Two years after this video, I came back here because a buddy of mine from the MG Car Club (of Western NY Centre) can't make his brakes work on a Midget he acquired last year, and I needed to see a caliper mounting video. The master is fine, but he can't get the pedal to stay up, the pressure fails, and the brake fluid bleeds back into the master after pumping them. As in, pump, pump, pump x 10, hold pressure, pedal about half way down, brakes all seem to work, but then let off on the pedal and fluid comes back into the master and the pedal goes to the floor next time you pump it. Turns out, the front calipers are both on the wrong side, upside down! The bleeder is on the bottom! I'm sure the previous owner has never had brakes working, and that probably contributed to why he sold it. We'll flip them over tonight after work, and I'm confident the brakes will be fine.
I have a bugeye sprite with the same setup for the shocks and suspension Spitfire rotors, mgb calipers for the brakes The rear has ssbc vented rotors The tie rod ends hit the rotors at full lock. Fixed that by adding split collars to the rack under the boots. I have a sbc 383ci in the car and a th350 I'll try a more aggressive brake pad
Hi Chris, despite the weather I'd love to get our car out on the road; but first I need to change the off-side suspension so it matches this completed near-side and I hope there are no surprises lying in wait for me.
@@JerryMotorsport I purchased more e about 1 1/2 yrs ago. This spring I had a new clutch,brakes and a wiring issue fixed. I’m now turning it into my daily driver.
Chris, our car used to be my wife's daily driver up until it got its heritage shell rebuild over 20 years ago. Hope you have many happy / fun miles in your car as a daily driver and I hope you are finding the channel useful.
@@JerryMotorsport Hey, I finally got everything I need (or so I thought), but my copy of the Haynes manual says that dual line brakes (like ours) should be bled on the right side (both front and rear simultaneously) and then the left side (front and rear simultaneously). It also has an extended section about "brake pressure differential warning actuator valve". Do you know anything about this? Also, side note: my new calipers from Moss don't rub line yours did, and my new springs fit fine. I wonder if they updated the parts since you ordered.
Hi Jerry. I know this was not about your suspension but I am thinking of purchasing the same suspension kit as you, wounding if you think this is a worthwhile upgrade over replacing the original dampers?
Hi, thanks for watching and commenting. To be honest I've not driven a car with the standard dampers; our car came with what must have been the original frontine upgraded front arms. What I can say is that after completing the installation and competing with the car recently, it has great turn-in and almost no understeer. This setup is certainly stiffer than the single arm of the original damper and the modern AVO adjustable dampers give an excellent ride. Worth the investment IMHO.
Hi there, yes there are a few videos of me stripping down the entire front suspension after I found a cracked wishbone and rebuilding it all. Our car has the upgrade to the standard damper/ shock-arm from Frontline Developments. Thanks for commenting
In this episode I removed the anti-roll bar to clean up and repaint the anti-roll bar and upgrade the mounting bushes to polly. I also found out that the old bushes were the original size but the bar is actually a thicker one (from an MGB I think; 5/8"?? from memory). Coupled with the upgraded suspension arms this really helps with the handling. The roll bar went back on as part of fitting the new suspension to the driver's side.
Hi Jerry - thanks for the video. Im doing a similar job on a 65 Sprite (mk2 Midget) The new calipers from a well regarded re-seller are rubbing quite heavily on the original wire wheels. Fitted to the exact same set-up as the previous ones. What should I do, shall I grind 1-2mm of the face of the caliper? Any advice would be amazing. Thanks
Hi Alfred, thanks for watching the video 😄. Are there any obvious differences in the castings old vs new? The differences in mine were quite subtle and I (as you saw) just ground back to match the old. I was happy grinding this away as I could see it was well away from the piston bore and in a thicker section of the casting. As to if yours could be ground back it sort of depends where the clash is occurring. Might be worth asking the supplier; they may have come across the problem before. Sorry I can’t give you a definitive answer. Best of luck getting your car back on the road.
Jerry... cool video. Of course nothing ever goes as planed. I thought you would have filed the brake pad spring down to the correct width. Was that a possibility?
Thanks for the feedback; indeed nothing ever seems to go to plan 🤣. I did indeed think about trimming the pad retention spring, but wasn't happy restraining it to cut or grind it without crushing it (rendering it useless) or sending it across the garage. I've since thought I might be able to make some sort of shaped wooden piece to hold it in a vice; but Ive installed the retaining pins now.
Hey, Jerry - Just watched this today, and I do have a question - the pads really go in "dry" like that? I would have assumed that you needed grease on the edges where they ride in the caliper. Just curious!
Hi, I would have to check my invoices; I had parts coming from various suppliers. Oddly the driver’s side had the correct flat spot and I didn’t have to get the grinder out.
They should be the base Midget ones; as that was what I ordered 😊. They are 95% identical to the original Lucas units with the colour and the minor casting difference, that needed modification, being the only differences.
Two years after this video, I came back here because a buddy of mine from the MG Car Club (of Western NY Centre) can't make his brakes work on a Midget he acquired last year, and I needed to see a caliper mounting video. The master is fine, but he can't get the pedal to stay up, the pressure fails, and the brake fluid bleeds back into the master after pumping them. As in, pump, pump, pump x 10, hold pressure, pedal about half way down, brakes all seem to work, but then let off on the pedal and fluid comes back into the master and the pedal goes to the floor next time you pump it. Turns out, the front calipers are both on the wrong side, upside down! The bleeder is on the bottom! I'm sure the previous owner has never had brakes working, and that probably contributed to why he sold it. We'll flip them over tonight after work, and I'm confident the brakes will be fine.
