Greetings, All:
My last good clutch master cylinder gave up the ghost about a month ago, so I
went looking for replacements. The price range ran about $65-$70 US for a new
one for my '72 Midget, so I tried the $8 rebuild kit. It worked for a while,
but evidently there was something wrong with the bore that wasn't visible
from the end, 'cause the rebuild wound up no better than the old one.
>From time to time, I'd seen Lockheed MCs in catalogs like Pegusus and the
like; Truechoice had the best price (~$35) of the catalogs in my pile, so I
ordered one of the (I thought) correct type. As soon as I got it out of the
box, I knew I was in trouble. The mounting flange on the Spridget piece is at
about a 45 deg angle, and the one I had just gotten had the flange straight
up and down. Grrr.
A little *investigating* on my grungiest core with a propane torch proved
that the fluid reservoir is soldered to the cylinder body, so I took the new
one to work and asked our resident welder/fabricator to relocate the can. 20
minutes later, I had my MC ready to install.
I guess it's a bit of a hassle, but when you're on a tight string, every
penny helps.
Also, I was able to improve the car a little. It has a Datsun tranny and
clutch slave cylinder installed; the slave is somewhat smaller than the MG
piece, resulting in a clutch which the term 'hair-trigger' could hardly
accomodate. When I ordered the new MC, I asked for one with a .625" diameter
piston, instead of the MG's .870". The pedal travel is now about twice what
it was, but still shorter than with the original equipment. If only the
shifter was able to keep up. ;-)
Cheers,
Ernest Davis
wily1@aol.com
7/06/94, 16:41
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