My '85 MGM, "Maisa"

[Arquemann]

Thought I'd have a simple afternoon job and flush the brake fluid. The old brake fluid was an absolutely vile cloudy greenish brown cocktail with little black bits, I haven't arsed to change it until now as I haven't had to open the brake system.

Sucked the reservoirs empty, cleaned out the scum off the bottom and filled with fresh stuff.
First 3 bleed nipples loosened happily, I gave a couple slow pumps and let it gravity bleed until the fluid turned clear.

The final bleed nipple on the driver front broke right off, neat.
I guess that should be dealt with sooner than later, but for now three quarters of a brake flush will do. Pedal actually feels a bit firmer.

EDIT: Dad has a box of box front brakes, so I could throw another caliper on, even managed to get the nipple loose, but the rest of the caliper is quite crusty. Would need slide pin bushings at the least.

[gadget73]

when I did the brake fluid on my truck, 3/4 wheels got flushed. One was at that point where it was either going to let go or break, and I didn't want to take the chance.

[Arquemann]

Carb has behaved consistently for the last week. The fixed orifice PCV valve might be the secret to success.
I just need to find a good spot for the idle to be rich enough to not have the jerky coasting, but not too rich to cause that stupid rolling idle. I might try using ported for the vacuum advance.

Bleed nipple situation went from bad to worse, that fucker is hopelessly tight in there. I fiddlefucked with it for 45 minutes to end up snapping a extractor in there. Good riddance.
The spare caliper I dug out of dads stash is too far gone, the groove for the fluid seal is too rusty to trust and the piston has some pitting.

I can't leave things be so I'll go buy an overpriced new caliper tomorrow. Calipers should be replaced in pairs, but that would be 273,60€ so fuck that. If it starts pulling to either side with one new caliper, I'll change the other too. I'll also go ask a machinist about resurfacing the carb base plate.

[gadget73]

yikes, last pair of these calipers I bought were $15 each. I get that there is shipping involved but 10x is insane. Current price from Rockauto including core is under $25 each

[Arquemann]

yikes, last pair of these calipers I bought were $15 each. I get that there is shipping involved but 10x is insane. Current price from Rockauto including core is under $25 each

The same Dynamic Friction non-reman calipers are 54€ on RA, so the price here locally is not quite triple.
Demand influences the prices on my end a lot, the local US-parts store has digestable prices for higher volume stuff. They might sell a couple box panther calipers a year...

Ordering from RockAuto seems to be a no-go currently. A bullshit EU packaging material directive came into effect on the 12th, and regarding that RA announced they'd temporarily stop deliveries to EU. No mention of it when adding stuff to cart or checking the shipping. Regardless, RA kicks every box caliper out of the cart due to lack of documentation about possible Russian steel content from the manufacturer. What a shitshow.

[gadget73]

yay for global political bullshit.

I still have 5 (no idea why I have an odd number) original calipers that need a rebuild sitting around. I figure at some point the parts will cost less than buying one rebuilt already. I was going to just do them myself but when a piston and a seal is 20, and a rebuilt caliper with new pins and bushings if 15, it doesn't make any sense.

[Arquemann]

Picked up a new caliper on monday, 20€ off with my face discount. I guess 116€ isn't so terrible considering how much shipping+VAT+duty would've been even if I could've ordered from RockAuto.
Caliper got installed and necessary bits greased, had to bleed it alone, which was sub-optimal, but I got it done and the brakes feel good and don't seem to pull under light or moderate braking.

Also left the warped base plate at a machine shop, it's too thin to machine it flat as is, gave a 100€ budget to fuck with it. It might not be salvageable, so no point in speding any extra on it.


Today I fiddled with the ignition a bit. I changed the vacuum advance from straight manifold vacuum to the ported source. Having less advance at idle seems to have helped my lean & jerky coasting issue, which was exactly what I was looking for. Idles maybe a touch smoother, and sounds quite different. Not quite as eager to start without throttle, but couldn't replicate the rolling idle either.

I'd prefer using straight manifold vacuum for the vacuum advance, as ported vacuum creates a "notch" in the throttle response, and with my slightly oversized carb I'm not getting that extra timing at certain cruise scenarios from having the throttle opened too little for the ported vacuum to activate.

Decided to check the base timing with a light, which first required to wipe the crap off the balancer to see the markings. It showed 15-16° initial at idle, which seems a couple degrees more advanced that I remember setting it after the engine rebuild. But since she seems happy as is, I didn't bother changing it. With the vacuum advance it would've been around 25° at idle previously, which might be a bit much after all.

Oh, and for the haters: I've been rocking the turbines without the double-D center caps for the last couple weeks. I think I do prefer them off, car looks meaner with the bare turbines. Might get spacers for the rear for a better stance.