Yet Another Boring Rgruppe Car – Part I, Brakes

[RWebb]

Obviously, the very first thing you want to do when you buy a car is to address the brakes. It’s expensive if the engine blows up but a brake problem can be instantly fatal. And a brake fluid change is the very first thing to do when you get a car, IMHO. I use Ate as the two different colors make it easy to ensure that you got all the old fluid out. I just use a garden sprayer to pressure bleed the system, $10 at the local hardware store, which is a lot cheaper than the Motive unit. When I was done, I used it to spray stain on my fence, also needed about every 2 years.

When I bought this car it also had the dreaded “Bling Factor Warp 12” braided brake hoses. I ditched those right away. These were surely more than a year old, and for all I knew may have never have been certified by DOT (early braided hoses were not certified by DOT and had the exciting habit of blowing the connector off). There are any number of posts on this, so I won't bore everyone by harping on it again.

Besides the previous threads, here are some summaries of articles on Steel Brake Hoses

Dec. 1983 Pano

Sept. 1986 Pano.; Up-Fixin’ VII, p. 161
BA reported soft pedal feel with hoses larger than -3
- some thin wall Teflon was sold and this caused ballooning of the hose giving a soft pedal feel and risking bursting and brake failure
- stretching or crimping of the hose (e.g. by having hose the wrong size or in the wrong location for the wheel movement) could cause sudden brake failure


Excellence, Oct. 1994, p. 48-52
steel brake hoses become stiff over time and may spontaneously loosen from the caliper or metal line -- “quite a few have failed over the years” while only a single rubber hose was known to fail – BA
Steel hoses are fine for a pro race car, where the car is completely disassembled between races

Feel & Performance on Real World Roads:
the rubber OEM brake hose give a better feel than the Teflon/stainless steel braid type hoses on imperfect road surfaces, or when the tires and rotors are not perfect – even almost undetectable imperfections can have an effect at the limit of braking.
- slightly paraphrased from Grady



I have not seen this Bruce Anderson article posted here before, so here it is:

-- bbs will not allow uploads > 150k so I guess that is out --

[RWebb]

This car sat out in the rain for quite a while - due to mistreatment by a local shop:



I scuffed the worst rust off the rotors and let the pads take care of the rest of it. The car still has the same rotors on it today, although I checked them for thickness and runout after the cleanup.

[TRE Cup]

good to see you slumming today
those discs will need some serious cleaning, if not replacement

[CT944]

So, we only get a picture of a wheel and rusty rotor?

[RWebb]

It's raining, Dave.

more pics soon...

[TRE Cup]

yeah- i know
you guys have ,what 20 different definitions of rain like the eskimos for snow ? Down here, we are just traumatized on all this wet stuff that has befallen us

[rusnak]

I take it that's the "before" shot. Because stainless brake lines are the least of that car's brake problems. Not very safe looking in that shot.

[RWebb]

Originally Posted by RWebb

... The car still has the same rotors on it today, although I checked them for thickness and runout after the cleanup.

yes

[RWebb]

This 1973.5 911T came with Carrera calipers and rotors, courtesy of one of the 6 Previous Owners so heat issues were not much of a concern.

But, like everyone else, I am susceptible to Bling!

[RWebb]

Yes - BLING! And here is one colorful solution to your Brake Bling Deficit:

[JeremyD]

HA HA - Love it - and yes, brakes are the first order of business on my new ride. Something we agree on.

[RWebb]

these look great too! dunno if I can stop myself from buying them - they must add at least 400 hp to the brakes...