Kerry wrote:
> I don't think you need to be a super mechanic. I know
> some of you think I am...but I'm not, I'm just too
> stubborn to give up until things are right, enjoy
> getting my hands dirty, and too cheap to pay people
> who don't have my desire for quality or who don't know
> any more than I do to do the work.
I rarely disagree with Kerry, and I am happy to concur with his opinion once
again. Brake systems are not that complex, really, and under most
circumstances you should be able to address the situation yourself.
I do think that the 58 era brakes are very poor, and the original master
cylinder is the worst element of the system. I have worked endlessly on my
58's brakes for years and also paid a shop to work on them and have always
achieved better results myself. The mechanic won't be the chump in the
uncontrolled projectile whereas I will, so you could say I am a bit more
motivated.
When I first got the car in 1994, the brakes were ruined. Being
hydroscopic, the fluid had absorbed so much moisture over ten years that it
had expanded, busting all six cylinders and turned to the consistency of wet
sugar. If I could do it all over again, I would do what someone suggested
and remove the whole system and start again from scratch, with all new
lines, joints, master and slave cylinders. In effect, I have done that
several times by now, with increasingly dispiriting negative results.
My friend and I are taking a new approach this time. Installing a newer MC
was not strictly necessary but I think it ended up highlighting the fact
that there is a fundamental flaw somewhere in the "plumbing." The fluid
make a marginally movement under intense pressure along the length of a long
thin pipe with several bends in it and with several joints along the way.
Fluid under pressure will always find any weak spot. Its my job to
eliminate them and create a better, tighter, system.
MC rebuilding is not always done to the highest standards. We are on MC #2
on this project. The first one was just no good.
Again, this is not rocket science, but it can be tiresome and heart
rendingly difficult to get right. I no longer feel like a chump because no
one has yet managed to do a better job than me. My current partner in crime
is extraordinarily meticulous, a trait I lack, to be honest. This leads to
a certain amount of friction but is ultimately positive. I am very
frustrated that it is taking so long to complete this project. However, I
never want to see my Imperial crumpled up and smashed as a result of brake
failure again.
Hugh
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