10-05-2017, 08:57 AM
Took the car for a spin to see if I could get the speedometer GPS to link up but ran into other issues instead. The instructions say it could take up to 15 minutes to establish a first time connection so I was just gonna let it idle for a bit in the driveway and let everything stay at temperature for a bit. Noticed a small stream coming out of my upper radiator hose again so I figured I'd try snugging it up a bit...
![[Image: 22218233_10155790994741810_3401269278673...e=5A768699]](https://scontent-iad3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t31.0-8/22218233_10155790994741810_3401269278673916446_o.jpg?oh=cded37cabe5fa287f78ec709a41abec3&oe=5A768699)
Well it decided it didn't like that one bit and slid right the fuck outta there. So much for idling. Got that all cleaned up and decided that was enough for an afternoon. Pulled it back into the garage after dinner to put the speed bleeders in and give them a go. They worked wonderfully except for some reason they won't work with the vacuum setting on my bleeder. I figured I'd be able to pull fluid past the check valve just as easily as pushing it with the pedal. Apparently it doesn't work that way. I just set a bottle out where I could see it, ran a hose to it from the bleed screw and cracked it open. It was nice being able to watch and work the pedal. Seen a few bubbles but got a solid stream fairly fast. No surprises there since I did unhook the back line.
Earlier I had tried doing a "small" burnout because why not. The rear brakes were completely unhooked and the fronts should've been good to go but I couldn't do it. I just simply overpowered the brakes and crept forward so something isn't right up front either. My shitty stock drum brakes did better than this. So I decided I was going to pull the master cylinder and bench bleed it again. It was just as messy, frustrating and inconclusive as I was dreading. Didn't really get any bubbles but some weird shit was happening. About every 5 pumps or so I'd get what looked like foam at the very end of the stroke. I was thinking jackpot but no matter how many times I worked the piston it kept happening. Idk I don't think that's the issue. I'm far from bottoming the piston with it in the car and there wasn't a single tiny bubble outside of that. Still something to consider. I may have to buy a cheap re-man master cylinder to rule this one out. I got the damn thing back on the car and called it a night.
I got an adjustable pushrod coming in this weekend. I'm hoping that a little more travel will help out. The brakes are engaging pretty quickly but they're not really biting until I've lost most of the leverage in the pedal. This should solve that but it'll make pedal transitions a little more awkward. Not going to touch anything brake related until then. The calipers all need to be bled again but I just don't have the patience to deal with anymore fucking disappointment right now. If I still can't lock up the brakes after this then I've decided I'm done fucking with it. I'll either drive to the shop 10 minutes away if it can stop decent enough or get it towed.
Part of me wants to rip everything brake related out and start over, part of me wants to just sale the fucking thing or trade for something actually running, part of me wants to send it to an actual reputable restomod shop, hand them a credit card and come to terms with not seeing it for a few months. I'm just not sure how something as simple as bleeding brake lines can be so god damn difficult.
Well it decided it didn't like that one bit and slid right the fuck outta there. So much for idling. Got that all cleaned up and decided that was enough for an afternoon. Pulled it back into the garage after dinner to put the speed bleeders in and give them a go. They worked wonderfully except for some reason they won't work with the vacuum setting on my bleeder. I figured I'd be able to pull fluid past the check valve just as easily as pushing it with the pedal. Apparently it doesn't work that way. I just set a bottle out where I could see it, ran a hose to it from the bleed screw and cracked it open. It was nice being able to watch and work the pedal. Seen a few bubbles but got a solid stream fairly fast. No surprises there since I did unhook the back line.
Earlier I had tried doing a "small" burnout because why not. The rear brakes were completely unhooked and the fronts should've been good to go but I couldn't do it. I just simply overpowered the brakes and crept forward so something isn't right up front either. My shitty stock drum brakes did better than this. So I decided I was going to pull the master cylinder and bench bleed it again. It was just as messy, frustrating and inconclusive as I was dreading. Didn't really get any bubbles but some weird shit was happening. About every 5 pumps or so I'd get what looked like foam at the very end of the stroke. I was thinking jackpot but no matter how many times I worked the piston it kept happening. Idk I don't think that's the issue. I'm far from bottoming the piston with it in the car and there wasn't a single tiny bubble outside of that. Still something to consider. I may have to buy a cheap re-man master cylinder to rule this one out. I got the damn thing back on the car and called it a night.
I got an adjustable pushrod coming in this weekend. I'm hoping that a little more travel will help out. The brakes are engaging pretty quickly but they're not really biting until I've lost most of the leverage in the pedal. This should solve that but it'll make pedal transitions a little more awkward. Not going to touch anything brake related until then. The calipers all need to be bled again but I just don't have the patience to deal with anymore fucking disappointment right now. If I still can't lock up the brakes after this then I've decided I'm done fucking with it. I'll either drive to the shop 10 minutes away if it can stop decent enough or get it towed.
Part of me wants to rip everything brake related out and start over, part of me wants to just sale the fucking thing or trade for something actually running, part of me wants to send it to an actual reputable restomod shop, hand them a credit card and come to terms with not seeing it for a few months. I'm just not sure how something as simple as bleeding brake lines can be so god damn difficult.