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E brake delima, whats the best choice?

F

Fry

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I recently moved to a new province and need to get the Blazer safetied. In order for it to pass it needs a working ebrake.
I blew the tranny in her so I'm getting a buddy to bring it down in a month or so and I am going though it and fixing a bunch of small things and getting it road worthy, so no real big rush, want it out in about a year or so.
Now back to the e brake problem, I have a 14bolt FF. It has stock drums on it, not sure of the condition but the wheel cylinder is screwed and my lines wouldn't thread on and I never cared to investigate further since I was going to get discs. I bought the rear brackets and rotor so I'm half way ready for that setup.
So in my eyes my choices are,
1. Keep the drums, possibly buying all new parts costing lots and getting a ebrake cable to work.
2. Continue with the calipers and hunt all over, keep my fingers crossed that I will find caddy calipers, somehow work a ebrake cable then hopefully it will hold on enough of a grade to pass inspection.
3. Swap the 10 bolt back in, use my old wheels, buy ebrake cable and hope it works. Then swap it all back and hope cops don't stop me for a roadside inspection.
4. Pinion mounted? Np203 never heard of anyone with a kit for it.
5. Ask on CK5 and hope somebody can help me find a better idea?

Its gotta be mechanical too, and keep the brakes nice and tight to pass.
 
Here is the route I went:

Corp14ff
Pulled drums off and bought AZ-Kickin' caliper mounts and hose kit ( http://www.azkickin.com/ ). Bought TSM Caddy calipers ( http://tsmmfg.com/ ). Just recently spoke to a co. called Control Cables Inc.
( http://www.controlcables.com/ )

Costs: (w/ shipping)
AZ-Kickin caliper brakets - $95.00
AZ-Kickin' stainless steel hose kit - $80.00
TSM Cadillac calipers (comes with e-brake lever) - $300
Control Cables Inc. E-brake cables - Unk. yet

I have everything installed except the E-brake cables. I will be fabricating a small L-shaped mount that I will bolt onto one of the calipers mount bolts that sticks through the axle tube mount. That will handle the back end of the E-brake cable. The front of the cable will mount in it's stock bracket on the frame. The cable company is having me provide them with the measurements and they will custom make me some cables that will work. I purchased some 3/16 hard brake lines from a local parts store in a 30 and 40 inch length and a rear stainless steel braided line from the kit I got from ORD (which was a Pro-Comp set). The two hard lines I bent and hooked up to the calipers, ran them to the middle, and I will fab up a small tab to bolt onto one of the diff cover nuts to mount the connection on.

Some pics can be seen here: http://community.webshots.com/user/douglasgrant I will update them as I get it finished.
 
This isn't the cheepist way to go but I thought it was the best option in the long run.

I got a T-case mounted e-brake from http://www.highangledriveline.com/ . They make it for the 205...you might have to make some mods to make it fit a 203. The only other problem (only from a $$$ standpoint) is that you have to use their flang mount that they use for 1-ton CV shafts.

It was easy to install and will hold the truck on about as steep of a hill as the tires can hold on /forums/images/graemlins/peace.gif
 
the caddy calipers are available at the local parts retailers
a few months ago my cost was $86cdn plus core
I think you would still need the levers as well
 
That was the problem I ran into. I could find Caddy calipers just about everywhere for under a $100. But, none of them came with levers or springs. So I ended up taking the hit and going with TSM. If you have more time than money, one could search the scrap yards or spin the big prize wheel on line and try and find them.
 
Thanks for the info Desert Rat.
One thing that sucks is that at work we have pinion mounted ebrakes on everything (tractor mech). Wish I could find one small enough to make work in the rear.
I like the idea of the TSM Calipers but not the price, that would end up costing me $600 cad shipped. Then cables probably another $200-300 right? So almost $300 shipped.
What years am I looking for, for the caddy calipers 76-81 is it?
Maybe I'll call the wreckers and see if I can get a lead then it might end up being the cheapest route.
Anyone who is running caddy calipers, does it hold well?
 
