Greg,
In my experience the Girling servos work much better than any aftermarket
substitution. Power Brake Exchange in San Jose does an excellent job
rebuilding Girling servo units. They refinish them to original spec, bench
test
them, and give a one year warranty. We sent them one from a Healey that
had been parked since 1971 and it was no problem. Mike at PBX told me
they do as many as 10 Girlings a week, so they are quite well versed in the
peculiarities. I have been sending them Girling units ever since Girling
quit
making rebuild kits (almost 20 years now) and have never had a problem.
The cost on the last rebuilds was $268 each, equal to or less than the price
of an alternate that doesn't work as well. With a rebuilt Girling it is
also not
necessary to replace the 2 brake pipes, which you would very likely need to
do with a non-Girling unit, and you will not be detracting from the value of
your car.
regards,
Doug Reid, 18G Motorworks
Message: 2
Date: Sat, 22 May 2010 05:00:15 -0700 (PDT)
From: Greg Mandas <gmandas@yahoo.com>
Subject: [Healeys] Girling Break Servo vs. Lockheed
To: healeys@autox.team.net
Message-ID: <199484.96875.qm@web56104.mail.re3.yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
All,
The 65 BJ8 I purchased last March sat in a barn seizing up for the last 30
years. The good news is, the car is original. The bad news is, the car is
original. The owner did just enough restoration to sell it. That's not to
say it was road worthy at the time. He had the brake cylinders redone, but
not the servo. I have been driving the car and the brakes function, but
without power assist.
My mechanic (for all the things I wont', can't or shouldn't do) suggests
replacing the master cylinder with an earlier model with a smaller bore. "It
increases brake pressure to where you don't need a servo."
My local British parts guy says I should drop in a Lockheed. "It's safest
and by the way you need $100 bracket to make it fit."
I'd like to have the original Girling rebuilt, but both guys tell me it's
not a good idea. They don't know of anyone who can do the job right and
independently steered me away from the place I found.
My restoration philosophy is to stay as original as possible unless
prohibited by safety, cost or practicality.
What do y'all think?
Greg
65 BJ8.
_______________________________________________
Healeys@autox.team.net
Donate: http://www.team.net/donate.html
Suggested annual donation $12.75
Archive: http://www.team.net/archive
Forums: http://www.team.net/forums
|