Pedal Box rebuild

[jono]

The twink is now rebuilt and looking very nice, the calipers are all rebuilt and the dash is ready for a final flat and polish and new transfers.... now its time to tackle the pedal box

Not wishing to spoil the ship for a happorth o tar I have decided to replace the master cylinders. Can anyone advise where is best to go for them and how much I can expect to pay?

Fleabay has a few sellers of new ones, all of which vary quite widely on price, but not sure on quality

Also none show the fluid level indicator cap which my 1970 S has - can an entire unit be purchased or is the cap/sender a separately purchased item?

Cheers.

Jono

[elangtv2000]

There is currently an NOS brake master cylinder which is, from the bore diameter provided to me by the seller, correct for the +2. I am looking for one for my baby Elan, which has a smaller bore diameter. The one on eBay is in Greece, and a good price. See:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0257281272
Cheers,
Greg Tatarian

[patrics]

Hi Jono

You can buy new master cylinders from Performance Braking in Monmouth - 01600 713117

Regards
Steve

[gerrym]

For UK spec cars, single circuit was original, Greek ebay item looks like a master cylinder for a dual/split circuit.

The float-cork operated original switch was very poorly sealed against moisture ingress. This will lead to degradation of braking performance and possibly corrosion within master cylinder.

There are modern switches which could be considered as an alternative, see here
www.cbsonline.co.uk/brake-fluid-reservo ... -129-p.asp.

For Lotus, Girling provided a plastic extension neck to the master cylinder, presumably to add more volume. This could filled with moisture bladder if desired to further reduce air/moisture effects. The extension neck is available separately part # GIR64475476, Burtons cost ?12.50.

Separate subject, I note that post was headed up pedal box overhaul. Have you checked out the pedal shaft and supports at the sides of the pedal box?
Regards

[neilsjuke]

New old stock brake rubbers might be as much use as a chocolate tea pot if been sitting around for years.

[jono]

Cheers for the replies

Gerrym, the previous owner has had new pivot bushes welded into the box and supplied a new spindle so that base appears to be covered - however I quite like the idea of having needle roller cartridge bearings fitted but perhaps that is a bit anal

When I say 'rebuild' it's really more of a re assembly - my Plus 2 like a lot I suspect was bought as a stalled restoration in boxes of bits. The master cylinders are quite badly badly corroded though and as I've spent a small fortune on caliper reconditioning it seems sensible to fit new ones rather than attempting new seals etc. That way I know my brakes are sorted.

Incidentally, I might not fit a servo and have seen lots of discussion on the best master cylinder bore size to use on non servoed brakes - can any one advise please?

Jono

[alan71]

I couldn?t find a fluid level float switch to fit the brake master cylinder so I modified one of the smaller ones.
The two parts clip together.
Cut away the screw cap
There was a plastic sealing lip on the lower part but I damaged it when levering it apart. I replaced it with a rubber seal from a clutch master cylinder cap.
I had a spare metal cap from an Eezibleed kit which I cut a hole in with a cone cutter.
Clip it all back together.

Alan.

[CBUEB1771]

I quite like the idea of having needle roller cartridge bearings fitted but perhaps that is a bit anal

I presume you would install these bearings in the pedal pivot arms. You don't want the shaft to rotate in the pedal box, otherwise friction in one pedal pivot might induce motion in another. When I rebuilt my pedal box I welded a tab onto to end of the pivot shaft with a clearance hole for a 1/4" bolt a short distance from the centerline of the shaft. I drilled a corresponding hole into the side of the pedal box and installed a short 1/4 UNF bolt and nylock nut to secure the pivot shaft from rotating.

[ctr62k]

I have purchased a set of spare pedals with the intention of going down the needle bearing route.
Although it might be the case of using a sledgehammer to crack a nut and indeed a bit anal, I think it will make the pedals a bit lighter and delicate to use which will suit the nature of the car. Having had a pedal box that was part seized has put me off the action of the standard kit.
It will be while in the planning though, so don't expect photos any time soon!

[gerrym]

My pedal box also ended up seized (pedals to shaft).

My solution was to ream out pedals and pedal box sides to 14mm, procure-manufacture a new shaft from centre-less ground stainless steel bar (12mm). The bearings fitted were Iglidur bushes and flanged bushes. The flanged bushes insured there was no significant interference between pedals.

Ondrives might be able to help you one-stop for materials (www.ondrives.com)

Regards
Gerry

[ctr62k]

So Gerry

I take it that that was a good fix?
Do you have any pictures?

Justin

[gerrym]

Photos are a bit hard as box is in car and bearings are hidden. I've attached a scan from the Igus catalogue to give you an idea.

In my opinion, addition of bearings running on a toleranced, properly finished shaft is a major improvement.

Regards
Gerry

[Tintin]

Photos are a bit hard as box is in car and bearings are hidden. I've attached a scan from the Igus catalogue to give you an idea.

These bushes are really good, I use them quite often. And scanned catalogue pictures are probably a little inferior to this new stuff, called the internet

http://www.igus.de/default.asp

In my opinion, addition of bearings running on a toleranced, properly finished shaft is a major improvement.

The good thing is that these shafts can be made from of the shelf round bars of silver steel which is easy to source.



Tim