The Resurrection of Vixen

Quote of the Week:
"What the hell are you doing to that Fiero?" - Guy driving past

Okay, so last time I said I'd talk about about the seven months it took to get my rear brakes rebuilt... Here's the deal:

Although the rear calipers I received with the car looked brand new, they must have been used at least briefly by the previous owner. They leaked an orangish, rusty brake fluid when handled. Rather than just flush them, I decided to rebuild them. I stopped in a local NAPA to get a rebuild kit, and they offered to send them to their rebuilders for only $50 each. Not bad, I thought. Should save time...

However, I dropped them off right before Thanksgiving, but heard nothing from them for months. It turns out that they lost them. They eventually turned up in their warehouse, on the shelf. Somehow they had mistakenly restocked my used calipers as new. (?) Anyway, they sent them to the rebuilders, who kept them for another three months or so, only to return them saying they could not rebuild them, so I got them back two weeks ago, got a rebuild kit from PJ Grady, and finished the job.

I soaked each one in carburetor dip overnight, and then in brake cleaner for another night. I then blew them all out with a high-pressure air hose. The castings ended up looking like brand-new pieces. Adding the seals and seating the pistons & dust covers took about 5 minutes, and I was done. Should have done it myself in the first place.

On a related brake note, at the Pittsburgh World of Wheels show this February, I happened to spot a hot rod with -would you believe it- what appeared to be chromed DeLorean calipers. They were mounted inboard on a Jaguar differential, which has the brake discs mounted on the axle, almost in the center of the car. A little bit of research yielded (and I love discovering these) A CROSS REFERENCE!!!

Here's the specs:

1974-79 XJS (Actually, pretty much any Jag from 74 - the 80's.) rear calipers:
Check out the rear caliper pics for yourself at: http://www.welshent.com/brakes.htm and you'll see that they do match. The casting number is the same, too -- TYPE M14H. The required pads, rebuild kits, pistons -- all the same. Oh, and this includes the parking brake as well.

Front calipers are 1976 Mercury Capri front calipers.

Prices are from various sources. Your local stores may differ.

Rear Caliper Cross-Reference:	Left	Right
Raybestos: ($225 ea. lifetime warranty with pads & hrdwre)	RC3856	RC3855
Beck Arnley: ($175 ea. lifetime warranty with pads & hrdwre)	079-0233	079-0234
Pro Stop (Pep Boys): ($175 ea. lifetime warr. with pads & hrdwr)	40-57517	40-57516
*Be careful: There are two types of these calipers -- one for a two-speed rear axle, and one for the regular axle. I have seen different manufacturers confuse the two in the boxes. Take your old ones and match them up to be sure.
Front Caliper Cross-Reference:	Left	Right
Raybestos: ($75 ea. lifetime warranty with pads & hardware	RC3004	RC3003
A1 Cardone: ($34 -- Wrenchhead.com)	19-245	19-244
Beck Arnley: ($37 -- Wrenchhead.com)	076-0035	076-0036
Raybestos: ($43 -- Wrenchhead.com; no pads)	RWC45273	RWC45272

Next page, I'll talk a bit about driving around in a bodyless DeLorean. YES! She moves! (And stops, too). =)

Costs for Week 30:

Date	Purchase	Store	Price
14-May-00	Fuel injector cleaner (2)	Pep Boys	6.68
14-May-00	Car cover for outdoor use	Pep Boys	29.90
17-May-00	100816 Fan switch	Specialty Automotive	19.50
17-May-00	108633 Switch clip	Specialty Automotive	3.75
17-May-00	106959 Switch seal	Specialty Automotive	0.90
17-May-00	109018 Emergency brake bolt	Specialty Automotive	3.00
17-May-00	109020 pins (2)	Specialty Automotive	2.60
17-May-00	100634 Headlight retainer, used (3)	Specialty Automotive	19.50
17-May-00	101601 Headlight gap filler	Specialty Automotive	7.00
17-May-00	SP10080 Screw (8)	Specialty Automotive	6.80
17-May-00	102631 Injector seals (6)	Specialty Automotive	18.00
17-May-00	100747 O-Ring (2)	Specialty Automotive	6.50
17-May-00	106867 O-Ring	Specialty Automotive	0.95
17-May-00	106868 O-Ring (2)	Specialty Automotive	1.80
17-May-00	106869 O-Ring	Specialty Automotive	0.95
		Week 30 Total:	$127.83

		Running Total:	$11,790.85

Year One:
Week 1	Week 8	Week 15	Week 22	Week 29	Week 36	Week 43	Week 50
Week 2	Week 9	Week 16	Week 23	Week 30	Week 37	Week 44	Week 51
Week 3	Week 10	Week 17	Week 24	Week 31	Week 38	Week 45	Week 52
Week 4	Week 11	Week 18	Week 25	Week 32	Week 39	Week 46	-
Week 5	Week 12	Week 19	Week 26	Week 33	Week 40	Week 47	-
Week 6	Week 13	Week 20	Week 27	Week 34	Week 41	Week 48	-
Week 7	Week 14	Week 21	Week 28	Week 35	Week 42	Week 49	-
Year Two:
Week 53	Week 60	Week 67	Week 74	Week 81	Week 88	Week 95	Week 102
Week 54	Week 61	Week 68	Week 75	Week 82	Week 89	Week 96	Week 103
Week 55	Week 62	Week 69	Week 76	Week 83	Week 90	Week 97	Week 104
Week 56	Week 63	Week 70	Week 77	Week 84	Week 91	Week 98	-
Week 57	Week 64	Week 71	Week 78	Week 85	Week 92	Week 99	-
Week 58	Week 65	Week 72	Week 79	Week 86	Week 93	Week 100	-
Week 59	Week 66	Week 73	Week 80	Week 87	Week 94	Week 101	-
Year Three:
Week 105	Week 112	Week 119	Week 126	Week 133	Week 140	Week 147	Week 154
Week 106	Week 113	Week 120	Week 127	Week 134	Week 141	Week 148	Week 155
Week 107	Week 114	Week 121	Week 128	Week 135	Week 142	Week 149	Week 156
Week 108	Week 115	Week 122	Week 129	Week 136	Week 143	Week 150	-
Week 109	Week 116	Week 123	Week 130	Week 137	Week 144	Week 151	-
Week 110	Week 117	Week 124	Week 131	Week 138	Week 145	Week 152	-
Week 111	Week 118	Week 125	Week 132	Week 139	Week 146	Week 153	-
Year Four:
Week 157	Week 164	Week 171	Week 178	Week 185	Week 192	Week 199	Week 206
Week 158	Week 165	Week 172	Week 179	Week 186	Week 193	Week 200	Week 207
Week 159	Week 166	Week 173	Week 180	Week 187	Week 194	Week 201	Week 208
Week 160	Week 167	Week 174	Week 181	Week 188	Week 195	Week 202	-
Week 161	Week 168	Week 175	Week 182	Week 189	Week 196	Week 203	-
Week 162	Week 169	Week 176	Week 183	Week 190	Week 197	Week 204	-
Week 163	Week 170	Week 177	Week 184	Week 191	Week 198	Week 205	-
Year Five:
Week 209	Week 216	Week 223	Week 230	Week 237	Week 244
Week 210	Week 217	Week 224	Week 231	Week 238
Week 211	Week 218	Week 225	Week 232	Week 239
Week 212	Week 219	Week 226	Week 233	Week 240
Week 213	Week 220	Week 227	Week 234	Week 241
Week 214	Week 221	Week 228	Week 235	Week 242
Week 215	Week 222	Week 229	Week 236	Week 243

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