MAIN
Braking System
Previous Page | Next Page
I have a '59 Bugeye and the Master cly and slave cly. are fairly new ( 4 years) Fluid is clear, no leaks. The other day I decided to drive around the area and get some gas. After about two block and 6 shifts the clutch would not disengage. The pedal was hard, with little to no movement down from the top. The car would not move as the clutch was still engaged. Engine still running, shifted into all gears, no go. Got it home with a tow from a golf cart, and it is now up on jack... MORE
There is a guy that I am emailing with that has a beautiful midget that has quite a bit of glass work done to it. I know that many of you have desires for Arkley's, Walker Bonnets (my favorite) as well as other kits, but this one here is quite nice. Steven is not a member of these lists, but I have given him instructions on how to join (BTW, with the cold months coming on, the off topic banter can get out of hand). He was kind enough to send a photo of his car, along with the... MORE
This should not be a failure for a car of that age as I understand it. This was introduced to stop dodgy practices in the second hand car trade not to cover 40 year old cars. As I understand it new MoT regs are never applied retrospectively, if they were then those with pre 66 cars would have to fit seatbelts and we'd all have to have high level brake lights on our cars. Try phoning the MoT helpline (if there is one). "Jeremy Cogman" 15803... MORE
Although our Right Hand Drive Spridgets have the pedals on the right (as God intended) our Hand/Parking brake is still in the same place. So for us it's on the passenger side of the transmision tunnel. This only applies to our little cars as far as I can see! Gary L 1958 Frogeye "Gary Lazarus" 15785... MORE
Israel Find the brake master cylinder, follow the pipe until it comes to a four way junction (i.e. splits three ways, one to each front wheel and one to the back axle) and sitting on top of that junction you will find a small round pressure switch screwed in to the top. it has two wires leading from it, or should have, and is the brake light switch, operated by fluid pressure. They can, and do, seize solid. After disconnecting, test with a meter or wires,battery and a bulb etc whilst friend applies pressure to the break pedal ............ MORE
Gas pedal is nearest the outside Bob 60 RHD AN5 TAMPA MTGBRKR1@... 15775... MORE
Not a stupid question at all. pedal near the gear stick is clutch, middle brake and accelerator nearest drivers door. "geojon" 15763... MORE
A guy I work with asked me a question the other day that I couldn't answer. I'm sure this group can. I know that cars in the UK had right hand drive so that you shifted with the left hand but are the pedals reversed as well? That is, is the gas nearest the transmission tunnel and the clutch nearest the door, like left hand drive cars? Although I've seen RHD cars before, I must admit that I never really looked that closely. "coachbad" 15762... MORE
As Brad says elsewhere, on early cars with single circuit brakes (pre '67 for US spec cars) the switch is on the right hand inner wing, screwed into a 4-way union and is actually a pressure switch rather than a pedal activated switch - a certain pressure in the hydraulic system triggers the switch. In my experience, they are pretty unreliable and stick in the open position, especially if you use silicone brake fluid; however, you may be able to 'unstick' it with a trick I learnt (thanks to Dave Wellings) This involves pouring boiling water and ice water... MORE
Can someone explain to me the operation of the brake light circuit in the MK-II midget? I have yet to locate a pedal-activated switch, so I could use a little assistance in just how the circuit is activated. Thanks in advance, Israel "Israel Engle" 15745... MORE
I'm going to be getting a Bugeye in the near future and will be configuring it somewhat like an early vintage racer. I would like it to have have wire wheels. I've asked the list before and I've gotten two distinctly different responses. Response one is, you must use an early quarter elliptic rear end from a wire wheel spridget since the wire wheel shafts are shorter and will cause big problems. Response two is, if your not going to race, simply exchange the disk wheel axles with wire wheel types and don't worry about the difference in length.... MORE
You could afford vinegar with your old newspaper? You were lucky . I used to have sweep the entire length of the M1 before I went to school, and we only had one pair of shoes etc etc......... I feel a Monty Python Sketch coming on. 8o) Seriously though , an old boy with a vintage motorcycle in our club, owned a 1932 Scott from new. It looks in good condition even now. He said that he had never bought any polish in life, he simply washed the 'bike and followed up with a rub down with newspaper. Something... MORE
I currently have: The tonnaeu (sp?) cover, spare tire, original jack, original lug wrench, 2 bottles of water, one 1 liter bottle of water, fuel pump, Phillips and Flat head screwdrivers, assorted spare parts that I have not shelved yet, a 55 piece tap and die set my father in law gave me that he bought 25 years ago, the jack bag (still need to put the jack back in it), several feet of fuel hose, jumper cables, a bottle of brake fluid, and bits of assorted debris that I really should have cleaned out a while ago if... MORE
