My car already had factory style front disc's and the stopping power was decent but with the added power of the stroker engine and enhanced cornering ability from suspension upgrades, bigger brakes have been on my mind. When I added the 17" Budnik wheels and low profile wide tires my mind was made up and I started looking into my options. Along the way I crossed paths with Jonathan Duke, co-founder of Touring Classics. Jonathan is located in Texas and through the TC forums we had gotten to know each other. A year or so back when business brought him to Northern California, Jonathan paid a visit to our local Camaro club meeting where we got to put faces to names. A long story short, I went with and have installed the Touring Classics C5 front brake kit on my car. Follow along as I talk more about doing a swap like this and elaborate on how the installation went on my '69 rag-top.

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