Brakes Update

Progress has been quite slow but I've now got some free time over Xmas to finish the brakes in time for the new year and new clutch and I am pleased to say that, with the new copper brake-pipes and re-conned unions are in place, the wheel-cylinders are on the hubs and I bolted a front-drum on to the MGA for the first time in 20 years! [the rear pair being put on to tow the car to a new garage in 1992]

That pesky nut, above, and the old hose took a day of sawing, yanking, drilling, angled-drilling and hammering, but it finally broke free without harming the bracket. Once we'd clamped what was left of the hose-end in a vice we we're even able to rescue the nut and compression-washer, so a couple of quid and a bigger job have been saved, driving the project on in high spirits.

The 3-way brass rear brake-pipe union, joined to the o/s wheel cylinder, above. The n/s one will have to wait until I can move the car over in the garage and create a gap to work on the other side - not all MGAs were lucky enough to make it Stateside and this is winter.

The 4-way front brake-pipe union, above, connected to the rear union, the completed o/s drum assembly and with the other pipes leading up to the master-cylinder, which is on hold until the bracket is cleaned and wax-oiled, and the n/s hub, again awaiting work space.

The complete drum-assembly, minus the drum, is the first sign of front-brakes for two decades. The new steel hose ends had rusted slightly on the inner threads [that the brake-pipes screw into], but not the outer ones, even though some of the rubber caps have never been removed. I guess using new parts that have been stored for even longer than two decades is a dodgy area, but they seem sound enough. And yes, I do realise that the springs are through two wrong holes, this has now been rectified and the drum set.