> Periodically you will see NOS items such as a brake master cylinder listed
> on Ebay. Since these parts have rubber items, are they any good? Or even
> if the rubber pieces have deteriorated, are the castings superior to parts
> being reproduced?
IMO, it's a crap shoot. The rubber will almost certainly be bad after 30 years
on the shelf, but more importantly, the term "NOS" is way overused. For
example, I've seen a "NOS" alternator advertised, along with it's Lestek
(rebuilder) number ! I've also seen "NOS" items where you can see marks from
having been installed once ... generally this indicates there was some defect in
the part (like being the wrong part) and it was put back on the shelf for
reasons lost to antiquity.
Plus for brake components, of course, if it has ever had DOT 3/4 fluif put in
it, it will have been corroding all these years and likely be ruined. I have a
pair of rear brake cylinders that someone carefully lubricated with DOT 3 and
then never installed ... they're "NOS" but useless except as a reminder of why I
don't like glycol !
Randall
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