Grinding Front/Rear Brake Calipers to Fit 15" Bogarts **PICS**

SWThomas · 10-21-2007, 05:16 PM

I have had a set of 15X5 Bogart Drag Star Fronts and 15X10 Bogart Drag Star Rears for a while now. I decided it was time to do a little grinding on the brake calipers to get them to fit. I contacted Bob (Fade 2 Black) and asked if he wanted to get together and tackle this job. He agreed and my wife and I made the 260 mile trip to McDonough, GA. I sought out Bob because of his Lightning expertise and because I really wanted to meet him and see his truck in person. Bob and his wife are truely AWESOME people and I really have to thank them for the hospitality they showed me and my wife.

We got there on Friday evening so we hit-up the local Outback for some dinner and then went to the McDonough Summit Store to pick up the Hoosiers I had them hold for me...

The next day Bob and I got to work. We started with the rear calipers. We started by test-fitting the rear wheels so we could get an idea of how much material needed to be removed. Right away we found that the deep backspacing (6.5") of the 15X10 Bogarts caused them to contact the dust shield. Bob used his tin-snips to cut away the lip of the dust shield...

Next he cleaned up the jagged edge of the dust shield a little with an angle grinder. Initially Bob started out with his monster 7" angle grinder but it proved to be too cumbersome. So he switched to the 4" angle grinder I brought with me. Then we moved on to grinding the calipers...

While Bob was grinding he used a level rule to ensure he got any high spots left over...

Here's some pics of what the finished drivers side rear caliper looked like before painting...

Once the wheel cleared the caliper and the dust shield, it still contacted the emergency brake cable. I've heard that you can just bend it back enough to where it doesn't contact the wheel but with this deep backspacing it wasn't possible. Bob displayed the expertise I was talking about and came up with this...

It worked like a charm and the cable now clears the wheel.

We then moved over to the passenger side. Bob went ahead and secured the e-brake cable on this side using some tie-wraps. This cable was a lot more flexible and eaiser to secure...

He trimmed the dust shield on that side and then went to grinding the caliper...

Here you can see how much clearance the e-brake cable now has and how much the caliper clears the inside of the wheel...

A tip that I need to mention is using a fan to blow the metal shavings away from you. Bob knew this and set it up before we even started. It saved us from having to wear masks and kept the dust off us. Here's a shot of the fan and a shot of how it was set-up during the grinding....

And here's a shot of some of the metal dust that the fan kept off us...

Next, I blasted both brake asemblies with brake parts cleaner and then painted them. I used some gloss caliper paint I bought at Advanced Auto...

While we were waiting for the paint to set up a little and before moving on to the front calipers, I convinced Bob to work his magic on my 3" Kenne Bell Pulley. He does outstanding work on these pulleys and I was extremely impressed. Here's how mine turned out...

Next we mounted my street tires back on the rear and flipped the truck around so the front was facing outside. We did this in order to blow the dust outside and not have it accumulate in Bob's garage. Then we went to work on the fronts. The fronts don't require as much grinding as the rears but there are some key spots that need attention. Like the fins on top and some areas in the front. One clip on each side had to be ground down a little so they wouldn't back themselves out and contact the wheel during use. One thing that saved a little time on the fronts was using some masking tape when test-fitting and spinning the wheel. It would show where the wheel was still making contact with the caliper...

Here's what the front calipers looked like when they were finished...

After that I followed the same painting procedures that I used on the rears and we were done. Bob and I agreed that this was not a hard job at all. We got done pretty quick. It could have been done a lot quicker but we took about an hour break to do the pulley. I would estimate this as about a 2-3 hour job. I said "we" a lot but Bob did pretty much all of the work. He's just like me and when he gets to working on something he keeps going until it's done. I honestly believe I would have had a harder time and taken longer if I did this by myself.

I would have gotten a few more pics, but something in Bob's driveway kept distracting me with it's high-gloss shine and killer stance...

It was great meeting Bob and his wife and we really appreciate them allowing us to spend the weekend at their house. It was a lot of fun.

