While I was doing the rear end rebuild on my Fiero, it became apparent that I was in need of new calipers in the back. Mainly, they seemed stuck, I didn’t have any luck pushing the pistons into the calipers so I could get them off the rotors. I’d heard talk of folks converting the rotors and calipers over to Beretta parts for better stopping power, so I decided to explore this possibility as well.
Turns out the parts needed are the front calipers, rotors, and pads for the ’85 to ’91 Chevy Beretta, which are also used on a whole slew of GM vehicles of the era, like Grand Ams. Just keep in mind, doing this upgrade removes the parking/emergency brake which may cause you trouble if your state doesn’t like that. You’ll have to find another provision for that, there’s aftermarket solutions to help you there.
The prices I found for the Fiero were $48.99 for the calipers with a $52 core, for a total of $100.99 each. I have the cores, so we’ll drop that down to $97.98 for the pair. The rotors were $29.99 each, so $157.96 total, plus pads.
For the Beretta, it’s a whole different story. $16.99 for each caliper, plus $11 core, so $55.98 for the pair. I don’t have the cores so I can’t turn them in for the refund. The rotors for the Beretta are $14.99 each. That makes it $85.96 total cost for the project, plus pads.
How could this be? A brake upgrade for $72 less than the cost of original parts? Yep, the Beretta parts were used on bunches of cars, and have no parking brake, and the Fiero parts weren’t, and do. They’re direct bolt on, vented rotors and calipers. Couldn’t be easier. If nothing else, do the upgrade so it doesn’t hurt your pocket so bad, this time and every time you do your brakes.
They really do stop better too, just don’t forget the front brakes provide 70% of the stopping power so don’t expect a super-duper massive difference. Guess what? You can use these same parts to do a front brake upgrade too! But, that’s a little more involved, so we’ll leave that for another day.
First, I’ll show you why I did this upgrade:
As you can see, the Fiero’s rotor is of the solid type, not so good at dissipating heat. The Beretta’s is of the vented type, much better at staying cool.
The Fiero’s caliper has a smaller bore and piston than the Beretta’s. That means the Beretta’s will put a tighter squeeze on the rotor.
The one big functional difference between the Fiero parts and Beretta parts is in the brake line mount. They’re on a different plane and angle, so you’ll have to be creative and careful when mounting. I wound up flipping the banjo bolt mount, and tried not to twist the hose too much. I think a pair of slightly longer braided stainless lines will be in my future. Take care not to allow the hose to rub on your tires, your original hose keeper isn’t going to work, you’ll have to find another way to attach the hose.
And Now, the How To:
Take the wheels off.
Remove the slider pins from the old calipers, use a c-clamp to push the piston back into the caliper enough to slide the caliper off. Hang it out of the way by some wire. Don’t let the caliper hang by the hose. Oh, and disconnect the hose keeper, if you haven’t already.
Slip off the rotor.
Slip on the new rotor. Ohhh, so pretty. (I so very much need a hobby).
Clean the rotor with brake cleaner (only). Prep the new caliper, dry-fit the pads and dry fit the caliper in place on the new rotor. This is how you figure out how everything goes together without getting grease all over the linings of your new pads. Then, put some no-squeek grease on the pads, reinstall, and slip the caliper back into place over the rotor.
Grease your PIN before you stick it IN.
Words to live by….
The other one too, don’t be shy.
Didn’t your mother ever tell you why?
Crank the pins to the proper torque.
Now remove the banjo bolt holding the brake hose, remove the old copper washers, clean it and the banjo fitting and reassemble with new washers. No, you can’t reuse the old ones, new ones came with my calipers.
Use my advice from above (the word of dog) and bolt the hose to the caliper.
Now that you’ve lathered and rinsed…
REPEAT.