Brake update (and more)

Brake update!

Ok, we may have "decent" brakes now.  What an ordeal!

New when we bought it:

• GoWesty Big Brakes
• Master Cylinder
• Shoes, Pads
• Rear cylinders
• Drums
• New lines
• New stainless steel flex lines up front

This was all very awesome!  But when we picked it up the car had severe brake warp that almost put the nix on buying it.  Once we made it home 800 miles later, I started to dig into it as you have read on the blog:

• Turn front disks
• Turn rear drums
• New rear shoes (I noticed the original were peeling off from backing!)
• New rubber flex lines rear
• New used brake proportioning valve (likely unnecessary but I was at a loss)
• Bleed like 15 times, each time something new

After this, still the same crappy pedal feel (no wobble, but just mushy).  I was pulling my hair out.  Next:

• New master cylinder
• New south african drums (the old had been turned past spec) yes I had to remove and install new wheel studs.

Bleed bleed bleed!  Same thing.  Crap!  Then I noticed a couple of things - one was that I believe I had the adjustment rod installed backwards on one side (the side with the notch, not the side with the fork in the photos below).  I noticed that when it was reversed, pushing on the brake introduced a bit of a moment arm making ONE side of the shoe touch first.  I think this was key in the brake feel.  

Wrong:

Right:

Second was that I finally bled the master itself by pushing on the brake pedal and opening slightly the top most line.  This allowed any air to escape...

Brakes are better now!  Not perfect, but better.  I will readjust once they have seated a bit more and I think we are on the right path.  

But the story is not over...