First set back, it won't BRAKE me.

Before I get to the brakes, let just tell you how overjoyed I am that my five year old daughter is just as excited as me to work on "Grandpa's car" as I am. Before we started we took a few minutes to talk to Grandpa up I heaven and let him know what a good job we would do fixing his car. My daughter is in charge of making all the shiny parts shine. She took to it like a pro, buffing the front pumper - 15 years since it had been polished.

Now to the brakes. I was expecting to see dark fluid, boy was I surprised when I took the cap off the master cylinder and found this. It looked like bacon grease. The amount of material that settled out was shocking. It was even under the edge of the master cylinder where the cap sits. I have no idea what caused it.

 

 

 I moved onto the rotors and calipers. Once I got the them off and inspected them I was pleasantly surprised. The rotors look fine, I also removed the wheel bearings. The grease had solidified. No biggy, I was more concerned about their condition and the condition of the spindle. New bearings won't set me back much. 

I found a lot of the sediment in the calipers, which means it is also in the brake lines. I am not sure how to clear the lines and get rid of it. I am thinking I may need to replace the brake lines. Since I need to replace the master cylinder and need new lines, it may make sense to upgrade to power brakes.

I drained the gas tank next, my dad helped me out on this one. Thanks to gas sablizer, he added, the 5 gallons of 15 year old gas, looked and smelled new. Once I get the tank out I am hoping for no varnish. 

Also, got word on the radiator and heater core I had checked out, clean bill of health!!