Just bought an '86 GTX... Have forgotten just how TERRIBLE the brakes really are! What's my best avenue to explore to get the thing to stop on command!
well just fitted a passat servo and master cylinder to mates caddy over the weekend and it transformed the braking, might be worth a go
worst job was taking the servo and cylinder off, kinda hit it off as the car just drove in minutes before and had loads of brand new stuff on it tok 1hr to refit all the stuff and then bleed the brakes and they are spot on
RK - Same as for a Mk1 Golf GTI - uprate the servo to a 22mm (?) 16v unit, braided hoses all round, new fluid and bleed the system. Obviously check pads, discs etc. Does it have the cross linkage to the servo like the Golf, that can be uprated/replaced/adjusted too. Failing that, 256mm front brakes from a valver would sort it! You wanna try the brakes on my Polo if you think yours are bad!
MC & Servo is obvious place to start, you'll prolly need to fiddle/bodge/replace some brake lines to get em to fit the new m/c - have yet to do this on mine as I'm trying to find a mandrel the right size. The cross linkage is the real culpret, some folks say simply adjusting it will improve things, but it's a bee-atch to get to and usually caked in grot too. Autocavan did a tougher replacement, but when they went to the wall the replacement kits soon disappeared. 256mm brakes are another option, did this myself with relative ease on a budget - you can keep the stock 14" rims with this option - if you got bigger wheels then look at the 280mm converstion too. Rear drums also are reported to add some compliance to the brakes, a disc upgrade back there should reduce the amount of travel if none of the previous work completely.. Loads to do really, how keen are you?
