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Back from vacation, back to the garage.
I've decided not to use the MP Brakes brake kit. It's basically early '70s Ford discs and, while they'd likely be adequate, I've decided I want something a little more aggressive - the car's likely to be used for occasional towing and - odd as it may sound - I'll probably take the thing out on the track for at least a couple track-school events to get the chassis dialed in. Corvettes with the Z51 package use big and very heavy 13x1.1-inch rotors with slightly oddball 2-piston PBR calipers. Baer Racing in Phoenix adapts these parts to a bunch of different cars. 1964 Galaxies, needless to say, are not among them. Still, the basic bracketry required to make it all work is essentially a couple flat steel plates, and Baer has a rear kit for 9-inch Ford rearends (seems expensive until you start pricing the individual parts) that should be a good match.
I've picked up a pair of junkyard 1969 Lincoln Mark III one-piece hub/rotor assemblies ($20). I've also ordered a set of PBR calipers and Z51 rotors redrilled for the Ford 5x4.5" bolt circle from Baer ($650). The game plan is to have the rotor part machined off the Lincoln rotors, leaving just a hub which will fit nicely into the Baer rotors. This will also space the wheels out approximately 1/4" on each side, leaving just a little more clearance between tire and upper ball joint. The rotors will also have to be reduced slightly in diameter to fit inside the 16" wheels (Z51 Corvettes use 17" diameter wheels.) Now, to find someone to do the machine work...
Well, Sunday the 14th was wasted.
I spent most of the day cleaning, grinding, sanding, etc. the front frame. Once it was degreased and cleaned, I then coated it with semi-gloss POR-15. Unfortunately, the cleaning solvents I used apparently softened the spots of what was left of the original Ford paint enough that the POR-15 wouldn't stick to it worth a damn.
Very frustrating, and I'm not prepared to waste another day on trying to clean it all off down to bare metal. To hell with it - with a couple floor jacks and some 4x4s I can drop the frame out from under the body and have the damn thing sandblasted.
By the way, on the subject of POR-15: I've never used the stuff before, and I can't speak for its long-term durability, but all the warnings on the can are very true: if you get it on your skin you will wear it for a few days. Best approach I found: don't bother with solvents, use plenty of skin lotion to soften up your skin, then use plenty of soap and scrub like hell in the shower. That is, if you care - after all, big blotches of paint on hands and arms are a great conversation piece.
And a pat on the back to "Tech Center NW" in Tuilatin, Oregon (don't have the phone # handy, he advertises in Hemmings though): my POR-15 arrived the day after I placed the order. Good thing, too: the UPS strike started the day after that.
A few weeks back I mentioned making room in the garage for the SHO due back from the paint shop? Well, it may finally be back this week. It's turned into quite a production, and I'm getting a whole lot of work for what I'm paying, but they've been slipping in a few smaller and more immediately profitable jobs ahead of it.
The brake work progresses: the parts are now at Performance Fabrication in San Carlos for machining.