We attempted to solve two issues:
- Bleed the brakes via every known method.
- Eliminate the gap between the steering wheel and turn signal arm and fix the 'warp' at the steering coupler.
TL;DR: We did not accomplish our goal.
The brake bleed started off on the right foot. We did a bench bleed-removed air from the system, gained about 2/3 pedal which was fairly firm. 20 minutes later, the same pedal went to the floor...no pressure. There are no leaks at the wheel cylinders, hard lines or at the master. There's no brake fluid inside the car (rubber mat is out) and the fluid level in the reservoir is not changing-which would indicate a leak somewhere. There's just no pedal.
We switched off to the steering column and trying to resolve the issue of the gap between the column and the steering wheel. The system isn't terribly complicated but the only thing we managed to do was make the gap larger.
So, victory, for now, belongs squarely to the car.
Friday we are going to start from scratch and go over every little detail to ensure that all bases are covered. We have a lot more time so I'm hoping that we will prevail in at least one area. The plan is to pull the 'new' master cylinder and replace it with the one that was in the car to determine if the issue is with the master cylinder or if it's somewhere else. We are going to replace the four outer hard lines and if necessary, replace the inner line as well. The front disc conversion is going to be replaced by an Airkewld disc brake kit with Wilwood pistons. I'll likely put the EMPI kit in the classifieds as I don't plan to use it on a future car.
Redesign #58 has been executed on the garage work space. I put the cabinets up on a stand that was built mostly from reclaimed/random wood scraps and better utilized the space. I found a few additional parts that I will post up for sale in the classifieds.