[ QUOTE ]
Anyone who is running caddy calipers, does it hold well?

[/ QUOTE ]
Once I got the pads adjusted, and the lines pressure bled, hold really good /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif
 
Justin, I have been working on this for about a year now with HarryH3 and we must have made a half a dozen different designs. The old caddys must have had a ratchet pedal that increased the leverage. We have been able to make the system work just fine but do not have enough mechanical leverage to hold the truck on a steep incline. The latest design has increased the leverage by 60% and hopefully this will do the trick. Harry has the latest design but has not been able to install it yet. We will just have to wait and see. No I do not have a price yet. It will not be a cheap kit. It will include new levers, Brackets, return springs, calbles and hardware. Getting something to work on these calipers has been more of a challenge than I though it would be.
 
Bill good to see your still playing with it. Yes the caddies have a racheting pedal, i have one sitting here im going to try to make work when i get that far.
 
Will your kit be ready in less than a year? If so I'll gladly wait to get a nice "kit". I really would hate to run drums for obvious reasons.
Thanks for the info, I really appreciate it. /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif
 
The TSM calipers are $300 for a pair. I'm guessing the cables will probably run me about $100, maybe $150 at the most. The caddy calipers are Eldorado's 76-78. I am anxious to see what Bill comes up with on his design having seen some of his earlier prototypes. He does good work but I needed to get something going now.
 
I think I will compare the price between the two obviously, less hassle from a kit is a nice feature.
I appreciate all the replys since every other day theres a caddy brake question.
Why doesn't someone just make thier own caliper? Lots of aftermarket companies make calipers, why wouldn't one make one to work for 14bolts?
The calipers at work have Like a pull up handle that attaches at both sides of the caliper and squeezes the calipers together when the hand brake in the cab is applied, it would be pretty easy to make a kit based of a caliper like that if someone would make one.
 
With those prices the highangle driveline t-case e-brake doesn't seam so bad...and you get a real nice driveshaft to boot.

I think at the least you should call and talk to Jess. He is a real good guy and I'm sure would sell you the mechanical caliper by its self if you wanted to try and piece a kit together on your own.
 
You can get a lever from GM parts direct, the part # are in the 'Post your part number' post. They are not the exact same as the original Caddy lever but they'll work. I also noticed today while disassembling some original Caddy calipers that the return spring is very similar to one of the springs in my 10 bolt drum brakes. I just took a pair of pliers and bent the end of it and it's turned out to be almost identical to the original Caddy return spring.
 
Any reason why GM Parts Direct wouldn't have the original part number lever? You would think they would if they have similar levers.
 
I started out with the original caddy ebrake levers but did not have a good way to attach the cables with existing commercial cables. I then produced new levers that were the same length. Thats where we got into problems with the leverage since our trucks do not have the ratching pedal. I have now made longer levers and new brackets that give a 60% increase over the original levers. If this works out on HarryH3's truck I will work up the price and time frame for delivery. I just want to be sure we have all of the bugs out.
 
What's a ratching pedal? I've never heard of them before. What does it do and how's it different than what's in our trucks?
 
Think of the ratcheting pedal as a ring and pinion that multiplies the ratio or force. The pedal is depressed 2 or 3 times as required to apply enough force on the cable to the rear to hold the big old caddy on a hill. The small cog on the pedal does not pull the cable far enough to engage the brake but after a couple of times it moves the cable far enough and with greater force. Our trucks to not have this system and there fore can not apply enough force on the caddy brakes without some other means of multiplying the force. The caliper will hold just fine if you can apply enough pressure to it. My new levers will increase the leverage by 60% however we have not proven that it is enough to hold our trucks on a steep incline. When we get the test truck updated with this new lever we will know. If this does not work we may be forced to rob a old cadillac of its ratcheting pedal system.
 
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