Are you going Futofab?

But so many Z brake "upgrades"  have heavy front bias, how do you get enough pressure to the back if the PV is wide open?

Leon, I'm not saying I know more about brakes cause I don't, just trying to understand this before I plumb the brake lines in.

 

Precisely. Many of those "upgrades" are poorly engineered, i.e. pieced together without thought to performance. A prop valve isn't going to help poor engineering.

 

Placing a prop valve in the front will lead to instability during braking, or at the very least longer stopping distances. The harder you push the pedal, the more rear bias you will have. This is the opposite effect of what a proper braking system is supposed to do. A properly placed prop valve (in the rear lines only) will increase front bias the harder you push the pedal, i.e. front brake pressure will ramp up quicker as weight is being transferred to the front.

 

Stoptech has some good writeups on brakes, here's one on proportioning: http://stoptech.com/technical-support/technical-white-papers/proportioning-valves

 

Some good quotes from the article:

 

 

1. If you have the deeply-rooted need to install your own adjustable proportioning valve, be advised that they should NEVER be installed if the factory unit is still in place. Proportioning valves in series with one another can do nasty, unpredictable things!

2. If you have the deeply-rooted need to install your own adjustable proportioning valve, be advised that they should NEVER be installed in-line to the front brakes. The effect would be to make your vehicle rear-biased before you could say “terminal oversteer.” Front brake line pressure should always be left alone – only the rear pressures should be considered for proportioning.

3. In all cases, the basic brake system balance needs to be close to optimized to start with. This is the only way that a proportioning valve can be effectively utilized. You should never assume that simply adding a proportioning valve will address all rear-bias conditions, as even the best proportioning valves must be well-matched to the target vehicle.

Thanks Leon, makes sense.

Sorry ksechler, didn't mean to side track your thread.

Thanks Leon, makes sense.

Sorry ksechler, didn't mean to side track your thread.

No problem.  I've gleaned enough information from your threads.  Glad you could get some here!

love watching your progress - threads like this one shed a lot of light on systems and processes even if you're not specifically discussing them. the pics of  the dash out are very helpful for those of us who haven't done it. the break discussion is excellent. thanks for being so generous with your documentation.

 

that's what makes this site really special: helpful discussion and sharing vs. the "look at me" bragging i see on other venues.

Ok, I am going to post some more pictures.  I'm getting real close to current so the rate of posting is going to slow down soon.  

 

I did some work today and should have an interesting future post that I will probably title "The Cost of doing things Wrong!"  In my haste today I did something wrong that will need to be reworked -sigh.  I hope that post will serve as a reminder that sometimes it's best to walk away and rethink your approach before you compound a problem.  

 

Anyway, here are some pictures of front fender work.  Both front fenders were in very good condition and required very little help except taking off the ugly dealer trim strips and welding the holes closed.  

 

 

Here's the finished product.  Don't worry about the flare.  It's on wrong and I have corrected the problem.

Edited November 30, 20159 yr by ksechler

One more post for today.  This is a rust repair on the passenger door.  I have started to slip and didn't take as many pictures as I meant to.  I used a lot of filler before I primed the door.  Nothing too thick just a lot of fill, sand, fill sand, until I felt like I have covered most of the door.  That one was a little rough.  By contrast the driver's door which I am working on now is almost perfect.  

 

Awesome!

You made a good patch on the door. Did you use a dolly and hammer to roll the seam? Also on repairs like that you can take some Eastwood frame rail sealer and shoot it down in the inside of the door. It is very thin and will run down into that seal to help prevent rust and stop the rust in the remainder of the seam from spreading.

You made a good patch on the door. Did you use a dolly and hammer to roll the seam? Also on repairs like that you can take some Eastwood frame rail sealer and shoot it down in the inside of the door. It is very thin and will run down into that seal to help prevent rust and stop the rust in the remainder of the seam from spreading.

 

Yes, I used a dolly and hammer to roll the seam but I did kind of a sloppy job.

 

...I've gone through about 10 cans of the Eastwood frame sealer.  I've sprayed it inside everything including the doors (after welding).  

That whore in a prom dress( your words) is virginal now with all the reconstruction, she is tight . Great thread .

Edited November 30, 20159 yr by Z fan

Gotch. Tabco shows the same part a bit cheaper...

 

https://tabcoparts.com/16730.html