Replacing my Brakes Options

[purple]

This weekend was step one of two of replacing the brakes on my '76. The previous owner upon selling to me told me that he had rebuilt the front calipers and the brake fluid looked very nice and fresh in the master cylinder. Looks like a nice fresh tank of ATE super blue..... I will find out later that what's in that tank doesnt look like what's in the brake lines....

I started this project because when turning the wheels in the rear to set timing, I can hear the left rear brake dragging, and loudly. I feared it was a bearing, but it wasnt. The brake was dragging. I lift the car and put it on 4 jackstands, the evil kind (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif) I need some proper pin-thru stands. I have all 4 tires under the car in case the car decides it wants to smoosh me.

I'm using 4 new rebuilt calipers from Eric Shea. With these calipers are 4 new rotors, new front bearings, new seals, 4 new softlines, all new pads. A total of $1038 in parts from Eric.

From the pic...the parts are gorgeous!

[Lavanaut]

oh, wouldnt it just figure this piece of shit needs a new MC too... just great. I'll have bought a whole new f*ing car in parts. i hate old cars. I can handle chipping a new car and ricing the hell out of it, and you know why? because i'll actually get to DRIVE a car instead of just OWNING one.

nobody oogles this car, it's old, it's ugly, and of questionable design. i've had ONE oogle and it was a guy in a 993 cabriolet. maybe it was a pity wave (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)

Couple this with my worthless computer,my parents jacking with their internet connection and calling me every 5 minutes for tech support, and i'm feeling like i just want the world to GO AWAY!

So yeah, I think you should sell it. It's seems pretty clear from what you're saying that it's not the right car for you. Take part of the proceeds from the sale and buy yourself a new computer. Just like that, 2/3 of your frustration and stress is gone. And hell, I'll help your parents with their internet connection, seriously, PM me.

Life's too short to have the main source of your unhappiness come from what is (for a lot of us) a toy. And it sounds to me like you didn't just quit on it, you've put in a lot of time and effort and find yourself pissed off. So it didn't pan out like you thought! No big deal. Sell the car...move on...absolutely nothing wrong with that.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/bye1.gif)

edit: I don't mean to undermine the attempts by other members here to help you resolve your problem. This is a place where people are passionate about their cars and this community, so I respect the fact that people are telling you not to give up. To me though, your verbiage speaks pretty strongly to where you're at...

[purple]

oh, wouldnt it just figure this piece of shit needs a new MC too... just great. I'll have bought a whole new f*ing car in parts. i hate old cars. I can handle chipping a new car and ricing the hell out of it, and you know why? because i'll actually get to DRIVE a car instead of just OWNING one.

nobody oogles this car, it's old, it's ugly, and of questionable design. i've had ONE oogle and it was a guy in a 993 cabriolet. maybe it was a pity wave (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)

Couple this with my worthless computer,my parents jacking with their internet connection and calling me every 5 minutes for tech support, and i'm feeling like i just want the world to GO AWAY!

So yeah, I think you should sell it. It's seems pretty clear from what you're saying that it's not the right car for you. Take part of the proceeds from the sale and buy yourself a new computer. Just like that, 2/3 of your frustration and stress is gone. And hell, I'll help your parents with their internet connection, seriously, PM me.

Life's too short to have the main source of your unhappiness come from what is (for a lot of us) a toy. And it sounds to me like you didn't just quit on it, you've put in a lot of time and effort and find yourself pissed off. So it didn't pan out like you thought! No big deal. Sell the car...move on...absolutely nothing wrong with that.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/bye1.gif)

Thanks man (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

I really thought I would be having a lot of fun and do some nice builds, improve this and that and have fun with a car I can take to work on fridays or drive a little on weekend mornings. I cant drive it to work on fridays because the transmission cant take stop & go traffic (lots of grinding, even after adjusting the clutch) The carbs are poorly tuned (i've tried, oh god how i've tried) and just after tip-in they puff and chuff and i've gotten at least 1 small fire out the throats because of this. running up the RPM's is nice though, but the tiny amount of throttle used to keep the car going is just troublesome for it. the weber progressive ran and started better. it started like a champ with that carb, now it's a lot of grinding on the starter and really bad idling until i can touch the throttle (otherwise it'll die)

I replaced all the shocks (surprisingly easy!) the rears were original.

i put on all the engine tin, only one piece of under-tin was installed by the PO, the rest was gone, it overheated because of that.

I put a new alternator in, that was easy too

new ignition(mallory unilite) I cant time it correctly because if i set it to factory spec, it runs like a tractor.

i por-15'ed the gas tank, put in a cb rotary pump, and a glass fuel filter so you can see the fuel in the line, and the tank leaks where i put the new screen in (its annoying to come back from a full tank to a 1/4)

I put in rack spacers because the bump-steer was incredible that was pretty hard, but i got it done.

the only thing as maddening and miffing as this was the engine timing. omfg, figuring out why my car would not run at all was the single most irritating thing i've ever experienced in my life! I was kicking boxes around and throwing shit because i just couldnt figure it out. i looked like a damn silverback gorilla for how stupid i was acting!

I now have a car that CAN run, albeit poorly, and cant stop. I thought I'd be able to do a whole brake system overhaul and be amazed by how awesome these new brakes would be. WRONG. what I got was a mouthful of ash, just like with every other project on this car. I was looking forward to a really powerful engine after these new EXPENSIVE carbs. WRONG. it's still a dog. my 1.6L mini goes like a scaled cat compared to this, and is FAR more stable. I can do god-like turns in the MINI. I feel like i'm driving a 64 lincoln in the porsche by comparison. try to turn to fast and watch it go sideways (which can be fun, i'll give you)

I've put so much blood, sweat and tears into this car and am continually disappointed with the results. a lot of it comes from the fact that i've never done most of this stuff before. sadly, i dont want to do most of it again. it's a punishing car and a hobby I can not financially sustain to make a car worthy of my dreams and it's one that i simply dont have any more emotion for, save annoyance or maybe even hatred.

i want this car to go to a good home, with someone more skilled than me working on it. I dont think I have the skill or the tools to keep this hobby going. it's not fun anymore, it stopped being enjoyable long ago, and has just become more WORK.

once I get this working, I will list it here. it will likely be affordable to most of you since the car was supposed to be a track/ax car for me. its interior is spray on bedliner (po) and has a momo wheel(po) and center console with racing seats and harnesses (po) the engine is a mystery (po) with great induction, ignition, and exhaust(me) that really needs a tuning. and the transmission leaks from the shifter(i have the seal, but not the tools to fix it)

the mini does that(track) job now, and i'm thinking of quitting that too. motorsports is a hobby far too expensive for me, much like most baby boomer hobbies (sailing, golf, corvettes, mistresses, house flipping, etc) I'm living way beyond my means and I need to reel my life in.

I feel like I'm parting with a child or a pet, but it feels like the right decision. I need to pursue more humble hobbies that I can afford. I will also likely be a ghost on here as well.