While I was replacing the brake calipers, hoses, pads and some lines I figured I should replace the hoses leading from the reservoir to master cylinder. I ordered some parts from International Auto Parts but they turned out to be the wrong hose. You need something that will stand up to brake fluid in this area so you can't mess around. I tried some hydraulic hose, which was recommended from www.fiatspider.com in the forums area. The hose was so stiff I could not bend it properly. Luckily after much hunting I found the proper part at Midwest Bayless online. You can pick up the part here. I needed two feet. I had a good amount left over. Now that everything is replaced I can fill with DOT 3 brake fluid and bleed the lines. My car will stop! Now to find out if it will go. I plan to obtain a fan and shroud from my Uncle and get this thing put back together. I also need to reassemble the whole fuel line system from tank to hard lines. Wish me luck.
0 Comments
It was a beautiful day today. We had Hurricane Irene pounding us this weekend. I cleaned up the yard yesterday which allowed me to get to work on my Fiat today. I scrubbed out the engine compartment a bit and wiped down a good portion of the exterior. Cleaning a car like this takes a lot of time. I used a sponge to clean small sections of the car as not to get water lodged in rust prone areas. I'm going to finish cleaning the car this week and compound it on Friday. Just to make it look fresh. I know I'll be painting it in the near future, but want to feel extra good about my car in the time being.
I let the car out for some fresh air today. Let out all old stink and fumes. I also took the time to clean up the garage floor so I can get under the car, vacuum it off, paint underneath and install the fuel line, fuel filter and fuel pump. Good times.
After a lot of wrestling I have finished installing the calipers and rotors on the Fiat. Some of my major issues were putting the wrong caliper bracket bolts on the front end. They are longer than the front so they touched the rotor. That obviously wouldn't do. A few other issues I had dealt with placement of the caliper bracket springs as well as getting the wedges positioned in the right place. It turned out I need to use a bit more elbow grease to get them on. I also learned that assembling your caliper bracket, caliper and pads on the work bench is the easiest. Once that is done, you can slip the whole unit over the rotor and bolt it on the car. Here are some photos for you to enjoy. You can see the assembly on the bench as well as on the car. Now it is time to clean up the garage, pull the car out into the driveway and order some extra hose to finish off the brake system. Stay tuned. I really don't like ordering anything from online vendors, let alone car parts. It is hard to return goods, the additional expense of shipping is ridiculous, customer service is low and you are taking a bite out of your local economy. This week I received two parts which I thought I needed, but the vendors site has poor navigation and even worse information regarding parts. So, here I sit with two hoses I don't need, an extra hand brake cable and an extra two weeks before I can get my brakes on the brakes thanks to "shipping." I need to send some cores back to the vendor, so I'm going to take this opportunity to send back all the parts I don't need and get refunds. First I have to contact customer service and make sure that is okay. I imagine being forced to send them all back in separate packages, further adding to the cost of over all build. In the meantime, enjoy these really clean pictures of my brakes. They are close to completion. An assortment of hoses and rebuilt calipers have arrived at my garage. Tomorrow I plan on installing all of my new calipers and getting ready to get the brakes system ready. Unfortunately, my vendor has two small hoses on back order which is preventing me from filling the system with brake fluid. I'm hoping to receive the missing hoses by the week after next and getting everything in proper working order. While I wait for that to happen I should be able to use the parking brake and move the car out into the sunshine for some much needed cleaning. I can also install all the missing fuel lines and prepare the gas tank. I need to pressurize the gas tank to check for leaks. Any leaks will be soldered closes and the tank will be sanded and painted. The tank has already been sealed internally which should prevent any leaks. But better to find out now than after I install it.
Just got my invoice from IAP. I've got LOTS of hoses coming, calipers and more. Hopefully will get the fuel line assembled this week, get the calipers installed. Unfortunately I have to wait a few weeks for the reservoir to master cylinder hoses to come in. I'm pretty bummed about that, but it's not like I don't have other things to do. It'd be nice to get the brake system working though, so I can pull it out of the garage to work on it if needed. Or to clean it.
I was cruising along on my brakes and sand blasting everything I could get off the car. Then I realized I could not get brake lines off the old brake hoses which also meant that my new brake hoses could not go on. I may have been able to get by using standard wrenches to get off the flare fittings, but why cause more damage when I could get a new tool. One that will help me in the future on any metric flare fittings. I headed down to Sears this morning to pick up a set of flare wrenches and withing thirty minutes of getting home I had the rear brake hoses replaced. Now it's time to rebuild the rear calipers and get everything reassembled. After the rear is taken care of, I will tackle the front. Thanks for reading.
I've been sandblasting many parts the past few days. This is the majority of the parts. Finally getting primed and covered in a nice base coat. Many of these parts will be able to be assembled tomorrow. This means that my brake system will be a little closer to being reassembled. I'm looking forward to returning the stopping power to the car. I will be ordering fuel lines and clutch lines so I can get cracking on the drive train.
Look at that nasty part. You'd never think anyone would want to put it back in their car. I could have sanded it or wire brushed it for hours to get a decent clean up and then painted it. Instead of spending hours doing labor intensive work, I spent about an hour or so (due to my small air compressor) sand blasting this Fiat Spider air filter cover in my new sand blast cabinet.
In the next year or so I plan on getting a 60 gallon air compressor which will help make jobs like this take minutes instead of hours. Also, large air compressors can be fitted with various tools that will allow you to cut, sand, saw, trim clip and much much more. Until then, enjoy my refinished piece. |