Helping a friend with his 68 442 . Where can we get a replacement 4 piston caliper? Were getting desperate!

Thanks

 

try inline tube

 

Firebirds and Camaros and Skylarks and Chevelles use the same calipers...left or right or both??

 

Not from what I've learned. While the castings can be identical, the piston bore was larger in the A-body version versus the F-body ones. 2.125" on A body & 1.875" on F-bodies. AND...apparently some Chevelles got the small bore ones from the factory..

Places like RockAuto sell (Cardone ?) replacements (well, they have them listed, but I've never seen one)...but I suspect these are the smaller bore versions...

I'm not sure which side you need (they are different obviously) but make sure whatever replacement you get has the proper line threads for your car. The driver side uses a standard 1/2"-20, but the pass. side has a funky 7/16"-24. Sometimes people cut the threads to something more common.

If you just need one rebuilt, there's several rebuilders like Lonestar Caliper & some brake machine shop in CA (can't remember the name), but turnaround time is usually a few weeks unless you just send yours as a core.

If you need a core, try FleaBay - I have seen some go by on there.... & CL

Hope this helps...

 

Thank you!
We tried rockautos website last night and we'll call them today.

We have a leaky left side caliper.

Local parts shops in northern California have not been much help.

 

The four piston calipers were unavailable for a long time and only within the last few years have repros been available. Your other option is to have the originals sleeved with stainless.

 

Decided to rebuild the original caliper. Has anyone had this done? Can you recommend a shop?

We contacted a distributor in Canada about a rebuild kit and a week later we call to check on delivery. They never sent it! Turns out it's on backorder
But they never called us!

Thanks again!

 

You don't want to waste your time rebuilding the caliper unless you get it sleeved. The problem with the four piston calipers is that the seal is on the piston (like a piston ring) and slides in the bore in the caliper. Any rust in the bore chews up the seal rapidly. The single piston calipers fixed this by mounting the seal in the bore and letting the chrome plated piston slide in the seal.

To properly fix the four piston calipers, you need the stainless sleeves installed in the caliper. White Post Restorations here in VA is one of the premier vendors who sleeve these calipers.

 

I had Lonestar do mine. Not sure if I'd recommend them though...

My issues:

1. I sent my old ones in as cores for a set of freshly rebuilt ones. I now wish I'd paid the extra few bucks to have them 'babysit' my originals instead of exchanging them. The ones I got back were made out of mismatched halves....but that's prolly common in the rebuild world.
2. Every single threaded hole (mtg & fitting) was a crusty mess. I had to chase them all with taps....and that weird 7/16-24 required me to order, & wait for, a tap.
3. They're painted with some thick cast color stuff. They look OK, but this paint or whatever looks like its a 1/8" thick.

Haven't used them yet as the car is still in pieces. I hope they work OK....

I have heard good things about Karps ( http://www.resleeve.com/ ) & they were nice on the phone, but have not used them.

 

Thanks again. You guys gave us a lot to think about. Going to give Karps and White post res a call.

We appreciate your input.