GK_crewchief · 10-21-2007, 05:23 PM

Sweet How-to. I still wanna know how you guys are getting the front QA1's installed. I have tried and tried and cannot get them to fit. I think the hole the shock slides into needs to be ground out a little. It feels like it is hitting the side when I push hard to get the bottom 2 studs to line up. AHH I need to figure it out soon since my stock ones are shot. haha

denali_on_26's · 10-21-2007, 05:23 PM

awsome......... i really want to get some 15's so that i can have matching front and rear hoosiers!

1fst54 · 10-21-2007, 05:27 PM

Another A++ job on a write up. Without you and Bob the little people on here wouldn't know what to do. Thanks again.:oldtu:

SWThomas · 10-21-2007, 05:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1fst54

Another A++ job on a write up. Without you and Bob the little people on here wouldn't know what to do. Thanks again.:oldtu:

Thanks man! I'll keep them coming.

silverzz28 · 10-21-2007, 05:42 PM

Good write-up.

2-3 hours is pushing it though

Fade 2 Black · 10-21-2007, 05:51 PM

It was a pleasure to have you and your wife here this weekend and to help you prep your AWESOME truck for track duty Spencer. You are both welcome back anytime, maybe you can bring the youngling next time too. I'm VERY jealous of your new wheels! I know they'll work great when you heat 'em up one good time.

Now that I know what to do when I get ready to do mine I'll knock the rears out in an hour whenever I get around to Bogarts.

SWThomas · 10-21-2007, 05:55 PM

Thanks mang! We'll have to make some plans when the little Thomas gets back. We'll be sure to come on Outback Friday again.

jeff thompson · 10-21-2007, 05:55 PM

Nice write up guys !!
Could you do a rear end shot with tires & rims installed ??

SWThomas · 10-21-2007, 05:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeff thompson

Nice write up guys !!
Could you do a rear end shot with tires & rims installed ??

I'll make sure to do that once I mount the Hoosiers on the Bogarts.

Brucewrs · 10-21-2007, 06:51 PM

Once I get mine I will take a ride to Bob's house...LOL Nice write up..

FlaHP · 10-21-2007, 07:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by silverzz28

Good write-up.

2-3 hours is pushing it though

I agree. That moving along at a good clip. I may have just done too many test fits but I am sure I took twice that amount of time,.

Spencer I am still working on mine and will try to get some pictures up tonight.

The paint is drying right now and it should be done woohhooo

silverzz28 · 10-21-2007, 07:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FlaHP

I agree. That moving along at a good clip. I may have just done too many test fits but I am sure I took twice that amount of time,.

Spencer I am still working on mine and will try to get some pictures up tonight.

The paint is drying right now and it should be done woohhooo

Not to mention.....Hit the wrong spot in the center above the caliper piston and you are done. I actually had 1 of mine too thin and took it out for a test drive. One hard time one the brakes and the pedal went about half way down.

The pressure of the fluid knocked a tiny crack in the top.

I had to start over on a fresh caliper

SWThomas · 10-21-2007, 07:47 PM

There must be some variation on brake calipers on different trucks. To me it didn't seem like we had to take that much off to get them to fit. We weren't anywhere near going through the piston wall. There's still quite a bit of material left.

silverzz28 · 10-21-2007, 07:53 PM

Now that you mentioned that I went back and looked at your pics.

This particular one isnt near as low as mine. My is down to the little squre block on the back on the caliper.

