72 TA : New Project

[mockingbird812]

Congrats Mac! Well done. [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/beers.gif[/img] I 'spect it will be running for about 17 editions to cover your restoration! [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/whistle.gif[/img]

[StealthBird]

Congrats Steve! I received my HMM last Saturday, and it's a very nice write up on your project. I also thought it was pretty cool that at the end of the article, they actually print a link to this forum, and this thread, for more info!

Such a great looking car! The 72 Trans Am, with the honeycomb grilles and honeycomb wheels, is just a beautiful combo.

[img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/Can-I-Have-It.gif[/img]

[njsteve]

Got the proportioning/combination valve back from one of the Performance Years website members, 70RAIII (Bill Oxley) who did a really nice job rebuilding it. He indicated that it was all stuck inside, so it wasn't really functioning as anything other than a T-fitting between the front and back fluid routes. Now it's actually working as designed, which is a good thing since if I recall correctly, one of the critical roles of this valve is to internally shift and block the internal passages if one circuit springs a leak and loses fluid. That way you still have braking power for the remaining circuit.

Another thing I noticed is that the purple DOT 5 silicone brake fluid turns yellow after a few years. Even the leftover, half a bottle I still had on the shelf, turned the same yellow. I'd imagine that means it's time to replace it all, which I did. I flushed the entire system and replaced it with new DOT 5 silicone brake fluid, about four bottles worth, to get all the old stuff out and completely flush the system of the four year old fluid.

The newly refurbished proportioning/combination valve, just back from Bill Oxley:



And after the installation and the brake bleed-a-thon: