Well after some debate I decided to go ahead with trying this neon rear disk conversion that has been going around. All in all the entire install took about a week. This was working on it maybe if i were lucky 2 hours a night. Mostly waiting for paint to dry. I would have posted it in the old Neon disk swap thread but I figured this would give some people who didn't want to scan through 8 pages of debate and discussion a chance to see the swap. I decided to do this swap purely because my brother had done it before with his 3rd gen Sunfire (NotSoOceansideEco) and seemed to have had good success with it for very little money. I however decided to take the cheap swap to the next level and get it a little more pricey. Not close to what I paid for my Baer big brake kit and rear conversion on my other cav though. I have to say I'm pretty impressed with the way it turned out. I was sceptical at first but I went through with it anyway. I like to call this swap my "Mini Baer brakes w/ rear disk conversion).
In Total here are the things I bought to do this conversion and the prices;
Front Baer Brake Cavalier Decelarotors........................................................................$160.00
Rear Baer Brake Neon 94-up Decelarotors..................................................................$211.00
Neon Junk Yard Caliper brackets, E-brake Assy w/ dust plates Calipers...................$67.00
Harbor Freight Drill Press...................................................................................................$39.99
3/8" Cobalt Drill Bit................................................................................................................$10.00
Blu Mol Metal Hole Saw 2 1/2"............................................................................................$15.00
Cavalier Front Pads..............................................................................................................$22.00
Neon Rear Pads...................................................................................................................$18.00
Brake Fluid................................................................................................................................$2.50
Brake Cleaner X3....................................................................................................................$2.50
Brass Fittings X2.....................................................................................................................$1.98
Brass Friction Washers X2....................................................................................................$0.50
Brake Parts Grease................................................................................................................$3.50
Caliper Paint (ceramic)........................................................................................................$15.00
One Man Brake Bleeder.........................................................................................................$6.99
Dremel Grinding Stones X3..................................................................................................$3.50
Drill Filers..................................................................................................................................$7.99
TOTAL $600.00
However I bought a drill press and bits so if you have all this its very inexpensive. Not to mention the Baer Decelarotors really bring the price up. Looks good though.
Here are a few pics. Hope you guys enjoy
ASE Master Certified Automotive Technician
Great stuff man, I wil definately look into something like that when I get around to converting my drums
My Cav
I give up...
i'm buying a VW those people love trees, so they should love eachother too... "Andy"
Looks great man. I'd probably pick up some braided lines if you can find 'em for those Neon rear calipers.
Did you get the hardware off that "General Lee" Neon that was out there? LOL
Again, thanks for finding my phone bro. Still owe ya a beer or two for that.
Desert Tuners
“When you come across a big kettle of crazy, it’s best not to stir it.”
damn, that is a nice job! good work. i hope to be doing this swap when the weather gets a bit nicer
You spent all that money on fancy rotors and you bought the cheapest pads available. Slotted rotors are also a waste on the rear.
maybe he likes them to match the looks of the fronts...
Front Baer Brake Cavalier Decelarotors........................................................................$160.00
Rear Baer Brake Neon 94-up Decelarotors..................................................................$211.00
what do thses do?
they're just the rotors that the calipers go around.
is that what you mean?
Desert Tuners
“When you come across a big kettle of crazy, it’s best not to stir it.”
OMFG! I thought it read Decelar
Ators
. Like maybe it helped with brake drag or something
Wow what a true DUR moment
seems like a fairly inexpensive upgrade, but is there any real advantage?
HAHA I know where you live now!! LOL
I installed Digital cable there and Cable internet.
LOL
Nice upgrade looks good
(Insert really cool picture of my car with some catchy name or slogan here)
Phlatcav wrote:
seems like a fairly inexpensive upgrade, but is there any real advantage?
just a cheaper alternative to a rear disc brake conversion from someone like Baer or SSBC. I'm not sure if anyone sells rear caliper upgrades for the Neons, but I imagine it would bolt right up, considering the hardware he used.