I'm running the D10s

10-21-2007, 05:16 PM	#1 (permalink)
SWThomas First Name: El Cazador Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Okinawa, Japan Posts: 10,740 View this user's gallery iTrader: 27 / 100%	Grinding Front/Rear Brake Calipers to Fit 15" Bogarts PICS I have had a set of 15X5 Bogart Drag Star Fronts and 15X10 Bogart Drag Star Rears for a while now. I decided it was time to do a little grinding on the brake calipers to get them to fit. I contacted Bob (Fade 2 Black) and asked if he wanted to get together and tackle this job. He agreed and my wife and I made the 260 mile trip to McDonough, GA. I sought out Bob because of his Lightning expertise and because I really wanted to meet him and see his truck in person. Bob and his wife are truely AWESOME people and I really have to thank them for the hospitality they showed me and my wife. We got there on Friday evening so we hit-up the local Outback for some dinner and then went to the McDonough Summit Store to pick up the Hoosiers I had them hold for me... The next day Bob and I got to work. We started with the rear calipers. We started by test-fitting the rear wheels so we could get an idea of how much material needed to be removed. Right away we found that the deep backspacing (6.5") of the 15X10 Bogarts caused them to contact the dust shield. Bob used his tin-snips to cut away the lip of the dust shield... Next he cleaned up the jagged edge of the dust shield a little with an angle grinder. Initially Bob started out with his monster 7" angle grinder but it proved to be too cumbersome. So he switched to the 4" angle grinder I brought with me. Then we moved on to grinding the calipers... While Bob was grinding he used a level rule to ensure he got any high spots left over... Here's some pics of what the finished drivers side rear caliper looked like before painting... Once the wheel cleared the caliper and the dust shield, it still contacted the emergency brake cable. I've heard that you can just bend it back enough to where it doesn't contact the wheel but with this deep backspacing it wasn't possible. Bob displayed the expertise I was talking about and came up with this... It worked like a charm and the cable now clears the wheel. We then moved over to the passenger side. Bob went ahead and secured the e-brake cable on this side using some tie-wraps. This cable was a lot more flexible and eaiser to secure... He trimmed the dust shield on that side and then went to grinding the caliper... Here you can see how much clearance the e-brake cable now has and how much the caliper clears the inside of the wheel... A tip that I need to mention is using a fan to blow the metal shavings away from you. Bob knew this and set it up before we even started. It saved us from having to wear masks and kept the dust off us. Here's a shot of the fan and a shot of how it was set-up during the grinding.... And here's a shot of some of the metal dust that the fan kept off us... Next, I blasted both brake asemblies with brake parts cleaner and then painted them. I used some gloss caliper paint I bought at Advanced Auto... While we were waiting for the paint to set up a little and before moving on to the front calipers, I convinced Bob to work his magic on my 3" Kenne Bell Pulley. He does outstanding work on these pulleys and I was extremely impressed. Here's how mine turned out... Next we mounted my street tires back on the rear and flipped the truck around so the front was facing outside. We did this in order to blow the dust outside and not have it accumulate in Bob's garage. Then we went to work on the fronts. The fronts don't require as much grinding as the rears but there are some key spots that need attention. Like the fins on top and some areas in the front. One clip on each side had to be ground down a little so they wouldn't back themselves out and contact the wheel during use. One thing that saved a little time on the fronts was using some masking tape when test-fitting and spinning the wheel. It would show where the wheel was still making contact with the caliper... Here's what the front calipers looked like when they were finished... After that I followed the same painting procedures that I used on the rears and we were done. Bob and I agreed that this was not a hard job at all. We got done pretty quick. It could have been done a lot quicker but we took about an hour break to do the pulley. I would estimate this as about a 2-3 hour job. I said "we" a lot but Bob did pretty much all of the work. He's just like me and when he gets to working on something he keeps going until it's done. I honestly believe I would have had a harder time and taken longer if I did this by myself. I would have gotten a few more pics, but something in Bob's driveway kept distracting me with it's high-gloss shine and killer stance... It was great meeting Bob and his wife and we really appreciate them allowing us to spend the weekend at their house. It was a lot of fun. __________________

10-21-2007, 05:23 PM	#2 (permalink)
GK_crewchief First Name: 600 HP Club! Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Fayetteville,NC Posts: 2,228 View this user's gallery iTrader: 4 / 100%	Sweet How-to. I still wanna know how you guys are getting the front QA1's installed. I have tried and tried and cannot get them to fit. I think the hole the shock slides into needs to be ground out a little. It feels like it is hitting the side when I push hard to get the bottom 2 studs to line up. AHH I need to figure it out soon since my stock ones are shot. haha __________________ *Built and Tuned by Arthur Todd in Conway,SC* Street Tune: 621HP/650RWTQ *SOLD*

