V8 (351) brake options

[gordon17074]

So I'm doing a 351 swap soon but I've recently noticed my brake booster isn't working. Thankfully I know that the current brake booster set up isn't going to work for the swap so I can just go straight into my swap options now.

So the questions:

Has anyone tried manual brakes with their v8 and liked it because mostly I only see bad things. I don't want to have to get bigger brakes to get to the same level of braking the stock brakes had.

How expensive/what do I need for a remote booster set up as I see that as another option?

Any other ideas?

I don't really feel like spending unreasonable amounts but this car will see little street use and mostly racing and drifting use if that influences your suggestions. For those who don't know: the main size difference between the 301/2 and the 351 is an increased deck height so that may be a factor.

Also, any temporary fixes for the time I'm waiting on the parts to come in? It's kinda sketchy to drive right now.

Thanks for any help you can offer.

[Q8y_drifter]

I have a boosterless V8 E30.

Relevant specs are:
1989 316i base model coupe (manual windows, no AC, no ABS, minimal interior, etc.)
5.7 LS1 aluminum block/heads, T56 trans and 225mm R888 tires all around

My brake setup is a Garagistic pedal box bracket, Wilwood pedal with 5/8" bore masters F/R, Massive Race BBK front and rear, Hawk DTC-60 pads all around, all new hard lines and stainless steel braided soft lines.

I'm only 5'7" 130lbs and on the streets I can lock up the fronts without too much effort. Naturally without a booster the pedal effort increases as you push forward on the brakes, but its manageable and feels solid (in a good way). Honestly its better than I thought it would be and with my brake pad selection its supposed to be much better when they gain more heat. I think pad selection (after proper MC sizing) is a major player here.

[gordon17074]

Did you buy the whole setup, master cylinders and all, from Garagistic or did you buy that stuff separate from the bracket? Just wondering if it's cheaper to do it that way.

Also, do you need to get upgraded pads and calipers right away too?

[gordon17074]

Bump

[JGood]

Here's the thread from like 5 years ago when I got the e34 remote booster system installed in my car. If you're willing to read the whole thing, you'll see the evolution of my various attempts and the final product. You'll see that it's not so bad, if you can cut, grind, weld, etc... It was hard for me because I basically had to pave the way, I couldn't find anyone else who had installed the whole setup.

It's been over 5 years and 40k miles since I installed that linkage setup, I literally haven't touched a single nut/bolt on it since. It feels 100% like stock e30 brakes.

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=234267

Disregard my ugly welds and fab skills. I was still learning.

[Q8y_drifter]

Did you buy the whole setup, master cylinders and all, from Garagistic or did you buy that stuff separate from the bracket? Just wondering if it's cheaper to do it that way.

Also, do you need to get upgraded pads and calipers right away too?

I got the Garagistic bracket separately as they did not offer the whole package back then.

As for the BBK, my base model E30 came with small calipers with small non-vented discs in the front and drums in the rear. If it had the larger F/R disc setup from the 6-cylinder E30s I probably would've only upgraded the pads and SS lines.

[gordon17074]

[QUOTE=JGood;4812512]Here's the thread from like 5 years ago when I got the e34 remote booster system installed in my car. If you're willing to read the whole thing, you'll see the evolution of my various attempts and the final product. You'll see that it's not so bad, if you can cut, grind, weld, etc... It was hard for me because I basically had to pave the way, I couldn't find anyone else who had installed the whole setup.

It's been over 5 years and 40k miles since I installed that linkage setup, I literally haven't touched a single nut/bolt on it since. It feels 100% like stock e30 brakes.

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=234267

That's one hell of an option. How long did it take you after you knew what you had to be doing?

Also, do you just need that whole front assembly from the e34 or do you need more? Sorry I'm sure it's in the post but I couldn't give it much more than a glance over right now since I'm at work.

[gordon17074]

Wow, screwed that up^^

[JGood]

Well, it evolved, it wasn't a figure it out and do it thing. To do it again, probably a couple hours.

[gordon17074]

Thank you. I'll be looking into it more when I'm not at work and contact you if I have any questions.

[shiboujin]

I run a stock master with the leverage upped via the sikky manual brake setup. I can lock up the wheels but it leaves something to be desired. I think my car just has some brake bits that don't work right or something. I should replace all the hard lines or something.

If I had to do it again, I'd go 5 lug and get E36 M3 bits. For track/drifting, it's better anyway and the brakes are much better. Honestly, stock E30 brakes were never awe inspiring to begin with.

[gordon17074]

Thanks for the input. I'll look into that. Maybe I can grab some stuff from a pick n pull or something.

[gordon17074]

Hey JGOOD (sorry don't know your real name), how did you figure out if the brake fluid reservoir would clear the hood? The only thing I can think of is to put the hood back on but my hood doesn't stay up so I need to remove it while working on the car (and prefer it removed while working anyways).