Desert Tuners
“When you come across a big kettle of crazy, it’s best not to stir it.”
alan you forgot the amount of blood loss , bandaides , head aches
and your neighbors getting pissed from all the yelling and cussing , LOL
looks pretty good
was there any major fabrication that went into this, or was it fairly simple as far as bolting everything up?
nevermind, i just read the other post.
Yelling and cussing is a given. As for the neighbors I think I made them move out. I came home a couple days after all my "Alan" moments I seem to be known for and they were moving out. LOL! Oh well.
As for the comment on the rear slotted/drilled disks being a waste. That comment has no validity in my book. If you truly knew the purpose of drilled/ slotted rotors they are affective regardless of front or rear. Not to mention they match.
I have more money wrapped up in just 1 quarter of ONE of my cars than you will ever imagine. So cut me some slack when it came to an already questionable conversion and the cost of pads. Remember this is a "CHEAP" disk conversion. I just spiced it up a little with the nicer rotors.
My personal opinion of the brake conversion is this;
Its time consuming, frustrating, and I question whether its really worth it in the end. Stops great but I've been spoiled with my Baers. Over all Its nice looking but again i question whether its worth the hassle. However after you finish a project you say "damn that wasn't so bad" but then you remember back to the cursing and the occasional punching of siblings face or kicking the neighbors dog. This is when you say "oh yeah that sucked @$$!"
So if you venture to do this swap best of luck and try not to hurt yourself or others.
ASE Master Certified Automotive Technician
Zach is right. Slotted rotors are a waste on the rear, especially on such a light car (and yes, I do know the purpose of slotted and cross drilled rotors). Your statement that they match the fronts leads me to believe thats the biggest reason you bought them.
Anyways, I'm not sure why you considered this swap time consuming and frustrating. Its no different than the Baer swap you've already done. The only added step is the machine work on the caliper brackets. If you had taken them to a machine shop, there really wouldn't have been any frustration (besides stuck/rusted bolts). I think you did a nice job overall on your swap though.
Yeah I really recommend that if anyone does do this swap take it to a machine shop just for ease. Really the only reason i did it myself was to have a reason to by a drill press...
Not to mention you have the satisfaction of doing it all yourself, you know. It's really not all that bad to do yourself. Was just a pain for me because I have so little time working on it. I had like a half an hour a night. Looks did play a big role though. I have to admit they do look good behind those wheels. Beats the looks of drums and the plain look of normal rotors.
ASE Master Certified Automotive Technician
LOL @ alan moments , we all have our own moments , so quit hogging up the yelling cussing , and kicking the dog , by trying to give it your name , lol
did you hook up the parking brake on them ? i asked chad but he wasnt sure
as far as the slots and holes/dimples , granted they make the rotors look good , and for a daily driven granny car are serious over kill
but if you do any spirited driving or auto x'n , and are on the brakes hard they will help out alot
^^^^^^
Word!!!
ASE Master Certified Automotive Technician
ya, some tips on how you hooked up the e-brake would be nice, no one really covered it in the other thread. is it fairly straight forward once you get the hardware or is there monkeying around to do?
Drilled rotors are to save unsprung weight. Contrary to what most other people say and the manufacturer it really has little to do with performance or stopping power.. even Wilwood says that. They DO look hot though.
ill agree the holes are more for weight
but they also allow things to cool and vent gases
[quote=CaliforniaDomestics�]Yelling and cussing is a given. As for the neighbors I think I made them move out. I came home a couple days after all my "Alan" moments I seem to be known for and they were moving out. LOL! Oh well.
LOL
Brake upgrade----------$600
Beers to take the edge off------$30
making neighbours move out---------PRICELE$$!!!
"I know not with what weapons World War III
will be fought, but World War IV will be fought
with sticks and stones."
-Albert Einstine-
I know this sounds lazy but i dont have the means to do the work to the brackets. If i got some could I pay somehere to help me out? I usualy like to be hands on but i get the feeling ill farck this particular part up
