You know, you guys are right. I've never driven a 914 with good brakes. They have always had rotten calipers, so i dont know what it's supposed to feel like. I bedded the pads last night and the pedal feel got a bit firmer, but what was surprising is that it REALLY did haul the car down fast. I can overpower the tires now easily with the brakes. I did around 10 runs up to 60 and down to 10 mph(on deserted roads, texas is great for those ) and while the pedal isnt as hard as I remember, the car also doesnt pull as badly to one side or the other anymore like it used to. it also seems to accelerate faster, probably due to less brake drag.

They seem to get better the more I drive it. I AM used to power brakes and have only ever owned cars with them. I've driven 60's era trucks with non boosted brakes and those were scary! I was born in 1981 and my parents had a 914 when i was very young(rode all 9 mos in the womb in a 914). my parents sold it for a pinto after the engine went sour...

I always thought the following proceedure was supposed to be used to bed new brake pads:


1. Find an area where you have plenty of room and very little traffic.

2. Bring the car up to 60 mph and use normal braking to slow to 5-10 mph. Do not stop. Repeat 3-5 times. This brings the brakes up to operating temperature.

3. Bring the car up to 60 mph and stop as HARD as possible without locking up the wheels. DO NOT COME TO A STOP. Repeat 3-6 times. This burns off the protective layer on the pads and rotors and leaves a layer of pad friction material on the rotors. You may smell the hot brakes, this is perfectly normal and expected.

4. Drive the car normally for 10-15 minutes without touching the brakes. Do NOT stop. This is the cooling down period. If you stop, you may leave an imprint of the hot pad on the rotor and this will cause a vibration like a warped rotor.

5. If done correctly, your rotors should have a cool gray/blue color from the heat cycle. If you need to, let the brakes completely cool and repeat the process. You can also do this bedding procedure at any time in the future if your pads need it or you want to restore good braking power.

if you don't have them you really need to order a set (4) of speed bleeders. cheap(relatively) and turns bleeding into a one person op. get a REAL long piece of clear tubing so you can place the catch jar on the floor next to the dr side door.

Ahhhhhhhhh... it's in your blood!!

Don't pull anymore of that "I'm gonna sell it" shit with us Mr.!

Good to see you're making progress.

Just a note for those of us who are using a 19mm M/C without changing the rest of the brake system. You are actually loosing mechanical advantage.

The closer the M/C size gets to the piston size of your calipers the less brakin pressure you have.

Example:

M/C : 10mm Brake piston : 40mm = a 4:1 advantage
M/C : 12mm Brake Piston : 40mm = a 3.33:1 advantage

Precisely why this would yield a firmer pedal.

And less mechanical advantage.

Frankly, I think way too much fuss has been made over the 19mm MC. As John had stated earlier, you need to get used to it. It being a 17mm or a 19mm. The 19mm will give you a harder pedal but really gang... not at the expense of that much in mechanical advantage. Not so much as your leg will get tired, you'll not have enough leg to pedal the brakes etc.

Bottom line: A 17mm MC is fine for a 914 with stock brakes. So is a 19mm. Neither one is going to muck up the system. The 19mm will make it feel a bit more stout but you will have to push a bit harder. By the end of day 1... you'll be used to your new MC. Not "that" big of a deal.

Further, the VW411 from which the front brakes were taken also used a 19mm master cylinder, and the rear wheel cylinders were smaller than the pistons in the 914 rear calipers. I have never understood the reason for the smaller MC in the 914/4. On top of that, the 911S used the same piston sizes as the 914/6 and used the 20mm MC. And if you want to use exact dimensions of the MC to calculate the mechanical advantage, use these figures:
17.46 mm = 11/16"
19.05 mm = 12/16" or 3/4"
20.64 mm = 13/16"
However, you need to use areas not diameters to calculate the advantage.
The observant will notice that the master cylinders are in inch sizes.

One thing to remember on working on any Car, is that you will get Frustrated.

Frustration Errors occur and lead to.

1. More Broken Parts
2. More money spent to repair broken parts
3. Lack of enjoyment in Project
4. No Progress
5. Sell Project at Huge Losses

The "FIX" for the above.

Walk away for a couple of days. Recharge and come back on it.

You are the Alpha Dog, act like it, You are the Boss, You can fix what ails it.


'65 Mustang Fastback
'66 Mustang Coupe
'71 Ranchero
'71 F-250

'72 914 1.7 20 years ago Gone
'75 914 1.8 12 years ago Burned
'74 914 2.0 Current Driving

'70 Opel GT
'69 VW Bug
'70 VW Van I sure miss it

All of these cars wanted my life, but I'm still here.

Hell, anyone can make a Chevy run, try that with a Ford, you need Patience and Money. Same with the 914, LOL.

Smitty