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I picked up the re-conditioned
brake components from Brake & Clutch at Wooloongabba. The discs
were too far gone to re-face, so they were replaced. The rears were
re-conditioned with replacement shoes and new slave cylinders etc.
The rubber boot covering the handbrake actuator lever was not replaced,
as they couldn't source the part.
The front calipers were
sprayed yellow as requested, but they used ordinary graffiti spray,
not special caliper paint. I am a bit dissapointed at this, as I
expected a specialty brake shop to do a decent paint job, especially
as I paid $567 odd for the job.
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| So,
I stripped the bad paint off and resprayed the calipers with the proper
heat-resistant caliper paint. Hopefully they will look ok lurking
behind the nice black alloys. Hopefully they will also stop the car
pretty well too! |
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| I Painted
the uprights classic chassis black. I intend to paint the car yellow,
with black alloys and accessories, so I am happy with the car having
black 'underwear'. I have yet to remove the old cups from the hubs,
and replace the cups and bearings with the new components. |
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The welded-up speedway
cage has been removed and the replacement cage and the 40-tooth
crown wheel have been cleaned ready for assembly as seen here. The
pinion in the casing looks pretty rough, and I considered getting
the whole diff centre re-conditioned. However this will cost around
$500, and if the pinion is shot, they will replace it *and* the
crown wheel (they always come in matched pairs). Given that it it
is a rare 4.44:1 centre, I think I am better off using it as it
is.
If it proves to be a
problem, then I will just replace the whole centre, and write the
cost down to experience.
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We went to John Bosci's
and got the brackets welded onto the diff. After welding the brackets
on good and tight, I looked at them both with the diff standing
upright on it's end, and said "They're not in line!" JB
looked at them and said, "Oh it's just the eye playing tricks.".
My son Ryan (who had done the welding), said, "They do look
a bit out don't they?"
We put the diff on the
bench, and got one bracket horizontal, then measured the other bracket.
F***! said JB. They were miles out! So another pleasant hour was
spent grinding off the right hand bracket, and re-welding it in
it's proper position. Note to other builders, do not rely on the
flat sections of the Escort diff flanges being in the same plane.
We aligned our brackets to the flat section (which should be vertical),
but on our diff, the right side was about 15 degrees away from the
left side. The brackets should be parallel to each other.
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Here's the diff casing
all painted up and looking pretty shmick. It's surprisingly light
without the centre and axles. Next job is to re-assemble the centre,
apply the gasket compund, and bolt it together. Then fit the brake
backing plates, and tap the axles into place. Then bolt the whole
thing together.
Drum brakes are actually
more complicated than I gave them credit for. Here
is a good description of their operation.
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The diff centre is shown
here almost fully assembled. My son Ryan and I are having a disagreement
about the centre. I suspect it is shot, but am prepared to try it
in service to see how it goes. He is sure it is shot, and thinks
we should replace it, or have it serviced. However, as servicing
it is going to cost maybe $500, and will possibly result in a 4.1
or 3.8 ratio diff, I want to try this one and if it is a dud, just
replace it with another centre from the wreckers, total cost about
$120.
Hopefully, Ryan is wrong,
and it is not going to lock up totally on me as I am negotiating
a hairpin mountain corner!
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