33 replies to this topic

[Torryhead]

hi guys, question time. do any of you have a UPC big brake upgrade on your torries? i have a 330mm big brake kit with VE calipers?

i do and the calipers are hitting on the upper control arm. have any of you had the same problem and if so what did you do to rectify? here are some pics to look at. see how my full lock steering isnt real flash, no where close to the bump stop on the steering arm.

ok it seems like i cant attach files????? any help with that also

[Redslur]

I have fitted the UPC 290mm front brake upgrade and had to fit dome head bolts to the calipers to stop it hitting the lower control arm and also weld on UC stle front steering stops. All sorted now. Not entirely sure if this would be the same with the 330mm kits though.

[Torryhead]

holy crap look at me, i can upload pictures. here is the brake issue i'm having. notice how i only have about 70% steering

Torryhead

[Torryhead]

yeah i thought the same thing as a mate of mine has the hopper stopper kit on the rear side also. and yeah UPC are friggen hopeless.

thing is i was told that if i swap from left to right that the angle of the stub would be heaps different and not work????? do you know about this. My mates Torry seems to be ok.

if its ok i'll swap them. have you had a wheel alignment done with everything true?

thanks for your pic mate.

[dattoman]

Sometimes the steering doesn't want to self centre when you swap them left to right.... but thats dependant on settings and tyre sizes too

[Torryhead]

Thanks for the info boys, i will change them over before the car show this weekend and go for a burn. hey do you know if the wheel alingment guys will tell me what adjustments to do regarding spacing the control arms etc based on the aligment results? that is of course if it needs it or is it something they will do at the shop?

thanks again,

torryhead

[Torryhead]

All right boys, what the F%$K is going on with these damn brakes. i just spent a couple of hours changing over stubs etc to find that now i have less steering. with the UPC kit on the rear side of the front stub, the caliper smacks into the section of K frame??????? Argh why did i buy these stupid F@#$ing brakes...... the car show is sunday and i need to drive it out to Dampier tomorrow so let me know what you think. cheers





notice how much more i have on the rack to full lock.....



veiw from top. see how i have about 15mm till the caliper would hit the upper control arm because it is already up against the K frame



the things we do

[myss427]

I have the Hoppers 330's and they don't touch anywhere but at full lock the bolt on the caliper almost touches the bump stop. Send them back and get the hoppers conversion.

[its Paul]

If you ask the guy at UPC, he'll say "just cut the hump off the K frame, you don�t need it" (dickhead, just an assumption). You swap them for the 290 kit same as REDSLUR, I don�t think you will have a problem or you could just bite the bullet and spend the dollars on a hoppers or talk to Datto, he'll help you out.
Cheers.

[ls2lxhatch]

Can the caliper adaptor plate be fitted another way to rotate the caliper down? This could reduce the clearance problem with the caliper in front of the stub however it may cause problems with the tie rod end.

It is not uncommon to cut a notch/scallop the upper control arm for clearance. This is probably the best option if you want the car on the road today.

The upper control arm modification is mentioned a couple of times in this thread.

Edited by ls2lxhatch, 04 September 2010 - 11:52 AM.

[dattoman]

They are an AU2/3 Falcon disc that they buy blank and drill to the required pattern

Why do you ask ?

[dattoman]

Hoppers won't be closing down... I can assure you of that

AU2 on their 290mm kit
BA on their 300mm HQ type kits


UPC is using VE calipers which might be where he's coming unstuck on clearance
Hoppers uses AU2/3 calipers

[Torryhead]

ok boys i'm back. the car show is over and you will all be happy to know i had a heap of great comments on the Torry. ok to answer a couple of questions and to ask a few more. firstly the UPC kit it's self is pretty good. good quality bits, well machined and everything fits up. yes admittedly the second you want to turn a corner, you have some issues. and the paint job on the calipers, dead lousy. also the guys at UPC are dead set useless when it comes to aftersales info (mind you i have had my days with hoppers too) and if anyone ever asked me my advice on getting a 330mm kit for a torry from hoppers or UPC, dont waste your time. its total over kill and a bastard ass job. its only worth it if you are running huge wheels.