I have a bugeye sprite with the same setup for the shocks and suspension
Spitfire rotors, mgb calipers for the brakes
The rear has ssbc vented rotors
The tie rod ends hit the rotors at full lock.
Fixed that by adding split collars to the rack under the boots.
I have a sbc 383ci in the car and a th350
I'll try a more aggressive brake pad
Caly your bugeye sounds like fun with a 383ci. Thanks for watching!
Just took my 72 Midget out this weekend for a cruise.
Hi Chris, despite the weather I'd love to get our car out on the road; but first I need to change the off-side suspension so it matches this completed near-side and I hope there are no surprises lying in wait for me.
@@JerryMotorsport I purchased more e about 1 1/2 yrs ago. This spring I had a new clutch,brakes and a wiring issue fixed. I’m now turning it into my daily driver.
Chris, our car used to be my wife's daily driver up until it got its heritage shell rebuild over 20 years ago. Hope you have many happy / fun miles in your car as a daily driver and I hope you are finding the channel useful.
Nice job! I hate messing with brake fluid!
I hate bleeding brakes; took ages to get the air out and I’ve got three wheels to go.
Thanks, this will really help with my 1969 AH Sprite!
Thanks for the feedback and good luck with the AH Sprite work
@@JerryMotorsport Hey, I finally got everything I need (or so I thought), but my copy of the Haynes manual says that dual line brakes (like ours) should be bled on the right side (both front and rear simultaneously) and then the left side (front and rear simultaneously). It also has an extended section about "brake pressure differential warning actuator valve".
Do you know anything about this?
Also, side note: my new calipers from Moss don't rub line yours did, and my new springs fit fine. I wonder if they updated the parts since you ordered.
I tried to post a link to a picture of my Haynes manual, but the comment disappeared. UA-cam probably considered it "spam".
Hi Jerry. I know this was not about your suspension but I am thinking of purchasing the same suspension kit as you, wounding if you think this is a worthwhile upgrade over replacing the original dampers?
Hi, thanks for watching and commenting. To be honest I've not driven a car with the standard dampers; our car came with what must have been the original frontine upgraded front arms. What I can say is that after completing the installation and competing with the car recently, it has great turn-in and almost no understeer. This setup is certainly stiffer than the single arm of the original damper and the modern AVO adjustable dampers give an excellent ride. Worth the investment IMHO.
Is there a video of your suspension? It would be pretty handy upgrading my original dampeners on my 77!
Hi there, yes there are a few videos of me stripping down the entire front suspension after I found a cracked wishbone and rebuilding it all. Our car has the upgrade to the standard damper/ shock-arm from Frontline Developments. Thanks for commenting
Why did you get rid of the anti roll bar?
In this episode I removed the anti-roll bar to clean up and repaint the anti-roll bar and upgrade the mounting bushes to polly. I also found out that the old bushes were the original size but the bar is actually a thicker one (from an MGB I think; 5/8"?? from memory). Coupled with the upgraded suspension arms this really helps with the handling. The roll bar went back on as part of fitting the new suspension to the driver's side.
@@JerryMotorsport Thanks for your time.
Hi Jerry - thanks for the video. Im doing a similar job on a 65 Sprite (mk2 Midget) The new calipers from a well regarded re-seller are rubbing quite heavily on the original wire wheels. Fitted to the exact same set-up as the previous ones. What should I do, shall I grind 1-2mm of the face of the caliper? Any advice would be amazing. Thanks
Hi Alfred, thanks for watching the video 😄. Are there any obvious differences in the castings old vs new? The differences in mine were quite subtle and I (as you saw) just ground back to match the old. I was happy grinding this away as I could see it was well away from the piston bore and in a thicker section of the casting. As to if yours could be ground back it sort of depends where the clash is occurring. Might be worth asking the supplier; they may have come across the problem before. Sorry I can’t give you a definitive answer. Best of luck getting your car back on the road.
Jerry... cool video. Of course nothing ever goes as planed. I thought you would have filed the brake pad spring down to the correct width. Was that a possibility?
Thanks for the feedback; indeed nothing ever seems to go to plan 🤣. I did indeed think about trimming the pad retention spring, but wasn't happy restraining it to cut or grind it without crushing it (rendering it useless) or sending it across the garage. I've since thought I might be able to make some sort of shaped wooden piece to hold it in a vice; but Ive installed the retaining pins now.
Hey, Jerry -
Just watched this today, and I do have a question - the pads really go in "dry" like that? I would have assumed that you needed grease on the edges where they ride in the caliper.
Just curious!
Haven’t found the need to grease this area but I guess no harm in doing it if you are worried about the pads catching
Who supplied the brake parts that did not fit?
Hi, I would have to check my invoices; I had parts coming from various suppliers. Oddly the driver’s side had the correct flat spot and I didn’t have to get the grinder out.
Are those mgb calipers?
They should be the base Midget ones; as that was what I ordered 😊. They are 95% identical to the original Lucas units with the colour and the minor casting difference, that needed modification, being the only differences.