brake caliper question

fred hannah · 07-07-2001, 04:30 PM

my car(1970 911t) front calipers have Ate 44 g stamped on them. my question is how old, and what kind of quality is this caliper? i know nothing about calipers, so any info would be great.

Bill Verburg · Bill Verburg's Garage

Most likely that is the famous M caliper. To be sure measure the on center distance betweeen the mounting bolts 3" = M caliper, 3.5" = A or S caliper. The M and A are iron the S is aluminum. The A and S both use the same size pad(~3" x 2 1/4") which is larger than the M(~2 3/8" x 1 11/16").

fred hannah · 07-07-2001, 05:20 PM

what do you mean by "the most famous m"?

dtw · 07-07-2001, 05:46 PM

Fred-
It is famous because it was used so extensively through the years. In later years, bigger and better front calipers were developed. Then the "M" caliper was moved to the rear of the car.

These brakes are fine for street use. I'd make sure that they have fresh flex lines, seals, and dust boots though. Brakes always seem to be neglected on all the cars I look at.

If you want something more sporting for street or track use, first try running brake ducts. If that doesn't float it for you, you'll need to get new struts to accommodate larger caliper bolt spacing. (Go measure like Bill said...bet yours are 3", right?) Then you have lots of options...alloy "S" calipers, SC or Carrera brakes, 944T or 928, the list goes on...

------------------
Dave
1972 911T (E motor) RSR replica project
http://members.nbci.com/dtwinters/garage/

Early_S_Man · 07-07-2001, 06:39 PM

The Ate 'M' caliper was probabably used on more different cars than any other Ate model in the '60s, '70s, and '80s! I have personally rebuilt them from 911s, 912s, 914s, VW Type 3s, Mercedes 450s, and BMW Bavarias! VW even sells the rectangular-cross-section 'O-ring' seals that goes between the caliper halves, and I have used them on VW, Mercedes, and Porsche 'M' calipers.

------------------
Warren Hall
1973 911S Targa