i bought them in vain thinking as everyone surely does when they start there frist car project that bigger is better. i wanted to run 17's on the car as an absolute largest wheel and the guys from UPC couldnt (or were too bloody lazy) to measure the total centre to caliper clearence to see if 17's would fit. being that i was spending about $2,800 US on the wheels i didnt want to take the chance so i bought 18's and that opened up another swag of fitment issues too. to be honest and in my opinion, hoppers and UPC are on the same page with what you get . the kits are much the same price, they both dick you around no end so be prepared to have to do something other than just "bolt on" as they claim. i know this because i have the Hopper Stopper 300mm Camaro style rear disc and hand brake set up on the 9". a half a dozen phone calls and 2 weeks wait and they had supplied me the right stuff. have to admit though, she now stops on a dime

To the bloke that has the 330mm kit on his Torry with no probs, lucky bastard the only reason i didnt buy the front kit from Hoppers is because a mate bought the 300mm kit for his torry and had a nightmare doing the fit up. turns out after a month they called and and said they supplied him the wrong bits. the rest of my brake system is all hoppers though. booster, master, rears, fittings etc.

ls2lxhatch, your dead on with what you said. i have no room to reposition the caliper down the clear the upper arm brcause it was already hitting on the tie rod end for the steering. thats right folks i had to very carefully take off some meat on the adaptor bracket and use a flapper disc to take some alloy of the caliper mount just to get them on the front of the car. the fit up is tighter than i fish's bumhole but it clears (everything but the upper control arm.

so back to what you suggested ls2lxhatch, is it ok to notch out a small section of the upper arm?? any structural issues with that?? i'm not real keen on it. i will check out that thread.

robslxhatch, i have to admit mate this is the first i have heard of lock stops??? if i'm supposed to have some, then i will knock some up. it will help with the caliper hitting issue but not enough i dont think. how big should these stops be? can you send a pic through please. i dont want to sacrifice to much turn. must admit though, with the 383 chev, i touch of the throttle and she turns all by herself

Dattoman your right too, the VE calipers seem to have alot of body on the back side (they are bloody huge). i'm sure the hoppers caliper is more narrow. the guys at hoppers do give you alot more service even if you get stuffed about a little.

so in short, the calipers are back on the front. i still need to work out if i should notch the upper arm or weld on stops or what so keep the comments coming. Avoid the UPC 330mm kit like the plague.

here's the girl at her first ever car show thanks heaps for the comments and advice.

Edited by Torryhead, 06 September 2010 - 12:47 AM.

[Torryhead]

mate, do you have any pics you can post for us all to see. would be greatly appreciated.

how did you go with tierod end clearance against your caliper?

Torryhead

[ls2lxhatch]

Good to see you made it to the show, any more pictures of your car.

I seem to recall that the Castlemain Rod Shop HQ caliper adaptor kit to suit the LX drum brake stub axle came with a template to cut a scallop out of the top arm for caliper clearance.

As full lock is usually only used at low speeds it is unlikely that you would compress the suspension enough to hit the bump stop. If you did manage to compress the suspension enough to hit the bump stops you would probably find that the tyre will hit the guard first.

[Torryhead]

G'day Andy, cheers for the info. i have read that people have been talking a bit about hitting the bump stop with regard to this thread. i'm assuming its in relation to how much i would need to scallop out of the upper control arm? with the car at ride and at full lock, the top caliper bolt rubs on the upper control arm. i would have to scallop out about 15mm in an arch to clear the bolt and the rest of the caliper when the steering is at full lock. now if i was cornering hard, the suspension travel will cause the caliper the travel up more and subsequently i would need to scallop out more of the arm. your right though i wouldnt normally be cornering hard at full lock.

so is that what you are referring too?

from memory, i have about an inch and a half travel till the bump stop hits when at ride height.

i have a few more pictures of the big green girl. i should propbably stick them on my profile so you can have a look.

Dan

[ls2lxhatch]

Yes, based on the assumption that the most clearance is required at full lock on the bump stops.

I would as nemo355v8 suggested remove the spring, refit the tyre and check clearances and travel. I expect that the tyre will hit the guard before the suspension is on the bump stops at full lock. If this is the case then you only need to remove enough metal so the tyre hits before the caliper.