The rear brakes - almost

After waiting two weeks to get all of the possible pieces to swap out the potentially faulty rear brake parts, the process of replacement was under way.  The left side was fairly straightforward and after some cleaning, the parts went right back in.

I went to the right side and noticed that there was about a tablespoon of  gear oil from the transmission on the floor.  Before I resigned myself to tearing the whole thing apart, I checked the bolts on the bearing cover and found that all four were loose.  After tightening them up, I swapped out the parking brake cable and put everything back together.

Last step was cleaning the NOS rear drums - removing the wax on the braking surface on the inside - and installing them.  My expectation was that I'd at least get these installed and maybe get the brakes bled with the vacuum bleeder...but what wound up happening is that I got it all installed and then the left side seized up on me.  The right side went together easily but the left side is stuck.

Here's where I am:

• Brake adjusters are dialed back completely
• New brake shoes/hardware
• New spreader bar and lever arm
• New parking brake cable
• Everything is tight/aligned.

The old drums came right off after the axle nut was loosened...the new one went on but doesn't turn and won't come off.  The right side was assembled exactly the same and works fine.  It'll be 'hammer time' tomorrow when I attempt to remove it again with a little more force (hammer and wood block) but I can't think of anything that'll keep it from turning.  I have another set of brake shoes I could try but I don't know what else it could be if that doesn't solve the issue...the blue Bentley wasn't much help.

Yet another reason I'd prefer to have disc brakes at all four corners.

It's that time of year...

This popped up in the classifieds for about an hour - it was $125 shipped.  I thought about buying it but decided against it.  Another one will pop up in a couple of years and I'll still have at least one car in pieces so perhaps it'll be more interesting.

It is interesting that a lot of rare parts show up for sale right before Christmas and right around tax time.

311 863 341 A, NOS parking brake boot

NOS parking brake boot I bought today.  I also found a repop in Europe that looks closer to this one than the other one I bought earlier in the year - which is both too light in color and, several months later, smells like a place where old action figures go to die and get melted down.

This one is not anthracite but it's the right shape.  And let's be honest:  the odds of finding the original rubber mat are slim.  It's more likely that I'll install carpet and this one will be a much closer match to the carpet, so I'm okay with it.

Part number checks out.

Black Friday progress

I did get the main front to rear brake line installed.  It was a hell of a lot easier than I expected but not without its challenges.  I wound up using a line I bought from ISP several years back that I forgot I'd purchased.  The location of the rear mount for the T is a real unnecessary bitch.  If it were moved over to the center about two inches, it'd be a straight shot out of the pan and would make reaching everything a lot easier.  I'm thinking about moving the bracket on Ferris when it's time to put it back together.  The current parking brake cables are about 40 years old and are going to need to be replaced since the adjustment is gone from them - and the drums are off, this looks to be the right time.  I don't think I have the cables so I'll have to order them...and wait.

I pulled out one of the two late divider panels that I bought and cut it down to make a bracket to fit the 67 only reservoir.  The test piece turned out okay but I'll definitely want something a little better when the restoration is underway.

I wound up spending the rest of my time cleaning the garage because it was filling up with random shit from the yard and the house.

Turkey day progress

Pulled the rear drums off today with the hope of them being in decent shape so I could help out a fellow T3 owner...alas, they're in rough shape, so they're going into the scrap bin - the NOS drums will go on the car as I've all but abandoned the idea of swapping over to rear disc brakes for now.  Who knows, by the time I get around to getting Ferris up on tires, I may change my mind and shift the lightly worn NOS units to Ferris while I put rear discs on Nigel.  Time will tell.

In other news, I also pulled the main brake line out of the center of the car.  I forgot just how much stuff is crammed into the left side of the rear of the tunnel - it's pretty tight.  I got the main line out and found these two crusty individuals as the grommets at the rear end - they don't look anything like their identified replacements, which have a MUCH smaller diameter midsection.

Because I think I've got at least two of everything - I actually have the exact replacement for these two worn out bits and they'd be a lot easier to deal with since my brake line is already assembled vs. the newer pieces.  Someday in the future, I'll be pulling this pan apart to get the floors welded in so they'll get replaced well in advance of ten years from now.  I'm hoping to have some time in the morning tomorrow to tackle some more work on the car.  All I've managed to do so far is take more parts off of the car - I've got to start putting them back if I stand a chance of putting it back on tires again.

NOS Left front indicator housing

Left side NOS turn indicator housing...now I have 3 pair in NOS condition.  I'm going to go through them in the Spring and sell off one pair, put a pair on the car and keep the last pair for the finished restoration.

3 bolt pulley shroud is added to the pile

Picked up an early 3 bolt pulley shroud from a parts pile ad in the classifieds.  It'll eventually replace the super dented one that was slated for Nigel's restoration - I can either fix that one or sell it down the road.  I've now got three lids for these shrouds.

One broken part delays the process yet again.

I bought the small clamps and straps from a guy in New Zealand who is restoring a T34 a few months ago.

I installed them today after having to concede defeat yet again with the brakes.  The car has never had a solid pedal like it should.  An attempt to bleed them today yielded another disappointing result.  Instead of just saying 'fuck it' and blaming myself for not doing something right, I examined the whole system, inch by inch, and I found the problem: The main line from front to rear has three tiny holes in it...just enough to cause havoc with both successfully bleeding the brakes and, likely, successfully stopping the car.  Since I don't have one of these lines handy, I had to stop this process - knowing that I'll have to order / find one and start again.  Since I'm at this point, I'm going to pull the whole system apart (something I tried REAL hard to not do) and replace all of the hard lines (soft lines are brand new).  I've ordered completely new hard lines for both cars (or for me to screw up once and try again).