10-21-2007, 05:23 PM	#3 (permalink)
denali_on_26's First Name: Registered User Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 1,138 View this user's gallery iTrader: 4 / 100%	awsome......... i really want to get some 15's so that i can have matching front and rear hoosiers! __________________ 2002 silver SVT Lightning #4512 built motor .020 over w/ cobra crank, Patriot stage 3 heads and cams, dynatech longtubes back, WHIPPLE 2.3, LFP sbtb, 3 upper, 4# lower, ngk tr6 , PI 2800 stall, LFPVB, LFP upper aux pulley kit JLP t-bars,LFT heat exchanger,..... and a little NOS

10-21-2007, 05:51 PM	#7 (permalink)
Fade 2 Black First Name: The ORIGINAL Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: McDonough, GA Posts: 9,218 View this user's gallery iTrader: 15 / 100%	It was a pleasure to have you and your wife here this weekend and to help you prep your AWESOME truck for track duty Spencer. You are both welcome back anytime, maybe you can bring the youngling next time too. I'm VERY jealous of your new wheels! I know they'll work great when you heat 'em up one good time. Now that I know what to do when I get ready to do mine I'll knock the rears out in an hour whenever I get around to Bogarts. __________________ MY VIDS

10-21-2007, 06:51 PM	#11 (permalink)
Brucewrs First Name: Registered User Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Hobe Sound,Florida Posts: 5,168 View this user's gallery iTrader: 7 / 100%	Once I get mine I will take a ride to Bob's house...LOL Nice write up.. __________________ 2003 lightning …KENNE BELL BLOWER w/3 ¼ pulley,Moto Blue 6lb crank pulley,60lb injectors, Walbro twin 255lph Fuel Pumps,Mafia,TR6 Plugs,JLP Plenum,JDM 108m Power Tube,JLP intercooler over flow,JLP radiator over flow,E-fan,C&L Polished elbow,Polished Accufab TB,PI torque converter 2800 stall,FTVB w/4x4 pan,Kooks L/T Headers W/O cats,Bassani exhaust, LFP 58inch torque bars,Boyd Smoothie2's with Nitto drags.




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10-21-2007, 05:27 PM	#4 (permalink)
1fst54 First Name: Turbo Inside! Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Florida Posts: 1,264 View this user's gallery iTrader: 0 / 0%	Another A++ job on a write up. Without you and Bob the little people on here wouldn't know what to do. Thanks again.:oldtu:

10-21-2007, 05:42 PM	#6 (permalink)
silverzz28 First Name: Registered User Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: South,Alabama Posts: 488 View this user's gallery iTrader: 4 / 100%	Good write-up. 2-3 hours is pushing it though

10-21-2007, 05:55 PM	#8 (permalink)
SWThomas First Name: El Cazador Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Okinawa, Japan Posts: 10,740 View this user's gallery iTrader: 27 / 100%	Thanks mang! We'll have to make some plans when the little Thomas gets back. We'll be sure to come on Outback Friday again.

10-21-2007, 05:55 PM	#9 (permalink)
jeff thompson First Name: Excited Delirium !!!!! Paid Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Palmetto Bay Posts: 2,807 NLOC member #: 2116 View this user's gallery iTrader: 11 / 100%	Nice write up guys !! Could you do a rear end shot with tires & rims installed ??

10-21-2007, 07:47 PM	#14 (permalink)
SWThomas First Name: El Cazador Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Okinawa, Japan Posts: 10,740 View this user's gallery iTrader: 27 / 100%	There must be some variation on brake calipers on different trucks. To me it didn't seem like we had to take that much off to get them to fit. We weren't anywhere near going through the piston wall. There's still quite a bit of material left. __________________

10-21-2007, 07:53 PM	#15 (permalink)
silverzz28 First Name: Registered User Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: South,Alabama Posts: 488 View this user's gallery iTrader: 4 / 100%	Now that you mentioned that I went back and looked at your pics. This particular one isnt near as low as mine. My is down to the little squre block on the back on the caliper. I'm running the D10s

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