Paint? Colors

64 xke roadster

Heres a picture that might interest some. The before pictures are from the front that actually still worked and the done ones are the back but they were in the same shape but not doing anything.
Vin

The brake piston itself, the part which actually pushes on the brake material, is dependent on a smooth surface on the cylinder walls of the caliper assembly. If the cylinder walls are not piited or rusty, then you are very lucky. But just a bit of coorosion on the cylinder walls will allow the hydraulic fluid to bypass the seals. You can resleeve in brass or stainless. White Post is a good outfit for that.

Thanks Patrick
I will make the suggested color fixes and you have saved me at least several hours of more frustration with the stainless brake tube. I did/am rebuilding - restoreing the calipers or piston assembley. I did not take the caliper mounts off as I figure they don't move and look good. I did not yet go for the stainless reslieving of the caliper. My thinking is that the piston contributed to at least 70% of the rust in the old one so it would rust again anyway if allowed to sit for many years again. If my thinking is flawed I would value your input.
Thanks

Vin: The diff cover should really be gloss black, so I would re-spray it since it is still accessible. Be VERY sure that the gasket under this cover gets a good dose of Permatex gasket sealant as it will be impossible to fix any small leaks once the unit is installed. You're going to need to find a solution for the small vent pipe otherwise it will be leaking fluid. I would also paint the rim of the disc black as well as the heads on the bolts for the cover.

There is a part on each caliper that has two "fingers" on them, held in place by the two long pin bolts. These are bronze and should not be painted, but since this is not a concours car, I guess it doesn't matter.

In regards to the stainless brake line flares, been there, tried that. It is impossible to make flares with hand tools on stainless steel....it's just too hard. It requires a machine. You will either need to take the piece to a local hydraulic fitting shop, or purchase pre-bent, pre-flared stainless pipes from SNG Barratt or XK's, etc. Or you could simply make the lines out of "regular" steel piping in which case, you can make the flares yourself. Be advised that some flares are special, and you will not be able to make them, I forget where these are, but I think they are at the master cylinders. Something like "double-flares".

I guess its safe to assume that you did not rebuild the rear calipers....best of luck to you in stopping this car!!

64 XKE Roadster Here it is done today. It looks better to me. It looks really red in the picture but the orange look of the original looked more red in life. I had to take off the differential cover as I broke the short threaded nipple that goes into it holding the vent rolling it around to paint and clean it, that little thing is surprisingly heavy. The oil was very red from the paint inside I guess. On the ends of most of the bolts that hold the cover there was red paint that matched the color painted perfectly. Any thought on this? I could imagine Screwing the bolts in through wet paint but the end the cover goes on had no paint so why screw the bolts in then take them out then sand or grind the end. Now if I can figure out how to make bubble flares with stainless brake line I'll put it back together. I've tried 3 different flareing tools and they all slip the tube when trying to form the end. Any hints? Ideas? I hate to use regular steel lines back there after all this. Thank you for the judging guide directions that is a rather detailed bunch stuff. Is there anywhere that has a picture for each Item showing exactly what it refers to in the guide and how it should look? That would be really cool. Maybe that could be my job... as I get into this. Thanks for letting me share and helping.
Vin

Actually, the front brakes do most of the stopping on a car, but having 4 that work in harmony is pure joy! Make sure you put as much attention to the front as you do the rear!

The judging guides are fairly well hidden, but if you go to the LIBRARY section, then Concours section, then scroll to near the bottom, they are listed on the left side of the page:
http://www.jcna.com/library/concours/index.php
You don't mention the year of your E-Type or what series, so you can choose amongst the judging guides.

Thank you I went to concours section. It looks like you have been answering the same questions since 2003 at least forgive me. I still can't find the judging guide refered to in that section but I'll keep looking. I have taken the pistons apart and redid them they obviously have not worked since I've owned it 1985. I'm guessing it will stop better with back brakes once its together. I used a coil spring compressor to get the shocks / springs apart getting back together is another issue after I paint the shocks grey. Thank you all again any other thoughts before I reasemble.
Vin

It really begs the question that since you are down this far, why not send you calipers in for re-sleeving? Any number of brake rebuilders can restore these calipers, and will re-plate them while they are at it.

They are more than likely pitted and rusty on the inside, and I sure wouldn't be re-installing 40 year-old brakes!! It has taken a lot of work to get down to where you are...do not sell yourself short for safety sake!

Differential plate is gloss black. Don't worry about shock color, but if they are original Girling, a Rustoleum Smoke gray will suffice.

Unless you are familiar with how to remove shocks from the outer spring (which by the way, are black), I'd advise your getting a shop to remove them for you...quite dangerous...or I guess you could just use a brush through the springs.

See this thread in regards to the rear-end unit:
http://www.jcna.com/forums/view.php?Vref=JCNA&Vfnum=130&Vthread=4189
(Red Glyptal color is what you want...do a google search...Eastwood has brush-on or spray can)
http://www.eastwood.com

All of the mechanisms...brake and calipers are cad plated, so you can just use silver paint. Brake calipers get pretty hot, so don't expect the cheap stuff to last very long.

Good luck!

Patrick

Suggest you download the Judging Guide from the Concours section of the JCNA website. It should answer most of your questions.