Quote:
Originally Posted by Davekmd
First order of business are the anemic brakes. Yes I've discovered the discs aren't 'powered' but geez, these brakes are ... well ... <pick any adjective for lethargic/horrible>. I'm hoping a rebuild/cleaning of the calipers, along with some magic brake pads will awaken the brakes. (I'd just as soon put sintered iron pads on and destroy the discs to get good brake performance). I'm just not up to a Wilwood brake upgrade at this time...
The clutch is a killer. Long, long throw and massive amount of push needed. I can't imagine why this clutch is so hard to push in and why the pedal travel is SOOOO long? (As for the amount of force needed... I just can't imagine there's any kind of performance clutch in this little 302 motored car. so it's a huge mystery right now.
Cheers! DaveK
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The brakes may be suffering from an improper burnishing or bedding. Before replacing the pads it may be worth pulling them, removing whatever is on the rotors and pads and going through a correct burnishing / bedding process. Certainly brake cleaner may help with the rotors, but you may also need to use some sandpaper on them as well. This article (
Repair Brake Rotor: How to Resurface a Brake Rotor | DoItYourself.com) suggests 120 grit sandpaper - though that seems a bit coarse to me.
The pads will probably also need to be cleaned up and roughed up a bit. This article (
Brake Deglazing - Brake System Maintenance - Stock Car Racing Magazine) suggest 80 grit sandpaper for pads.
Once the pads and rotors are cleaned up you'll need to go through a proper bedding / burnishing procedure:
Brake Pad Bed-In
BTW, I wasn't happy with the 9" (or so) Mustang II brakes on my West Coast Cobra so I yanked them and replaced them with 11" Wilwood 4 piston units. Night and day - once they were bedded in. The first couple of stops (pre-bedding) were scary - the new brakes were way worse than the old MII stoppers, but that was soon resolved.
As to the clutch, is it hydraulic or mechanically actuated? A fellow I know with a Superformance (427 SO, Top Loader transmission) had the same *itches with his clutch that you do. He tells me he fixed it by switching out his mechanical linkage and replacing it with a hydraulic system.
Best of luck with your new toy.