Off season Aspen projects have begun

BudW

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What did you do to your upper brackets to get them to look so good for this long?
 

Aspen500

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I started with ones from the SW desert and they had no more than a LIGHT surface rust that almost came off by rubbing it with your fingers. Otherwise, just primed, sanded, primed, sanded (repeat until perfectly smooth) and painted with Eastwood Spray Gray. Probably the main part is, the car hasn't had a drop of water touch it (other than wet sanding the clear) since 1996 more than anything else.
The originals off the car looked like the lunar surface and one actually had a hole rusted through and they promptly went in the scrap bin during the build of the car.

I still get a kick out of the guy when he said the brackets had some rust and if they weren't good enough I was welcome to send them back. When they came and I opened the box it was like "He thinks that rusty?" I've seen more rust on bare metal parts on brand new cars off the car hauler. I overpaid for all the stuff from there (Desert Valley Auto Parts) I found out later,,,,,,,,,,,,if only I had know Jim at the time!:)
 

Aspen500

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The new calipers came today. Have to mask the boots and give them a coat of clear (Eastwood Clear for bare metal) so they stay new looking, and then we're in business. It (the clear) held up good for 7 years on the old ones, except where the right one seeped fluid from the banjo bolt. No ridges for the copper washer to seal on anymore.
 

Aspen500

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This morning, got the new calipers cleaned and clear coated. Bolted them on a this afternoon. I'm going to bring the pressure bleeder home from work to bleed the brakes, front AND rear, to get every drop of that old, nasty looking fluid out. Then I wait,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,until spring when I can see if they're fixed or not, thanks to the salt job from a few days ago when it snowed.

Without pictures it never happened they say so, proof.:D
DSC00362.JPG
 

Aspen500

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We're supposed to get like an inch of rain tomorrow so,,,,,,,,MAYBE it'll wash the salt off the road and I'll be able to try out the brakes this weekend if it isn't raining and/or snowing. We'll see though. Still have to bleed them and tape measure the alignment so it's close enough for a run up the street and back, and also go get some more cotton balls.:p
 

BudW

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I was wondering the same thing, but wasn't gonna ask.

Maybe he gets the fluid in his eyes or something...

He might say something about not using DOT 5 or 5.1 fluid, and it might eat his paint...

Maybe . . . I don't wanna know.
 

Aspen500

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Sorry, cotton balls is just an inside joke between me and another member:p

I think all the rain we got today should have rinsed the salt off the road so IF my dumbass remembers to bring the pressure bleeder home, in theory this weekend I should be able to see if the brakes are good,,,,,,,,,,or not.:confused:
 

Aspen500

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I got the front brakes bled today. Only went to the end of the street and back but it seems to stop straight and stop excellent now.
Of course, I forgot to bring the pressure bleeder home so a certain redhead of the female persuasion did the pedal pumping.

The camber is slightly positive at the moment but with the shims in, the tape measure toe check shows it's darn close to zero instead of the 1/2" out it was before.

I'll worry about bleeding the rear brakes this winter to get the old, nasty fluid out.
 

volare 77

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Always good to hear good results. I may switch to those brake pads when I put mine back together. Any thoughts on NOS pads? I do have a set of them.
 

Aspen500

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Only thing that comes to mind about NOS pads is, brake pad material has come a long way in the past 40 years. What I remember about brake pads from the '70's and '80's is they made lots of brake dust.
 

Oldiron440

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If there adhesion type through them in the trashcan but if there riveted you could use them.
But like 500 said pads have come a long way in 40 years.
 

Aspen500

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I never thought of the bonded vs riveted thing. After 35 or 40 years, I'd question if the bonding material is still good. Also being NOS and considering the era, they may have come form the vendor with the lowest bid and may not be the best quality although, I very well could be wrong about that.

Since last nights weather officially ended the "car season" this year once and for all, back to the long term, ongoing project of finishing the luggage compartment. When summer came around, I pretty much stopped where I was at on it.
 

Oldiron440

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I've replaced more bonded pads over the years because of pads falling of than I have riveted for wear. So I don't use them......
 

Aspen500

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What I usually see (at work) with bonded pad failure is the rust creeps under the pad and forces it away from the backing and then one day, POOF, lining material is gone. Actually, I haven't seen a riveted disc pad for a long, long time. Drum brake linings yes, pads no.
 

79lilred

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What I usually see (at work) with bonded pad failure is the rust creeps under the pad and forces it away from the backing and then one day, POOF, lining material is gone. Actually, I haven't seen a riveted disc pad for a long, long time. Drum brake linings yes, pads no.
 

79lilred

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I saw your rusty looking brake fluid and remined me why I switched over to Dot 5 silicone brake fluid. I've got fluid in several cars that's over 25 years old and when I drain some out of them it still comes out the light purple color, I have had no issues with Dot 5 brake fluid at all. I have Dot 5 in a Viper with ABS with no issues. Back when I was using regular Dot 3 fluid I would get rusted/leaking wheel cyl's within a few years due to our cold winter storage.
 

Oldiron440

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I need to learn more about DOT 5 fluid, my Ford project will have an all new brake system, 4 wheel disks, master, lines and hoses. So it would be the time to make a chainge.
 

Aspen500

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You need to have all the DOT 3 or 4 out of the system. From what I've been told, even a little bit will cause issues. Biggest "problem" with DOT 5 is getting all the air out of the system. It can get tiny bubbles that seem like nothing but, added together give you a mushy pedal. Beyond that, DOT 5 is better and plus, it doesn't harm paint or absorb moisture, which is DOT 3 & 4's biggest downside.
In my case, it was a matter of not practicing what I preach and changing the fluid every 2 to 3 years. I'm an auto tech (since 1984) and know better. It's sort of the thing like the roofer having a leaky roof or the shoe maker with holes in his shoes. You do it 45 hours a week, every week, for years,,,,,,,,,,and years,,,,,,,,,,,and years,,,,,,,,,,,and at times, the thought of working on your own vehicles isn't really something you want to do.
 
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