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57 A coupe, my unrestored driver.

Posted: Sun Apr 01, 2018 11:44 am
by Daniel Mainzer
I redid the brakes myself. arced drums and shoes with help, new wheel cylinders and lines, then DOT 5 fluid. This seems to be not so good as I cannot get the pedal high enough even though the brakes work fine. I bled them many times. I may flush the system and go to DOT 4 fluid.
I redid the fuel system and the wheels which are the correct dates. This is a numbers matching car and I have the COA and the Kardex.
The motor was reuilt and there are some minor electrical issues, but this is a fun ride.
the car was stored for many years and the tub is solid with good jackposts. no rust in this tub, but there is bondo in the body. Someone put in a new interior and left the original headliner.
It has teardrop tail lights which may have been changed from the beehives.

Re: 57 A coupe, my unrestored driver.

Posted: Sun Apr 01, 2018 12:42 pm
by Dan Kalinski
Love It!

Re: 57 A coupe, my unrestored driver.

Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2018 12:34 am
by Martin Bruechle
Very cool...

Re: 57 A coupe, my unrestored driver.

Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2018 3:30 am
by John Hearn
Daniel
There must be still some air in your brake system, or a fault in one of the components.
The difference in spec between the DOT numbers is basically the boiling point of the fluid.
The higher the number the higher the boiling point.
I was the "other" photographer at Akron ECH, good to see you again on the 356Talk.
KTF
John

Re: 57 A coupe, my unrestored driver.

Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2018 11:38 am
by Jules Dielen
Euro spec car? lack of overriders...? Awesome find, keep as is :)

Re: 57 A coupe, my unrestored driver.

Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2018 11:54 am
by Jim Clement
nice car, mine is a restored early a .. 59021.. i noticed your radio is the same as mine, (I think) I do not often see that..
I liked mine so had it restored to as new looking.

Re: 57 A coupe, my unrestored driver.

Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2018 4:09 pm
by Dan Epperly
Daniel Mainzer wrote:I redid the brakes myself. arced drums and shoes with help, new wheel cylinders and lines, then DOT 5 fluid. This seems to be not so good as I cannot get the pedal high enough even though the brakes work fine. I bled them many times. I may flush the system and go to DOT 4 fluid.
I redid the fuel system and the wheels which are the correct dates. This is a numbers matching car and I have the COA and the Kardex.
The motor was reuilt and there are some minor electrical issues, but this is a fun ride.
the car was stored for many years and the tub is solid with good jackposts. no rust in this tub, but there is bondo in the body. Someone put in a new interior and left the original headliner.
It has teardrop tail lights which may have been changed from the beehives.

When you say you cant get the pedal high enough do,you mean the pedal at rest sits further toward the front of the car than the clutch pedal? If so, then maybe your return spring is broken or the pedal stop needs adjusting.

Re: 57 A coupe, my unrestored driver.

Posted: Sat Apr 07, 2018 5:03 pm
by Daniel Mainzer
John, If it ever warms up here I will look for leaks in the brake system, fix and bleed. Jules, My car was sold and delivered in England, then shipped over, so the Euro bumpers. Dan, The pedal is at normal height at rest. It just goes down too far before activating the brakes.
I did rebuild the master cylinder and it doesn't leak. There are some electrical gremlins and I got Leoni's book and will get to work on them.

Re: 57 A coupe, my unrestored driver.

Posted: Sun Apr 08, 2018 7:33 am
by Vic Skirmants
Dan; sounds like you need to re-adjust the brakes.

Re: 57 A coupe, my unrestored driver.

Posted: Sat Jun 30, 2018 4:53 pm
by Daniel Mainzer
Vic, I am in the process of adjusting the brakes. Looking underneath there is a round indentation visible on both sid=
es and partially covered by the teardrop installation. I may go ahead and c=
hange them back, but this is a driver and I enjoy it as such. Having just r=
estored a 1971 euro 914-6, I know how much anything like this costs for the=
bodywork. The debate rages on in my mind. Daniel=20

Re: 57 A coupe, my unrestored driver.

Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2018 12:14 pm
by Brooks Herrick
On the subject of brake fluid...……………….