... :-0 ... I have been warned, but I suspect I will end up with some of that nasty stuff in my hair too. Thank you for the info.

Cheers, Deni

Hi all,

I've made some progress with my build and have a few more things to do this weekend, so I will post the photos afterwards. In the meantime, I have a question regarding a brake master cylinder.

I have bought a new, updated clutch cylinder with small 3/4 reservoir, but with a larger bore (0.725"). I've been told that I can use the same cylinder for my brakes.

Is the size of the reservoir crucial and will it hold enough of brake fluid for efficient braking (I would like to use this one if possible) or is it necessary to use one with a larger reservoir but a smaller, 0.625" bore?

Any advice would be helpful. My engine is 1500 Spitfire and I have a single brake circuit with discs on the front and the drums on the back wheels.

Thanks, D.

For some reason my post from today (see below) did not show in 'New Posts' section, so I will post it again.

Hi all,

I've made some progress with my build and have a few more things to do this weekend, so I will post the photos afterwards. In the meantime, I have a question regarding a brake master cylinder.

I have bought a new, updated clutch cylinder with small 3/4 reservoir, but with a larger bore (0.725"). I've been told that I can use the same cylinder for my brakes.

Is the size of the reservoir crucial and will it hold enough of brake fluid for efficient braking (I would like to use this one if possible) or is it necessary to use one with a larger reservoir but a smaller, 0.625" bore?

Any advice would be helpful. My engine is 1500 Spitfire and I have a single brake circuit with discs on the front and the drums on the back wheels.

Thanks, D.

Sorry I can't help with the technical stuff (I reused my donor stuff).

But good to hear you are still making progress. :cool:

Good luck, Paul. :)

Hi Paul,

Thank you for your reply, hopefully someone else will chip in. Yeah, I could not work on the car for a while, so it's great to be back in the garage for the last couple of weekends. I will post the photos after this weekend.

Cheers.

Hi deni you will have to yous the stander reservoir the one that came with the car if you have a brake booster on it if not you can have a smaller one but you cannot yous a brake booster. my triumph vitesse has small reservoir, with no booster hope that helps
Dale

Hi Dale j,

Thank you for your help, much appreciated.

Just to clarify, when you say booster do you mean a servo unit that can be installed as an upgrade?

Cheers, Deni

Hi Deni yes a servo unit ( brake booster ) you need more brake fluid for the servo to work
cheers Dale

Dale j - Thank you very much.

Erm, don't mean to contradict what's already been said, but I used one of those small reservoir/0.725 bore master cylinders on Vitesse single-circuit brakes with an aftermarket servo on my Spyder with no problems whatsoever.

The larger reservoir was used to ensure there was enough fluid to compensate for the brake pads wearing down over time, but as car enthusiasts we check our levels regularly so won't have that problem.

The servo made a big difference to the confidence I had in the brakes as you don't need to stamp on them to get the car to stop in an emergency - on my first Goodwood trip in it I came round a bend going downhill in the rain on a dual carriageway and found both lanes ahead blocked by static traffic, which was scary enough with the boosted brakes.

I'd recommend fitting a servo, 'greenstuff' pads and grippy tyres - I found Uniroyal Rainexperts to be excellent - to make sure you can stop with real confidence.

Mister T,

Thank you for the clarification and an excellent advice. I thought I saw the 2 of the same cylinders on your car (and a few others), so now I know for sure that was the case.
Thank you for taking the time to reply and I hope your Outlaw build is going well.

Cheers, Deni.

No problem, Deni. One more thing though - with single circuit brakes make damn sure that all the ends of the brake pipes throughout the system are properly flared and fully secure.

I had the rear main feed pipe pop out of the T piece and squirt brake fluid across my drive when I was bleeding them after installing the new m/cyl. and servo.

On stripping the system down I found that a previous owner had installed new brake pipes but hadn't properly flared half of the ends. The pedal went to the floor and I'd have had no brakes at all if it had happened on the road.

For the same reason, I'd recommend anyone buying a 'restored' classic to go through the brake lines and check the security of all the connections.

Thank you Mr.T, I will make sure to check them when I bleed the brakes later in the build.

Cheers,D

Hi all,

Here is an update of my build progress over the last couple of weekends. It was the time to finally tackle the welding.

I fabricated the pedal plate and welded it to the frame. I am very happy with the result and my welding is getting better all the time (sorry for the photos orientation).

I did not have any other tool to cut 6mm steel plate so I have used a grinder to make the openings for the pedals - they are not the best looking but will do the job.


Attachment 5900


I have bought this cheap pillar drill quite some time ago and it finally got used to drill the holes for the pedals and the master cylinders.


Attachment 5901

Attachment 5902

Attachment 5903


I have decided to use my fibreglass bulkhead, so I will cut out the part where the pedal plate is.


Attachment 5904

I welded the plate at the top and bottom side just to be sure that it's strong enough. There is quite some splatter despite using an anti-splatter spray.


Attachment 5905


Again, not very pretty but it is strong and after passing over it with a grinder it looked much better.
I've welded the plate to the square tubing before welding it to the frame to avoid welding upside down.


Attachment 5906

Attachment 5907

Attachment 5908


Then it was time to weld it to the frame. I've started first with welding on remaining square tubing that surrounds the plate.


Attachment 5911

Next, it was time to weld it all together.


Attachment 5912


Finished product welded and primed. I will weld on a couple of bars below the plate to rest on the floor and to provide the area to bond the lower part of the fibreglass bulkhead to it.

I will also weld square bar above the pedal box onto the frame to brace it if necessary, to prevent it moving upwards when the pedals are pressed. I will first bond the fibreglass bulkhead to the frame and the floor to check if this is needed.


Attachment 5913

Attachment 5914


I have welded some tubing on the opposite side too, to add a lowered battery compartment....

Attachment 5915


.....it looked a bit small, so I modified it and made it wider and longer, so there is enough space for the battery.


Attachment 5916

....again, sorry but some photos are not oriented properly...


Attachment 5917

So, the idea is to cut out the pedal plate and battery compartment areas on the top part of the bulkhead, revealing the steel plate and the battery compartment beneath and then glass/bond everything together.

I will then clad the bulkhead with aluminium sheet as well.

Attachment 5918

I've also checked if I can use the MGB seats I bought quite some time ago now.

I know that Mr. Towed could not use his seats as the Spider frame was in the way. The Miglia frame is different, so I thought I'll give it a go and investigate if there is a chance to use these seats.

I really like the weathered look and the colour of these seats, so I have made a small cut in the corner of the bottom part of the seat frame, to allow the seats to go further back....it seems that this could work. The seats are far enough to sit comfortably and even taller person than me would be far enough from the pedals...I can raise the seats for more than 2 inches and the back of the seat will be below the hump and I will be able to look over the screen too.

I will make a final decision when I put the body back on and if I can use the seats, I will weld and paint the seat frames too ...


Attachment 5919

Attachment 5920

Attachment 5921

Attachment 5922

Attachment 5923

Sorry, the photo quality is not the best, but it shows the seats in the position.


Attachment 5924

I have also painted the bottom of the fibreglass floor panels with Hammerite stone chip shield paint to dampen the sound. Not sure if this was really necessary but we'll see...


Attachment 5925

Attachment 5926


I am also experimenting with the space behind the seats, to see if it is possible to make an compartment big enough to fit a spare tire. This might work too....



Attachment 5927