After disconnecting the parking brake cable and the hydraulic brake line, the backing plate can be removed complete with the brake shoes, wheel cylinder, star wheel adjuster, and hold-down hardware. The leaf spring simply unbolts, at the front eye bolt and the rear shackle, along with the U-bolts. The shock absorber must also be disconnected from the lower spring plate. If you're doing this kind of work, be sure to support the axle housing before disconnecting the shock, since it's the shock and fabric axle strap that limit housing travel. Here you can also see clearly the factory traction bar/radius rod that limits spring wind-up and wheel hop during hard-throttle launches.
Our new rear disc brake setup from Stainless Steel Brakes Corp. comes with some serious mounting brackets and hardware to handle the torque that will be generated by our new binders. The backing plate acts as a shield against water, dust, dirt, and other contaminants that might compromise the stopping ability of our new brakes. Happily our new rear disc brake setup is engineered to use the original parking brake cable and linkage, so no other modifications are needed.
Our very trick single-leaf fiberglass rear leaf springs were among the first couple of pairs to come off the assembly line at Vette Brakes & Products. These springs are very strong and very light, and are of a particularly sophisticated design that provides a smooth ride, excellent bounce control, and integral features that manage torque and limit axle wind-up for improved launch characteristics. They're easy to work with, come from the factory with high performance polyurethane bushings, and the only caution needed is to assure that exhaust pipes are routed properly so the springs are not subjected to exhaust heat.
Once in place the new fiberglass leaf springs look almost factory. Note the taper in the thickness of the leaf both forward of, and behind, the axle. This taper is the result of many hours of engineering and development to provide the optimal combination of ride, handling, and durability.
Here's the complete rear disc brake setup as supplied by SSBC. All components are brand new and, happily, replacement parts are readily available from SSBC if seals or other parts are ever needed. That's one of the advantages of dealing with a company that's been supplying parts to the Corvette community for many years. And SSBC also has a very friendly tech support staff to answer any questions dealing with parts selection and installation.
Gary Gardner installs the new longer wheel studs that come with the disc brake setup. These longer studs are needed to accommodate the added thickness of the disc brake rotors.