rt4wd wagon rear disc fabrication

[EFfective]

i hate drum brakes, i love my wagon, enjoy

unfortunately i was about halfway through this project before i decided to document the progress

i started off with rear calipers from a 93 integra and 03 civic si rear rotors. i chose these rotors because there larger diameter not only gives me better braking force over a typical integra rotor but it aslo allowed me to mount the caliper further away from the hub which made fitting the caliper that much easier even though i did still have to remove a small portion of the trailing arm and the e-brake cable bracket had to be bent upwards slightly.

i then used plexiglass to figure out exactly what my brackets needed to look like. after that i traced the patterns onto metal plate and cut them out using a 3" wheel and a small air saw.

heres what i had made earlier
http://i737.photobucket.com/albums/xx15/effectivert4wd/wagon/bracket%20fab/bits.jpg

and this is the last 2 pieces being cut from .15 steel plate
http://i737.photobucket.com/albums/xx15/effectivert4wd/wagon/bracket%20fab/1.jpg

i start off with the straight cuts
http://i737.photobucket.com/albums/xx15/effectivert4wd/wagon/bracket%20fab/2.jpg

a plasma cutter would have made this much easier
http://i737.photobucket.com/albums/xx15/effectivert4wd/wagon/bracket%20fab/3.jpg
http://i737.photobucket.com/albums/xx15/effectivert4wd/wagon/bracket%20fab/4.jpg
http://i737.photobucket.com/albums/xx15/effectivert4wd/wagon/bracket%20fab/5.jpg

i found it was much easier to use a wheel that had been worn down to a inch or so and just take a small amount of material off at a time
http://i737.photobucket.com/albums/xx15/effectivert4wd/wagon/bracket%20fab/6.jpg
http://i737.photobucket.com/albums/xx15/effectivert4wd/wagon/bracket%20fab/7.jpg

after the brackets had been cut i then needed to smooth out the edges and get them as close to identical as possible. i did this by clamping the 2 pieces together and running the edges over a bench grinder
http://i737.photobucket.com/albums/xx15/effectivert4wd/wagon/bracket%20fab/8.jpg

after the grinder
http://i737.photobucket.com/albums/xx15/effectivert4wd/wagon/bracket%20fab/9.jpg
http://i737.photobucket.com/albums/xx15/effectivert4wd/wagon/bracket%20fab/10.jpg

next i drilled a series of holes that would later be plug-welded to give me a greater bond between the separate pieces.
http://i737.photobucket.com/albums/xx15/effectivert4wd/wagon/bracket%20fab/11.jpg
http://i737.photobucket.com/albums/xx15/effectivert4wd/wagon/bracket%20fab/12.jpg
http://i737.photobucket.com/albums/xx15/effectivert4wd/wagon/bracket%20fab/13.jpg
http://i737.photobucket.com/albums/xx15/effectivert4wd/wagon/bracket%20fab/14.jpg
http://i737.photobucket.com/albums/xx15/effectivert4wd/wagon/bracket%20fab/15.jpg

theses are the 3 plates that will be welded together to make each caliper mounting bracket
http://i737.photobucket.com/albums/xx15/effectivert4wd/wagon/bracket%20fab/16.jpg
http://i737.photobucket.com/albums/xx15/effectivert4wd/wagon/bracket%20fab/17.jpg

you can see the amount of overlap the separate plates will have. it narrows out towards the other side but this should be more than enough
http://i737.photobucket.com/albums/xx15/effectivert4wd/wagon/bracket%20fab/18.jpg

i opted not to drill the holes for the hardware until after i welded them due to how close to the edge of the plate the holes would be
http://i737.photobucket.com/albums/xx15/effectivert4wd/wagon/bracket%20fab/19.jpg
http://i737.photobucket.com/albums/xx15/effectivert4wd/wagon/bracket%20fab/19b.jpg

test fit before welding
http://i737.photobucket.com/albums/xx15/effectivert4wd/wagon/bracket%20fab/20.jpg

i used a few scrap pieces of the original plates to figure out what the settings on the welder should be.
the lower half is hotter which is what i decided to go with
http://i737.photobucket.com/albums/xx15/effectivert4wd/wagon/bracket%20fab/22.jpg

next i welded all along the outside edges
http://i737.photobucket.com/albums/xx15/effectivert4wd/wagon/bracket%20fab/23.jpg

then i filled th holes i had made earlier
http://i737.photobucket.com/albums/xx15/effectivert4wd/wagon/bracket%20fab/24.jpg
http://i737.photobucket.com/albums/xx15/effectivert4wd/wagon/bracket%20fab/26.jpg

next i drilled the holes for the mounting hardware, as you can see from the second hole its a good thing i waited
http://i737.photobucket.com/albums/xx15/effectivert4wd/wagon/bracket%20fab/27.jpg

i then bolted everything back up so i coud tack weld the next plate in place
http://i737.photobucket.com/albums/xx15/effectivert4wd/wagon/bracket%20fab/28.jpg
http://i737.photobucket.com/albums/xx15/effectivert4wd/wagon/bracket%20fab/29.jpg

after welding
http://i737.photobucket.com/albums/xx15/effectivert4wd/wagon/bracket%20fab/DSC07650.jpg

all thats left to do now is clean them up with a wire wheel and paint them
http://i737.photobucket.com/albums/xx15/effectivert4wd/wagon/bracket%20fab/DSC07651.jpg

the finished bracket
http://i737.photobucket.com/albums/xx15/effectivert4wd/wagon/bracket%20fab/DSC07653.jpg

and here they are mounted on the trailing arms
http://i737.photobucket.com/albums/xx15/effectivert4wd/wagon/bracket%20fab/DSC07660.jpg
http://i737.photobucket.com/albums/xx15/effectivert4wd/wagon/bracket%20fab/DSC07659.jpg


i'll update you all on how they work out after there installed on the car.

[bumpstick]

Ingenuity

[EFfective]

why thank you sir

[FranktheTank]

good idea man.
I love to see people actually use their head and do custom fabrication on their cars. It may be miniscule things, but it sets you apart from everyone else.

[AFFIRace]

Great idea man. I hope it works the way you want it.

[EFfective]

thanks guys! i should have them on the car some time next month, i'll update as it progresses

[mando]

Damn, i always thought about doing this but lack the skills and resources....im a sorry fabricator. Awesome job non the less.

[xswingkidx]

Yet another reason this wago is gonna kill. Solid plan and execution.

[EFfective]

thanks all

[EFfective]

finally installed them!

http://i737.photobucket.com/albums/xx15/effectivert4wd/wagon/disc%20swap/rtwagoreardisc1.jpg
http://i737.photobucket.com/albums/xx15/effectivert4wd/wagon/disc%20swap/rtwagoreardisc3.jpg
http://i737.photobucket.com/albums/xx15/effectivert4wd/wagon/disc%20swap/rtwagoreardisc4.jpg

everything is work good so far and there is a noticeable improvement in braking. i'll inspect them periodically to see how the brackets are holding up but as of this post they've been on there for a week w/o any problems

[honduh_head]

damn man thats cool...glad its worked out for you