larryw

Well gentle readers, it turns out my rebuilt master cylinder was fine. There was a little "trick". The problem was within the booster. The "reaction disc" had become dislodged and was found loose within the booster. I reattached with a bit of crazy glue, reassembled everything and bled the brakes again. All fixed. Pedal nice and high, brakes work great! See the attached thread borrowed from Hybrid Z: http://forums.hybridz.org/index.php/topic/69706-reaction-disk-pictures-and-walkthrough/ Maybe this should be a sticky?

Another possibility I just stumbled across: http://forums.hybridz.org/index.php/topic/69706-reaction-disk-pictures-and-walkthrough/

I can't get a decent pedal. I have a series 1 car (#20334) with the Tokico m/c that uses the push in reservoir caps and the large (front) reservoir to the front. All wheel cylinders have been disassembled, cleaned and rebuilt. Piston/pucks move freely, there are no leaks. Master cylinder has been cleaned and rebuilt with a genuine Tokico major rebuild kit that included all the internal parts, not just the rubber bits. The interior bore is clean with no pits or gouges. The design is unique. There is no solid connection between the front and rear pistons. There is a spring between them but the actual braking force seems to be transmitted by a slug of fluid between the two. I have good rear brakes but I can't seem to get the fronts to fully come on. There is no air in the system. Sitting in the seat and pressing the pedal, I can feel fluid bypassing internally and I think it's the slug of fluid that's supposed to be pushing the front piston forward. I'm using a DOT 4 fluid. Could it be the DOT 4 isn't swelling the rubbers as much DOT 3 does? I have no seeps anywhere else. The clutch circuit works fine with the DOT 4. I'm going to suck out the reservoirs and refill with DOT 3 and rebleed the master to draw it inside. If that doesn't fix the problem I've got to get a new master, unless someone's got another solution. Is there some other trick to these things? Were they just prone to this problem? I intend to run the stock disc/drum system, whats the recommended replacement master cylinder, if it comes to that? Thanks.

I have a set of the Shelby "Cal 500" 14x6" slotted wheels. They appear to be a zero offset, best I can tell. I'd like to try a tall tire to drop cruising rpm a bit. A set of 225/70/14 tires at 26.5" tall will run about 785 revs/mile (tirerack), vs about 840 revs/mile (guessed-can't find specs) or so for a 225/60/14, about a seven percent difference. On the tach it would represent about a 200 rpm drop at 3000. I made a cardboard section of a 225/70/14 from tirerack's specs and taped it to the rim. It seems to clear nicely with the car supported at the balljoint (suspension loaded), but I cannot force the spring into full compression to see what would happen at a bump. Anyone know if I'll have problems?

I have been soaking with a 50/50 acetone/ATF mix overnight, then a spin with no plug to clear the cylinder. Start and run up to temperature, shut down, repeat. Tested compression with engine warm, all plugs removed, butterflies and slides propped open, one cylinder at a time. What numbers should I see? The starter spins it really fast and easily with no plugs, kind of tough to turn using my hands on the front pulley. A PO installed an oversized fan and I can't get a good grip.

Still fooling with my barn car. She starts and runs easily, seems like the sticky rings in cyl #1 are getting better. Much less smoke than the first few times. First day the fog left a film on everything in the shop. Did a compression test: 170, 170, 170, 170, 180, 175. Removed clutch master and slave (both stuck), brake master (also stuck), calipers (pucks were perfect), wheel cylinders (one stuck). Disassembled, cleaned, reassembled. Blew out lines and replaced parts on car. All components were reusable, flex lines all look good. Today I hope get everything bled and see what else I can check off the list. Almost all the lights work as expected. Got some mouse chewed wires at the right rear to splice back together and that's it. Gauges and cabin electrics seem good. Drop and clean the gas tank, replace the fuel hoses. Drain the coolant and replace the rotten molded hoses (all of them). I may even have air conditioning, there's still pressure in the system. Find some tires. Get registered and go for a ride! It's just a couple days away. I quiver with anticipation.

Now up on stands and more thoroughly inspected. Found a couple sins. Some crash damage right front. Looks like it maybe hit a curb or over a rock? No upper body damage I can see, seems to have taken it where the strut anchors to the frame along with a good a dent on the frame extension under the passenger floor. Repaired, but things still look mildly tweaked. Picked at a tender looking spot at the rear end of the rocker/inner fender on the drivers side and found some perforation there. Fine on the passenger side. It appears structurally sound, as is. Time to get going.

Hi, I'm Larry from southeastern New Hampshire. Here is 1971 #20334 back out in the light after twenty years in a barn. Downsides: Interior mouse damage, paint is shot, rotten tires, no clutch, no brakes, carbs all dried out. Upside: No rust Oil level was still up on the stick, didn't see any rust on the cam through the oil filler hole. Pulled the spark plugs and pumped in a 50/50 mixture of WD-40 and ATF, let it sit. She cranks, but that first revolution was a toughie. Had to bump the starter several times to get her moving. Spun over pretty good after that. Bit of pus came out of #1 plug hole, there must have been some crud in that one. I intend to restore all the original systems, get some miles on her and think about upgrades for next winter. i'll be talking to you all soon. BTW, the highly desirable fender and door protector strips, his and her sunroof and rear window louvers will be put on eBay as soon as possible.