Rear View Mirror Success

The rear view mirror appears to be stuck on quite thoroughly this time.

When I first got the mirror kit it came with three types of mounting - two plastic and one metal. I used the supplied silicone adhesive to stick one of the plastic mounts to the windscreen but next morning it just came away from the plastic as soon as I adjusted the mirror. Next came the double sides Bear tape - good for three months, then the stuff from work - two months, then some pads I bought off UK eBay - 10 seconds (I didn't even bother to leave it on once I realised how "spungy" the mounting was).

So finally I cleaned up the metal mount and windscreen with enamal thinners and used the last of the silicone adhesive that was supplied with the mirror (put a hole in the small tube to get it out from the bottom). I left it there for 48 hours - held on with a piece of duct tape (see previous post).

It seems quite solid and doesn't shake nearly as much as with the double sided tape methods.
It's not as big as it looks in this picture - it's a 200mm wide mirror - about normal for a modern car.
(That's William getting a pick-up)

I was very close to punching the three holes in the headlining and going back to the little narrow standard Vogue mirror...glad I didn't. This mirror gives me a much better idea of what is going on around me.

Oh - the brake master cylinder appears to have stopped leaking. It looks like the one-drip-per day was the last of the brake fluid seeping out of the pipe-fitting's thread. A tissue was totally dry when I wiped around and under the fitting last night.

New Master Cylinder Installed

My "new" Master cylinder is installed and I'm back driving the Vogue this week. It took a huge amount of time to bleed the brakes - does anyone have a trick? The drivers side brake caliper was forward and straight down from the M/C and I think the air wanted to come back up the line all the time. Anyway we got it done.

I had to file back the flare on the brake pipe fitting as it would not clamp the in-built olive on the end of the pipe - the pipe would still rotate. It was also stopping the fitting going into the brake master cylinder easily. I got it to the point where it clamped OK but when I got to work there was a a tell-take drip on the pipe. I'm not sure I dare tighten it up any more. I'm ready to hand it to a brake shop to fix that one (it stopped leaking - see next post).

Shiny new(ish) Brake Master Cylinder.

I also stuck the rear view mirror back onto the windscreen with silicone adhesive - we'll see how that goes!

Yes, it's raining in Melbourne again!

Flare Nut Spanner worked a Treat!

The Master Cylinder (M/C) brake line took about 30 seconds to loosen with the flare nut spanner. I did the inevitable bruised knuckle as it let go. I removed the brake line from the M/C and the four-way brake line distributor as it was only about 200mm away.
(Old picture taken during conversion)

I have cleaned up the threads and the line itself ready for re-installation.
I haven't put the new M/C in yet because I took the opportunity the clean up the firewall where the M/C mounts and repaint it. I now have to wait for my bruised right thumb to get a bit better (totally another story) before I put it all back together again. Brake lines cross-thread easily so I don't want to mess it up now. I'll pick a day with good weather later this week (it's gone all wintery again here) and go home from work a bit early to get it done.

Brake Master Cylinder Problem

A problem noted back at the start of the year (see point 2) with the Vogue's brakes came home to roost last week. We were not careful enough when bleeding the brakes when I changed the brake light switch and allowed the piston to be sent all the way into the cylinder. It's a known issue in older cars. The piston encounters parts of the cylinder that hasn't been used for 48 years and tends to sieze. (The trick apparently is to place a block of wood under the brake pedal when bleeding the brakes to stop this from happening.)

Anyway, the brake pedal has been a little reluctant to return fully for a while now and the problem has reached the unsafe stage (no leaks - just internal in the M/C).

I found my spare master cylinder under the house and dropped it in to a recommended repair place last week. They have re-sleeved it in stainless steel and done a total restore. I picked it up yesterday.

The old Master Cylinder (taken during conversion). It's about the oldest, ugliest looking thing under the bonnet.

Now the sticking point. CRC soaked and all, I could not loosen the brake line going to the Master cylinder. It's thoroughly rusted in. So based on some classic car forum advice (Rover I think), I just bought this:

It's a Flare Nut spanner (wrench) - 3/8" and 7/16" AF.
Ideal for difficult pipe fitting - like brake lines.
We'll see how it goes...
The fitting is soaking in CRC56 as I type.

It's kind of ironic that we are having a little petrol (gasoline) delivery crisis in Victoria right now and my EV is off the road due to a siezed pipe fitting.