Well gang, I did one more thing to the brakes before taking it on the road
to test. The passenger's side didn't drag nearly as much as the driver's
so I left it alone. On the driver's side, I cleaned off the anti-squeal
blue sticky stuff on both pad backings. Next I sanded down the side that
seemed tightest. (This is all relative - the tires do spin while jacked
up.) Fitting it back in made me feel it was still too tight, so I filed it
down some. Not a whole lot but a light filing down so that the whole
backing was flush. Based on how the thing started filing down more on
certain edges than others, I don't think it was truly flat. Popped it back
in and it fit so nicely, I almost did all the other pads. But I didn't. :)
Put it back together and started driving. Two miles, check for leaks,
check that wheel nuts are tight (weren't), check how wheels spin on being
jacked up. Not much different. Kept doing this drive a little test a
little and racked up about 30 miles so far.
Car doesn't shudder on braking. No leaks. Firm pedal feel. No squeal.
Stops well. =Maybe= I'm done here. I say maybe because
a) I don't consider 30 miles enough of a test (rather have about 100)
b) there =might= have been a small whistling from the passenger's side -
it's so hard to tell because if it's there, it's faint - I hear other
people's squeals driving with the top down - if what I hear is a whistle it
doesn't happen all the time
c) there seems to be a band of about 1/2" forming on the passenger's side
about 1/2" from the outer edget of the rotor - don't know if that is
scoring starting up or not - I guess I should maybe file that pad backing
down some too?
If there really is a whistle, could that have anything to do with my wheel
bearings since I put those in new too?
In any case, it was a joy to be back on the road even for these limited
test runs. Funny thing - when I was doing the first 2 mile test run I saw
a Black CB Midget on the road. That, ladies and gentlemen, is the first
Midget I've seen since owning the car. I honked and waved and got a wave
in return. I did see one in town here once before in the 6 years I've
lived here. :) Also, had a couple of guys wait for me to get out of the
car at the hardware store and ask if the car was a 1972. Well, it's a 1974
without the overriders so not a bad guess. Told 'em so.
A good day even if I may have a few things to iron out on the brakes.
Thanks to all for making even the test runs possible.
Philip
Burgundy 1974 Midget
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