Handbrake caliper refurb

[simonknee]

Hi all,

Thought I'd post some post-plating pics of my rear handbrake calliper assemblies.

You might notice the rather odd profile at the hanger end (upper most hole in the pic). When these came off the Elan nearly all the hanger holes had worn right through. Exacerbated by the fact that a dpo had drilled them out (presumably as they had ovalled) and added an insert to restore the hole. These inserts had seized to the pinions and then worn away the precious little meat left on the calliper. So got a friend to recreate the correct profile with his MIG. Redrilled the holes and all was good. Tip: make sure the axis of the hole is parallel to the bit of the calliper that actually pushes the pad against the disc - fit a pinion and a pad to check this.

Same friend had also just got a home zinc plating kit so... In to patio cleaner over night it all went. Hmm perhaps I left it too long... that was the end of the eye-bolts - Paul Matty supplied a new pair. The cotter pins practically disintegrated too. This led me to find these guys http://www.boneham.co.uk/. A fraction of the price of the usual suspects and stainless steel too.

When everything was as clean as I could get it through the plating process it went and I ended up with what you see. What's more my handbrakes will now actually be MOT worthy for the first time in years.

Zinc Plating stuff from this chap... http://gaterosplating.co.uk/Zinc-Plating-kit.php ... Lots of fun, highly recommended!

Cheers

Simon