To make myself feel slightly better, I installed these clamps and did some interior cleaning so that I could accomplish something with the time I had available.  I'll have to remove the seat belt adapter so that I can remove the rear section of the crispy rubber mat...which will then allow me to get to the rear portion of the brake line.  I'm not really looking forward to this repair.

A million little things...

 The car is back up on jack stands - which is both a good thing and a bad thing.

It's good because I was able to address a few things that needed attention.

Up front: Adjusting the steering box because it wasn't quite on the mount where it belonged - unfortunately it didn't 100% solve the alignment issue but I'll get back to that, drain the fuel tank, assess the situation with the brake reservoir and centered the steering wheel once I aligned the center mark on the box.

 In the rear: Replaced the fuel line and filter between the pan and the engine and install the balance of the fuel line on the engine along with the check valve.

There are still a few things missing on the engine but it's closer than it was yesterday.  I've got some clamps to install around the fan housing to heat exchanger yet.  Once I've made it back to the interior of the car and I can get the brake pedal rod adjusted properly, I'll come around back and hook up the accelerator cable and clutch cable.

I still hold out hope that I'll be able to get all of that done AND bleed the flippin' brakes.  It'll be a hell of a lot easier to do with the wheels off (bonus: the car is level right now).  If the weather stays mild, I might fire it up and go for a drive...but I'm not feeling quite that ambitious or hopeful.  It's tantamount to buying a scratch ticket - knowing full well that I don't stand much of a chance of winning while secretly 'wishing' that I could...wishing that I would.

NOS front indicators w/Italian spec lenses

 Last week I sold a bunch of random parts that I'll never use.  That money sitting in my PayPal account was used to buy this pair of NOS housings with Italian lenses today.

 One more thing to scratch off of the list.   Hopefully, they're packed well and arrive in good condition.

The seals look pretty crunchy but they'll come up for sale soon enough.

Nap time progress

While my son was taking a nap, I ventured out into the garage and got a few things done.

I had only planned on pulling the pedal cluster to check the length of the brake pedal plunger rod.  Of course, that turned into much more.

I loosened the clutch cable to find that the bow in the tube was near the max (42mm vs. max of 44/45mm).  The seal for the accelerator cable housing was filthy (shown) so I pulled that and cleaned it.  Then I pulled the bowden tube and replaced it with a new GEMO part and a gasket for the pan.  I was experiencing a weird 'click' type when pushing on the clutch cable that I was hoping to address.  After looking around a bit, I think it was partially due to the bowden tube not being fitted properly - it was resting against the pan tube vs. being fit around it properly.  I'm hoping that is the reason for the noise.

So the clutch cable bowden tube and seal were replaced, I removed and cleaned the accelerator cable tube, pulled the pedal cluster and adjusted the master cylinder plunger...although he woke up before I was able to put the pedal cluster parts back into the car...that'll have to wait for tomorrow.

One more for the shelves

Fuel pump arrived today and it's the very definition of NOS.  The fuel pump is still sealed in its original plastic bag and, just like the seller indicated - the cap is mint.  It's a BCD, not a Pierburg, but several of the parts appear to interchange between the two manufacturers.

The second heat system elbow arrived as well - so I'll be collecting those parts for powder coating and dropping them off shortly.

I'm going to collect a set of the early wheel covers and drop them off for dent repair and re-chrome.  If that set comes back in good shape, I'll send the other two sets for the same work.

My goal is that I can get some of the 'behind the scenes' work done while it's too cold to work in the garage and still accomplish something.

The slippery slope

Scored a rear hatch hinge cover this week...no dents or creases.  It came in a small lot of parts - heater controls, pinch welt for the windows and doors, and a second cut out patch of the brake reservoir for an experiment where I will investigate whether I can weld the 'bump out' part to my existing panel divider to install the 67 only brake fluid reservoir.

Other purchases:
*New seals for the back end of Nigel - engine hatch seal and both seals for the hatch.

*Two of the later heat system elbows for the engine for Ferris - they'll be sent off for powder coating once the second piece arrives and I'll have two complete pair.  That'll give me a good pile of parts for grey powder along with the front kick panels.

*NOS early bolt on fan shroud and cover, the little plugs that go in the control arms (I am rather efficient at losing them), NOS steering arms, OE bolts for the shocks, 2 pair of the small early style engine tins, NOS pittman arm, NOS Master Cylinder port hose fitting (6mm), NOS bumper bolts.

*NOS rear seat bracket support -  a part I'd searched to find for two years before I conceded defeat and had an existing set 'fixed' (they look like shit).  I'm going to take one to a stamping shop that I work with and see if they can give me a price to fabricate them...maybe see if they can do the kick panel if I can find a decent one.

*NOS 12 volt chokes, a NOS air cleaner sleeve, choke element covers (the little plastic things that cover the electrical connections for the chokes) - found them in two colors.

*NOS BCD early style fuel pump.  I negotiated with the seller to yield a slightly better final price.  It'll be the second one in my collection - this one looks to be damn near perfect.  I think this puts me at 6 or 7 of the early style fuel pumps.  I can probably stop now.

*NOS muffler installation kits.

*Warm white BA9 LEDs for the dash illumination bulbs.  I think I screwed up last time I ordered and bought the 'cool white' bulbs which don't look that great in an old car.

*Miscellaneous air filter support pieces and parts for the fuel system/hose clamps - they seem to be kind of tough to find so I bought the couple that I found.

I must have been going through 'buyers withdrawal' because I kind of went nuts...but I'm also putting together two rather large groups of parts that'll be going off in a box in the next week.