Now Gaz, you are talking of the "old days" when men were men and children shared one pair of shoes to walk through 6 foot snowdrifts to go to school. We used to clean glass with vinegar and then polish it off with scrunched up newspaper when I lived in N'cle! Guy "Guy Weller" 15556... MORE
hello everyone! I just joined your group! It seemed like a good thing to do considering I've owned a '69 Midget since 1995. So, let me explain to you why I'm here and then maybe I'll get on with asking a question or two. A long, long time ago I picked up my Midget for 300 USD from a kid who had bought the thing a year or so before and had never figured out how to make the thing run. I have worked on it on and off for years, occasionally picking up a part here and there... MORE
to get new keys without a pattern, you need to get the original key number, which was sometimes recorded in production records (available from BMIHT http://www.heritage.org.uk/archive/trace%20certificate.htm ) but as often as not, these key numbers weren't recorded. You might also try a good locksmith (a proper one, not just one of these places in malls that also re-soles shoes - something I never understood, what's the link between shoes and keys?) but I wouldn't hold out much hope. Just to be cynical for a moment, are you sure the seller *has* actually lost the keys and isn't holding on... MORE
Today was the day I have been waiting for. After months of working on this or that, cleaning, brakes, stopped gas lines sticking floats needles and on and on my MK1 midget that I bought a few months back that had been stored for near twenty years never ran just right, never the fun to drive it should be. This morning I installed a Pertronix electronic ignition and a new 40,000 volt coil. It's as if it came to life after being dead for twenty years. Off I went without all the hesitation every time I stepped on the... MORE
Well then, I would still prefer the Morriservice kit. It uses the Datsun clutch and disc, which is available anywhere. The Datsun clutch is a 7" diameter as opposed to the 6.25 to 6.5 inch used in Spridgets. Gerard "gerardchateau" 15217... MORE
I bought a Rivergate kit earlier this year. I used my spridget clutch master and slave cylinders, just routed the line differently. Rivergate includes an adapter for the spridget slave cylinder. Works great. Rivergate also uses the Datsun throwout bearing and the Datsun throwout arm. The spridget pressure plate is used and a special clutch disc is used. Rivergate supplies a front yolk with bearings and crosspiece already installed. All you have to do is remove the spridget front yolk and install the new one on the spridget driveshaft. All in all the kit is easy to install and... MORE
Stan Initial thought would have been possibly jammed thermo but you say you've replaced that, other idea is a blockage in the water ways of the block or radiator, you could check by draining and back flushing as a matter of course (I backflush every autumn anyway as mine is a daily driver year round). Failing that I suspect it might be a water pump failure and water is not being pushed round the system. Check by pulling a hose and turn engine over to see if it's pumping out. What may be occurring is "After about 2or3 miles... MORE
Fitting the rear brake circlip - people make it sound difficult but it is really simple, you just have to BELIEVE that it will go on first time .... and it does. The clip ( called an E-clip) has 3 contact points with the brake cylinder. Position it with the open side towards the bleed nipple. It looks as if it won't cear the axle casing next to the back plate, but it will, there is a bit of a groove there that the outer edge of the clip fits into. Don't grind away any of the clip as... MORE
Can a circlip tool do the job? I don't know if the brake cylinder is diffe rent than the main cylinder. I removed and replaced the circlips with an o rdinary tool that looks like this: http://www.biltema.no/products/product.asp?iSecId=3D843&iItemId=3D18486 regards Thorvald (Norway) "Thorvald (Norway)" 15175... MORE
Ok The clue is in the subject line - how the heck does one fit the circlip that hold the wheel cylinder in? Any suggestions thankfully received! Regards Chris "howes" 15174... MORE
Mike, A couple things... I would check everything beforehand, i.e., dash switch, wiring, and switch continuity at the pressure valve. If it's not electrical, your shuttle valve may be stuck to one side indicating some brake problem. Sometime a hard braking session will reset it, but if it's none of the above, you should jack up the car and see if you're getting braking to all four wheels. You might have a problem with the brake system. If not, you just may a stuck shuttle valve which will require disconnecting the 4 way valve. To answer your specific question,... MORE
If I am not mistaken, that light is also an indicator that the hand brake is engaged. Could be a bad switch there. Doug 77 Michigan Doug Pletcher 15156... MORE
