The task was to install the master cylinders for the braking system. When you press on the brake pedal, what makes the car stop? Well, the brakes are activated by fluid. That fluid gets pumped to the brakes by a master cylinder that is connected to the brake pedal. It has a piston that pushes fluid from the reservoir to the brake calipers. That piston is connected to the brake pedal. In this car, there are 2 separate master cylinders, one connected on either side of the pedal, that pump fluid separately to the front and rear brakes. This is a safety feature so that if there is a leak going to one pair of wheels, you will still be able to stop with the others. It is also a performance feature that lets you balance the braking power between the front and rear as you see fit. Here is a picture of the MCs that came with the kit.
The first step is to put the white plastic cap on the top that will connect the fluid reservoir to the MC. The instructions say it is pretty tight and easy to crack the caps when putting them on. Some people have needed to use heat (like a hair dryer) to get the cap to fit. Here is my MC in the vise as I was trying to get the cap on.
Well, I spent 2 hours trying to finesse the cap on this sucker. It was not even close. I tried heat. I tried force. I tried lube. I tried cursing. I tried prayer. Nothing was even close. So I did some measuring. The cap inner diameter was 1.34 inches. The outer diameter of the part I was trying to put the cap on was 1.49 inches. How could that work? Heat can't make that much difference. I even tried re-reading the directions. No help. Then I looked online at other people's pictures. I studied and studied them. Then I noticed that theirs did not seem to be using the rubber gaskety thing that was on mine. Close examination revealed that this was not an integral part of the MC, but was just a packing cover to protect the O-ring underneath. DOH!!! Once I took that off, it took about 20 seconds to slide the cap on. No heat or anything. I swear that it looked like it was an important part of the system and that nowhere did any instructions say to remove it. Ugh.
Here is a picture of the master cylinders mounted to the firewall.
I am currently having trouble connecting the piston rods to the brake pedal, so they are not quite functional yet. I've spent another couple of hours on that task and it really should have been easy. Not sure why I am having trouble with that step. Anyway, I should get that solved and be able to connect the rest of the steel tubing to finish the brake system and then move on to riviting the inner fender liners to the frame.
