badgerspitfire

two different sets. The ones I have on offer I bought from Rimmers and Paddocks. The ones I currently have on the car where refurbished by the club. Hope that clears it up.

I bought a set of Mk14 calipers for my Spitfire 1500 last summer. I then got the problem (discussed in forum) about long pedal travel - something to do with a design flaw with the seal. Not wishing (or having the expertise) to dismantle the calipers, I sent my original calipers to be reconditioned via our TTSC shop (and very happy with the new calipers!). So I now have 2x Mk14 calipers ready for a new home. The LH caliper (from Rimmers) works fine (I changed them out one at a time to check). The RH caliper (from James Paddock) is the one with the seal issue. They have done about 40 miles total! If anyone is interested in them please let me know. If I'm not allowed to post this, then moderators please accept my apologies.

My old (now reconditioned) calipers came back this week, so had chance to fit them today. It has solved the long pedal travel. So, it would appear that the NEW BUILD TYPE 14 CALIPERS are potentially rubbish/not good. Worth noting if you are planning on changing calipers...

Yep, mine are Type 14s. Neither calliper had any markings or labels to identify them. I've sent my old callipers via the TSSC Shop to get them refurbed. I thought about trying to sort them but didn't want to take any risks when it comes to braking systems. I'd hate to have an incident one day for the sake of a calliper refurb. If the refurbed callipers fix the problem I'll see if I can send the 'new' ones back, or at least put a note on the forum letting people know about a potential problem with 'new' type 14s.

Nothing on the packaging. A plain brown box. My LH caliper was from Rimmers and the RH from another Triumph supplier whose name I've forgotten (the club had sold out). Both look identical and pedal travel increased on fitting the LH, and is now awful with both 'new' calipers fitted. Fortunately, I've kept the old calipers so I can get them rebuilt if all else fails.... Update: Just had time to clamp off the front hoses to isolate the front calipers, and the problem is definitely with the front calipers......... The one from Rimmers isn't too bad (but still gives a bit of an unwanted dead zone). The other 'new' caliper (from James Paddock Ltd) is awful.

Rears checked ok. Correct orientation of pads (thanks to forum advice for that too). They are new calipers so will first try Pete Lewis' suggestion (and Nicks) above about 'lubricating' the calipers by getting the pistons to push in and out a bit. Will first try clamping the hoses off though to see if I can find which end is the problem. A job for early next week! Will report back.

The pedal travel is long even after pumping stationary, so the pedal feel stays the same and doesn't get better. The anti-squeal shims are metal. I've tried adjusting the back brakes again, it made a tiny bit of difference but still a very long pedal before the braking action starts (and it is good when it does, with the Mintex pads and new discs). They are new calipers so I'm thinking it might either be the new caliper problem that Clive mentioned, or could it possibly be the master cylinder?

I've recently done some work on the brakes. New rear drums and shoes first, and all was fine, the new LH caliper and hose, again everything worked fine, and this weekend (amongst other jobs on the car), new rotors and mintex pads, and a new RH caliper and flexi hose. The brakes work really well now, but the pedal travels a long long way before any braking starts (but when it does, the braking is better than ever). It is almost like nothing is happening apart from overcoming brake pedal spring pressure until a point when the brakes 'operate'. Interestingly, after I installed the new caliper the pedal was totally soft for several 'pumps' and I had to 'jab' at it to get it to start to build pressure. I've tried putting the handbrake on (to simulate adjusting back brakes) and it doesn't make any difference to the large 'dead zone' in the brake pedal travel. There are no fluid leaks. The system has been bled many times now too. Any advice appreciated. I'm nervous about driving it now in case the pedal just goes to the floor one day.....

thanks Pete. It worked a treat😁

many thanks Pete. A job for the weekend provide the bits arrive in time!

Thanks Pete. How do I make the suspension rigid? I know that probably sounds a very stupid question!

Have just bought these (photo) from the shop. Having had fun trying to get the track rod end ball joints out, will I need to invest in a 'puller' to get the top ones out or do they come out easily? Many thanks

Thanks John! Will look into it

Very happy. It is one big learning journey with a old British classic!

