The front brake swap is the easiest part of the entire project. The only parts involved in this swap are the front calipers, rotors and brake lines. If you are planning on doing a 5 lug conversion, make sure you have all of the components necessary prior to starting.
Parts Necessary
- 300ZX or Skyline Rotors
- 300ZX or Skyline Calipers
- SPL parts or PDM racing SS brake lines
Tools Necessary
- Jack, Jack stands and Wheel Chocks
- Metric Sockets and Wrenches
- Flare Wrench (optional but handy)
- 12 mm x 1.25 pitch tap
- Cut-off Wheel (optional)
You will want to put a pan under the car to catch the oil that will be oozing out of the hard line on the chassis. Once you get the caliper out of the way, pull off the rotor. You may need to use a hammer to persuade the rotor to come off.
After you remove the original hardware, you will need to decide whether or not you want to keep the splash shield. The splash shield’s main purpose is to keep water away from the rotor. You don’t need this, so you can remove it. However, I chose to keep it. You will discover that the splash shield is too small for the new rotors.
With the calipers in place, it’s time to attach the brake lines. You do not want to use the 240’s lines. People have used the stock banjo fitting with a shorter bolt, but it is not the right fitting for the 300ZX caliper. The 300ZX caliper does not have the tabs to hold the banjo fitting in place. Without the tabs, the banjo fitting can spin and loosen the bolt.
Using the 300ZX lines is a nice way to save some money, but I wanted to go with stainless steel lines. PDM offers stainless steel lines that will make the conversion easier and more effective than standard rubber lines. Installing either line is as simple as attaching one end to the caliper and the other to the hard line on the chassis.
If you are only installing the front brakes, then bleed the brakes using your favorite bleeding method. If not, continue with the rear swap process.
The next part of the series will cover the installation of the rear brakes. Click the link below for the complete series.
The Definitive 300ZX Brake Swap Series
