Brakes Finally Done

Finally, after all this time the brakes work! And most of the parts are new so I'm optimistic that they will stay in a good state of operation. Replaced the Master Cylinder, Front Pads, Rear Hoses, Cylinder, shoes and drums. Next up I'm finishing the firewall deck and wiring. The KB coating is giving me a problem bubbling up in places, not sure why. On the electrical I decided to bring a new power cord into to car connect it to a new fuse box and run the accessory lights, cigarette lighter and radio off it. The previous owner had the lighter directly wired to the battery without a fuse, that's a disaster waiting to happen. The wiring can get pretty confusing especially when someone has been adding and subtracting devices, meters, lights etc. Every circuit needs to be fuse protected as far as I'm concerned. Car electrical fires can be nasty and messy. I also  purchased an original wiring schematic for the Spitfre off ebay. I'm sure that will come in handy and I think that's a must have.

Frustrations

Restoring an old car like the 68 Spitfire I have found often leads to many unplanned jobs but in the end it will all be worth it. I finally got to a point where the rear brakes could be bled, and when we tried we got no pressure. I have a dual system so the fronts were fine. On further inspection I found that the Master was bad. Pulling that out lead me to start working on the firewall deck. I pulled the wire harness and starter solenoid out. It also gave me a chance to analyze what the previous owner had done with the wiring when he added accessory head lights and an ampmeter. I decided to do away with the amp meter for now because I'm putting a radio in the dash where the gauges were. I'm also rewiring the accessory lights. The firewall deck needed attention and I decided to repaint with black KB coating. The battery box needs some work as well, but this 68 has never been restored so everything needs work. Meanwhile I decided against rebuilding the master and ordered a new one off ebay. It arrived this weekend and today I installed it. But I then found I have a bad/ clogged rear brake hose. Using a butane torch I was able to remove the brake hose from the brake line connection. The torch helped with loosing the connection which was nearly seized. I'm going to replace both rear brake hoses now which should complete the brake restoration.

It seems nothing is easy with this restoration but slowly and surely its getting done.

Next up will be finishing the battery box and the wiring.

Still Working

Wow how time flies! We've had a warmer winter here than last year so I have been able to spend more time on the car. But last August I was down for a few months with a severe ankle sprain. It's all good now thankfully. Anyway, since my last post I was able to replace the main differential seal and the drive shaft U joints. I couldn't get to the output seals but they didn't seem to be leaking. Also left the output U joints alone which may have been a mistake but there's always another day. They seemed pretty good on inspection. Fitting the differential back into place, putting the leaf spring and sway bar in place with the new rubber mounts was difficult and took several weekends and some muscle, but it's all done now and looks good. Everything is under tension which is how it should be I suppose. The Rear Brakes are new and ready to be bled. Glad to be moving on to other things! Picture to follow.