Thanks for all the advice chaps. Tried screws - no joy, various amounts of tapping and trying to lever, again on joy. Thanks for the tip about the rivnuts and rivnut gun (I'd never heard of one and the link to one was perfect). So the current plan is to see if the garage will weld me some nuts on (ooh er!) when I get the tracking done, or invest in a rivnut gun, which I'm sure will come in handy for something else! So, oil and filter change, new oil pressure sensor, coolant flush and change (and a couple of new hoses and clips), track rod ends done, new rear shoes and drums, handbrake adjusted, brake system bled a zillion times (and brakes feel better), new pads and new LH caliper, new LH hose (saving the RH hose for when I get a replacement RH caliper - soon). The next job on the list is new rotors with M1144 pads (I had some old pads so wasn't bothered about putting them on the less than good rotors). Need a beer now! I'd buy you all one too for your help, but we can't with social distancing....... 😊

I've hammered them to death. Tried a big coarse screw, it just rips up the metal hole. Tried getting a screwdriver in the gap between seal and hub, but when I try and lever it breaks the tip of the screwdriver... The track rod ends seem easy in comparison now 😖. Is there anything else I can do, before I resort to buying some new ones and cutting these off? many thanks again

I have long normal screws (woodscrews) but no self-tappers of that variety. Can I get away with normal threaded screw? If that fails, it's the screwdriver.. Do you push the screwdriver as if you are trying to get it into the gap between cover and hub (ie direction towards the engine bay, (along the rotational axis) or towards the sky / floor (ie 90 degs to the rotational axis))? At least the sun is shining!

Onto the front brakes and changing the rotors today. Trying in vain the get the front grease cap off. Tried tapping, and pulling on a small screw fed into the hole.... No luck so far. Will heat (blowtorch) help or hurt the bearing? Any suggestions welcome!

Yep, had to let off a lot of cable at handbrake end 🤨. The rear cables seem to have a lot of natural bend in them so need quite a bit of gentle tension to take out the slack. I may have to take up the handbrake a little since it does virtually nothing till at least half-way now, but at least I understand how it works at last. The 'thing' under the middle of the car looks about at the right angle too. There was so much thick solidified black grease on the handbrake mechanisms I couldn't even see any clevis pins or fasteners until I washed it all off! What would probably take an expert a hour has taken me all day, but it is very rewarding to have it back together again looking shiny, and lots learnt. Thanks again everyone for your advice, would have really struggled without it.

Result! Thanks so much guys! Removed the clevis pin and the drum now turns (I didn't spot it was holding the shoe slightly away from the cylinder piston). Although it sticks/catches at part of the rotation - that issue is for another day! Now to tackle the other side.... And will need to adjust handbrake later. Pete. Is it case of using the adjuster (square 1/4" nut) to put the shoes hard against the drum, then adjust the cable using the nuts shown in the pic above? I think I may need a gross adjustment at the lever too since I am way off getting the clevis pins back in (poss 5 - 10mm away)..

I think you've hit the nail on the head! . The handbrake mechanism is holding the forward shoe off the cylinder piston slightly. how do I completely back off the handbrake? I've been playing with the nuts in the pic but doesn't seem to be doing much.

It's a general reluctance to turn. Very hard to spin.

That's the one. Fully wound out. I'll try and take a pic of the shoes. They look really rough! The fasteners are off in the pic since I'm taking the shoes off again to compare with the old shoes...

Apologies for another post but been doing a lot of work on the Spitfire this week. I've changed the rear shoes and about to fit new drums, but they won't spin freely (catching). The parts are from Rimmers. I've checked the following: - Adjusters wound right in - Shoes correct way round, cylinder assembly free to slide against backplate - handbrake cable slackened off (with the nuts attached to the cable - I guessed that was how to do it?). - Cylinder pistons pushed in (same as other side not yet worked on). Bleed screw opened to assist pushing pistons in be sure. Do I need to machine a bit off the ends of the shoes (the metal parts) to allow them to fit better? They don't appear a great fit / contact to the pistons. Or sand a little off the pad material (looks very 'rough' - the suface looks like 80 grit sandpaper with 'ripples'). Any advice appreciated!

Yep. Safely all done thank goodness. Now just struggling with rear brakes (new thread!)