Braking Point

I'm getting REALLY fed up with these back brakes!

My plan was to un-bolt a slave cylinder, turn it 90deg & get the air out, but the bolts were stuck fast & an odd size hex, so I pushed the upper piston down & pumped the brakes & got several large bubbles out.

On Friday I was early out of work to get the brakes working yes? No.

First I discovered that there was something wrong with the way I’d adjusted the handbrake, so had to take the top off the trans tunnel again, then I thought I’d take the upper piston out of a cylinder & top up the fluid directly, this seemed to work quite well until I tried the same with the off side, but the seals were weeping, so I went in & ordered a new pair of slave cylinders. Which is annoying because the old ones are going to be a git to get off with the seized bolts & also because the slaves out of the 9” drums are the right size, but the wrong manufacturer, so aren’t interchangeable.
 

An Expensive Shock

I've rumbled on with the mods to the car, I took off the enormous rear drum brakes (9" - like they put on Transit Vans) & fitted the more suitably sized 8" ones. This has saved 4.5Kg in unsprung weight, 3KG or which was rotating too! But they have given me a bit of a problem.

I'm still wrestling with bleeding the brakes. I think, there's air in the slave cylinders - on the old 9" brakes the nipple was directly above the hose (OK - insert own joke here), so all the air came out. On the 8" they one beside the other so I think there's air trapped above the bleeding point. Still considering what to do about this.

Also at the weekend, I thought I'd raise the rear suspension a bit, when I got under the back, the rear shock absorbers were in a bit of a sorry state, the bump stops on the shafts were MASHED, the rubber sleeve thing over the top of the shock body was MASHED & the upper spring pan had welded itself to the body so was impossible to adjust. So I've just ordered a set of Protechs (EEEK! - £££££)  from Fury Sports Cars. The annoying thing is that the front pair are seemingly immaculate - hardly a scratch on them. Maybe someone in the SKCC will want them.

Controls Under Control

Well, after a couple of little ooops' I think I'm about done with the controls.

Ooops one:-
I tested the clutch with only one bracket, so when I fitted the second bracket, re-tested it & the pedal went down & stayed there it must be the second bracket distorting it yes? getting the bracket off isn't an easy thing, but I managed, un-bolted it from the car - & it made no difference. I'd over-tightened the clutch pedal (another awkward to get to part). So that's all now sorted.

Oooops 2:-
While that was going on I'd also fitted the new brake master cylinder & hoses, but the following day saw a small pool of brake fluid on the chassis. A quick feel around underneath revealed the source of the slippery wetness (insert your own joke here) - it was coming from the seal around one of the new fittings. So off with the reservoir again, sqidge the fitting right down, & this time I made some rubber washers to pre-load the fittings into the seals, this seems to have worked, but obviously I shall be watching it closely.



So, flushed with success, I started the engine, pushed the clutch down and engage first gear! letting the pedal up again made the car move!! I should explain that while I appreciate that's what supposed to happen & there are millions of cars where that is exactly what does happen - I'd been concerned that the pedal was so light, it wouldn't have enough travel to fully disengage the clutch plates. But that doesn't seem to be the case at all.

Now if the brake fluid stays put inside the pipes & hoses, it shouldn't be too long before they are fully sorted & the car's drivable again.