So, I need to replace / rebuild my Brake MC. I have disconnected the input and output fluid tubing, removed the split pin and pin holding the fork end of the MC to the brake pedal, removed the two bolts holding the MC unit to the firewall... but then when trying to remove the MC I get just a little travel upwards before meeting resistance. Even with a good amount of my strength pulling the MC up, it meets with resistance. the MC flanges will turn freely so the issue isn't that the flange is stuck to the firewall housing. I am reluctant to get a screwdriver under the flange and pry it up. Examining from inside the car, I see nothing that would block the exit of the MC upwards except a rubber cover where the firewall is. Should I just try and pry it up and off. THANKS, AS ALWAYS FOR YOUR THOUGHTS, OPINIONS AND SUGGESTIONS.
Schmitty

 

I should clarify, this is a disc brake car with the removed stand alone fluid reservoir.

 

Got it off. gave a blast of Ballistol oil between the flange and the seal, applied a dramatic pull aided by some of my favorite blue language....

 

can you tell us the exact words used? a rhyme will work and i'll take it rom there.

 

Has your Mk1 got floor pivoted pedals before they moved to pendant pedals for the heal & toe racing fraternity? A very few Mk1 cars came with floor pivoted pedals.

Pleased you are sorted.

 

Probably a lot of DUCK words.

 

My blue language had something to do with Freud's Oedipus complex.. This may or may not be of assistance to anyone else when facing a issue, but it worked for me !!!.
Glyn, .My pedals are not floor mounted, not even the gas pedal which I found a little unusual.
Schmitty.

 

Do you have a pendant throttle pedal & not this?

 

No, mine has a pedal hanging down from the linkage rod, nothing mounted to the floor. the pedal itself looks like a brake / clutch pedal

 

That is a very early unit. That was changed early to keep the racing fraternity happy so they could heal & toe. In fact it could be a bit of an early hybrid.

 

Before I fully absorbed William Heynes' instructions on the use of the clutch, I tried double de-clutch gear changes and heel and toe braking on my Mk2. I found the brake pedal way too high for comfort. I'm in admiration of the racers for managing it (and defying the technical director).

 

My car is dated 1959, so not an early one. That being said, my throttle linkage rod has been clearly lengthed / modified by the addition of two 4" extensions ending in the aforementioned brake pedal style of accelerator pedal. this entire modified extension system is cast / canted slightly towards the brake pedal itself, so who knows why a previous owner would do that ? Maybe to better use the legendary heel / toe braking downshifting racer style of driving ? I'm going to make up a story ..... "done at the direction of Graham Hill himself" - although it is a LHD car and any knowledgable guy would clearly see through my BS.

Peter, I am ignorant of the Heynes' instructions for proper usage of this clutch / gearbox. Any links to where I might get educated ?

 

Some of it is in the owner's hand book, from memory: don't ride the clutch, don't slip the clutch, don't sit stationary with your foot on the clutch ... . Also, I understand (I'm sure it's in one of the well known books, but I don't remember which) that he instructed his racing team not to double declutch. In summary, it was there for brief use when starting from rest and a single quick dip while changing gear. To be fair, though heavy, the Mk2 clutch is as smooth in action as they come.

I wouldn't recommend it, but on an occasion when my clutch slave cylinder failed, I did find that a Mk2 with Moss gearbox can work pretty well without a clutch. I had to switch the engine off every time at every stop and drive off on the starter motor. Changing gear was OK. Fortunately, there were no serious hill starts.

 

OK - It has been modified unless the scribes have made a monumental blunder in their understanding of the Mk1. The pedal I show above became the convention.

 

Peter ~ I see you there below. Your Mk2 is as I show above?

Later models went to this after owner complaints that the roller pedal was insufficiently progressive. See 6

 

Glyn, Mine is like your earlier picture (on 09-03). It's from the second era of the organ pedal and roller; that is after the pendant had come and gone. I think the version in your last picture (for live axle, 3.4 litre cars) came with the 340.

Though I didn't notice it later, I recall that I felt a lack of progression in the throttle when I was a teenager learning to drive. I practised with the Mk2. I had lessons in Ford Escort GT. As a learner, I was probably more sensitive to the differences between the two cars. The Mk2 had a wonderfully progressive clutch compared with the Escort's rough, cable operated device. While the Mk2 throttle seemed a bit all or nothing against that of the Escort. The biggest contrast was probably the engine: I kept thinking that I'd stalled the Mk2 because it was so quiet.

I doubt many people my age still have a car that they learnt on.

 

Very interesting story Peter. Yes ~ my car still has the roller version & I find it OK as I have not made the comparison with the newer unit. I'll grab one of the club member cars with the new unit & see if it's worth the upgrade. I have no complaints as things are but it has all been rebuilt & lubricated right down to a new roller. Mr Barratt found me a new roller while finding NOS flasher lenses for me that were the same colour. He also sent back his entire stock of new lenses & told them to make them all the same orange. LHS vs RHS.

He has also made his website developer phone me for a long chat after I complained that they had cocked up and that I knew they had parts in stock that did not reflect on the site. Their site was at it's best when it followed the parts book convention. Why I bought so many nuts, bolts & washers from them. If I was buying a component from them I also ordered all the mounting hardware as we are a metric country. UNF is hard to find & not plated.

 

For the throttle pedal, I think it's a question of getting used to a system that depends on how hard you push rather than how far. The same goes for the Dunlop disc brakes (at least it did for mine): not much pedal movement, but a significant sensitivity to the force applied.

When I last visited Barratt's I suggested that they either quote dimensions or put a ruler in their photos for some components, especially things like bits of trim, badges etc, where buyers might, out of choice or necessity, want to use substitute a non-standard item. I've not seen any consequence yet. I've also noticed the disconnection between reality and the website. Still, they aren't as bad as David Manners. There, you just have to call.

 

I learnt to drive in my fathers 3.8 Mk2 around an RAF airfield at the age of ten in 1968. Now I have an S type which is pretty close.

 

I think a Mk2 was a good way to learn to drive. Mine is not just the same model, but the very same original car (apart from a few very minor parts that have been replaced). That's why, in spite of its condition, I really couldn't sell it. That should probably be scrap it as I doubt anyone (who knew what they were doing) would buy it to restore. But, I've just bought myself a new MIG welder that works way better than 40-year old one, so hopefully things can progress a bit faster? I have too many projects.