happypatrol Posted November 22, 2020 Share Posted November 22, 2020 hi everyone. I’ve got an 85 GTE COUPE. A friend of mine owned it for 30 years and I’ve had it for 3 years. ive changed every part of the suspension and it drives great. Only thing that lets it down for me is the brakes are bad. And the discs are warped. my friend has never replaced the callipers only rebuilding them once about 20 plus years ago. ive considered the Wilwood 4 pot upgrade but its expensive at around £580 inc pads. I reckon I can do the Volvo 240 4 pot callipers with Carlton discs for around £250 max. can anyone advise if the wilwoods are worth an extra £300. And will I notice much difference between standard and Volvo setup ? ive put some images of what I think are the correct discs and calipers. If anyone can advise I’d greatly appreciate it. cheers david https://imgur.com/a/R1Z8wii 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessopia74 Posted November 22, 2020 Share Posted November 22, 2020 Problem with wilwoods, that has always put me off, is the lack of dust boots 🤔 I did a 4pot Volvo 244 & Carlton upgrade many moons ago to my old GTE coupe, however it might be cheaper to go with Audi discs and Astra/Vectra Calipers, more than adiquate for the manta. Link to my project thread post with the parts I used and costing. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
®evo03 Posted November 22, 2020 Share Posted November 22, 2020 Wilwood are essentially a racing caliper, behind the scenes rebuilds, some dont even get a full season, half a season at best, I would say a well thought up upgrade, or even a rebuild of original calipers, one thing i would say is that opel took a slight sideways step with the later sliding calipers, earlier twin pot calipers in good condition work better. It depends on your, use for the car, your plans on doing it and hopefully having no further issues, i would suggest whatever caliper, get em rebuild if in any doubt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypatrol Posted November 22, 2020 Author Share Posted November 22, 2020 Cheers for that info. Another option. what do I need to modify on the audi discs ? whichever calipers I go for they will be new. I don’t want second hand units. This will be the first and last tIme I touch the brakes for a while. So want as little hassle as possible. my originals are the 2 pot calipers. But I really would prefer vented discs. I only use the car on sunny days but I do drive it fairly hard when the roads allow. just about to remove the head too. It’s never been upgraded to unleaded and the stem seals are starting to show some signs of wear. cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cam.in.head Posted November 22, 2020 Share Posted November 22, 2020 hi if its a 85 model then theres every chance it will already be unleaded. the head will have P2E stamped on the side above the spark plugs. the valve seals can be changed without removing the head if needs be with a tool that holds the valves up S 1230 or you can use the old rope method. ( or you can remove the head too if you so wish and do a proper clean up and lap the seats. my 2 cavs both have the early 2 piston calipers and standard discs. never felt any issue with the brakes and i drive a fair few different vehicles ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessopia74 Posted November 22, 2020 Share Posted November 22, 2020 1 hour ago, happypatrol said: Cheers for that info. Another option. what do I need to modify on the audi discs ? whichever calipers I go for they will be new. I don’t want second hand units. This will be the first and last tIme I touch the brakes for a while. So want as little hassle as possible. my originals are the 2 pot calipers. But I really would prefer vented discs. I only use the car on sunny days but I do drive it fairly hard when the roads allow. just about to remove the head too. It’s never been upgraded to unleaded and the stem seals are starting to show some signs of wear. cheers The Audi discs need drilling and centre bore opening up, however mantasrme (David) sell them already done for a couple of £ more than Factors would sell me just the discs as fitted to mine in the project thread I linked ( and prices ) If you want new Calipers or refurb, then just remember you might need carriers as they probably will not come with them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypatrol Posted November 22, 2020 Author Share Posted November 22, 2020 1 hour ago, cam.in.head said: hi if its a 85 model then theres every chance it will already be unleaded. the head will have P2E stamped on the side above the spark plugs. the valve seals can be changed without removing the head if needs be with a tool that holds the valves up S 1230 or you can use the old rope method. ( or you can remove the head too if you so wish and do a proper clean up and lap the seats. my 2 cavs both have the early 2 piston calipers and standard discs. never felt any issue with the brakes and i drive a fair few different vehicles ! I will check on the head but my friend had this car from almost new and he always ran it on 4 star. I’m keen to get the head off and do a clean up. Re grind valves etc. Won’t do it any harm. And not exactly busy in the evening at the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ems Posted November 22, 2020 Share Posted November 22, 2020 I've been using Wilwood Midilite for around 8 years. The car is on the road all year round and I haven't had any problems to date, I've only changed pads and discs during this time. I'm sure some on here use Astra GT/E or mk3 Cavalier calipers with 256mm discs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypatrol Posted November 23, 2020 Author Share Posted November 23, 2020 21 hours ago, Ems said: I've been using Wilwood Midilite for around 8 years. The car is on the road all year round and I haven't had any problems to date, I've only changed pads and discs during this time. I'm sure some on here use Astra GT/E or mk3 Cavalier calipers with 256mm discs. Cheers for that info david 23 hours ago, cam.in.head said: hi if its a 85 model then theres every chance it will already be unleaded. the head will have P2E stamped on the side above the spark plugs. the valve seals can be changed without removing the head if needs be with a tool that holds the valves up S 1230 or you can use the old rope method. ( or you can remove the head too if you so wish and do a proper clean up and lap the seats. my 2 cavs both have the early 2 piston calipers and standard discs. never felt any issue with the brakes and i drive a fair few different vehicles ! I checked my head tonight and no signs of any letters stamped. I also phoned the engineering shop I would use to rework the head and they are quoting £60/70 per valve to replace the valve seats for unleaded. So I think that options priced out. For the power the cih engine has id rather spend the money on an improvement engine swap I think. But I’ll have a think and see what’s best. An engine swap sounds like a lot of hassle I’ve not really got time for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cam.in.head Posted November 23, 2020 Share Posted November 23, 2020 there should be something stamped . if its not P2E than it may say xr2 or similar .am surprised its not unleaded for 85 thou! yes the valve seat job sounds cheap enough ( i paid £200) a few years back on a viva head) but definately better with a proper gm converted one if you can Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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