Catching up on the Cabiolet's to-do list

[JPX]

So since my Subaru has been successfully reassembled, I was able to move my Cabriolet back into the garage just before the Norcal storm hit tonight (happiness is a dry Cabby). The AC Clutch Bearing seems to be holding up well so on to other things.

On the agenda:
DONE:Changing out the transmission oil from 80W to synchromesh .
EDIT: I has since dumped the synchromesh route and use straight gear oil....cheaper, simpler, and in the end, just need to take it easy on the revs when shifting to avoid grinds.

DONE:Flushing front brakes.....and boy is this an ugly one. I was trying to figure out why no fluid would come out when I completely removed the bleed screws on the front calipers. Turns out the hole was clogged with rust.....clogged enough that stepping on the pedal wouldn't push it out! I stuck a safety pin in the holes to clear them out.

This was able to bleed out this filthy stream of fluid (color of syrup):

I used 16 ounces of fluid to flush out the reservior and the front calipers. I know, I know....should do far rear first. But I'm going to flow almost 32 ounces through the drums when this is all over. Right now the FRONT of the car is in the air for the rest of the projects.

Other front activities (not done yet):
Replacing shift linkage bushings....clink,clink, clink. See anything wrong here?

Replacing the broken highbeam light and grill. Unfortunately this will only be a hammer out instead of a core support replacement.

Still trying to schedule in replacing the
right axle and front strut mounts. Not enough time in my day for all this!

Upcoming : Repainting replacement rear hatch (photos soon).


Modified by JPX at 11:05 PM 3-31-2010

[JASGTi]

Your strut mounts look like mine

[SammySJ99]

JPX... You know I live in San Jose too... If you ever feel the need to help out a fellow dubber who has NO idea what she is doing... Let me know. I could always use help... I have a list too...

Shifter bushings
Lingage
New front brake pads
oil change
coolant change...

Easy stuff... LOL

good luck getting your stuff fixed. Umlike your cabby. Mine spend the night in the storm... But she did not flood this time!!!

Happyness is a dry cabby the night after a storm.

[JPX]

Tonight was a little rushed, but quite productive.

Headlight bucket was kind of torn up. I fixed the alignment screws and refitted the bucket back onto the car. I've left the new grill off for now until I pound out the rest of the radiator support. Funny, I currently have a classic 2 light Rabbit look going on right now.

Picked up a set of shift linkage bushings from Sunnyvale VW. $9 for a bag of little plastic bits. This was crazy easy to do. The bushing on the relay lever was the money fix. Now the shifter loads gears with authority and doesn't clink anymore. Sweetness.

Oh, and that Synchromesh really works great! ZERO grind compared to lots of grind before with 80W dino gear oil. The transmission is so much more pleasant to conduct business with......even when cold!

And my wife helped me flush out the rear drum brakes. Only one of the wheel cylinders was clogged with corrosion. In the end, I used pretty much an entire 32 ounce bottle of brake fluid for the flush. Braking feel hasn't changed much - maybe that's a good thing for now. But it feels good to know that the icky old fluid is gone. Not even sure when the last flush was (years?)

I also confirmed that the strut mounts are making the clunking noise. I think I might just change the mounts and leave the rest of the front suspension alone if nothing else it broken.

I didn't get to the clutch cable - maybe this weekend. But I really want to drive the Cabriolet to work tomorrow, so I was hurrying to get it all back together. Really a drag the San Jose weather forecast calls for lots of rain.

Quote, originally posted by SammySJ99 »

JPX... You know I live in San Jose too... If you ever feel the need to help out a fellow dubber who has NO idea what she is doing... Let me know. I could always use help... I have a list too...

We should get the cars and tools together sometime!


Modified by JPX at 11:06 PM 3-31-2010

[JPX]

No Cabriolet action for 3 weeks since we had gone to India for vacation. Weather was great there - but returning to the terrible rains back in San Jose has been a drag.

Sunny day today. So I cleaned up the garage and decided to replace the clutch cable. Fairly easy. Old one was permanently bent into a weird curve shape and would bind with even no load.

I hit the new one with a lot of lithium spray grease before putting it back in. I still need to tweak it a little since the freeplay is changing with the first stretch.

But what a difference! With the recent shift linkage bushing change, Synchromesh fluid change, and now a super smooth clutch action.....this car is a fun stick shifter!

Only thing is that it appears my waterpump is starting to make noise. Wow, nothing stays fixed for long on this car. Gotta get that straightened out so it does not interfere with the upcoming sunny days.

[JPX]

I washed the top yesterday but it was still stained and generally grubby.

Since it was raining out today, I spent a little while in the garage with a spray bottle of Meguires vinyl cleaner/conditioner and a nail brush.

Seems to be making a difference. After I get done with the top, I will also try cleaning the boot cover.


Modified by JPX at 1:34 PM 5-5-2007

[JPX]

Today I finally got around to changing the air filter.....the first time since I bought the car. And it is most likely an air filter that has been on the car for a better part of 3 years.

Leaves, lint, dirt, and a lot of stuff I have never seen so much of in the worst filters I have run across. Checked the fuel tank and pump screen - all good there.

And what a pain it is to get into a CIS airbox! What the hell? I had to remove the battery to put it all back together. Too many hoses the fight against when lifting the top of the box.

I also have something noisy spinning from the lower pulleys. I've ruled out the power steering pump, the alternator and the tensioner. I sure hope it is not that stupid AC compressor again. But I have this sinking feeling it is the waterpump. Need to remove a bunch of belts to verify.

Modified by JPX at 1:45 PM 5-5-2007


Modified by JPX at 11:09 PM 3-31-2010

[foursixthree]

I gotta change mine also.Sounds like I have alot of fun ahead of me when i go to change it.

[JPX]

Okay this isn't exactly maintenace, but it is for the good of the Cabby.

A while ago I had picked up a straight rear hatch lid at the junkyard to replace the dented one.

Took all the fasteners and hardware off.

Cleaned up the panel and did a quick scuff with 320.

Next up was to lay down some Duplicolor Bronze Wheel Paint to match with the Bronze Grey Metallic factory paint.

Since I was on a roll, I hit the rear fender where the clearcoat had totally given up the ghost.....must have been a respray in its previous life. And then I got to see the unpleasant color match problem.....the fender is the Duplicolor paint and the hatch is the factory color in this picture.

Hmmm.....back to the drawing board. Both fender and hatch need a different color.

Insult to injury..... there were two little fisheyes on the new hatch that I couldn't shake.....and they were right in the big flat spot by the door lock. Bah! They are the two bright white spots in the center of the photo below:

Tried to dig out the stupid fisheyes, fill and primer.

And then went shopping for another color....Duplicolor Arizone Beige, it matches a whole lot better even though it is a hair "golder" than the factory paint. Shot the panel again.... But the paint started to peel in a big spot by the lock hole.

Today I had to go back down to the original red paint to level everything back out. I used a lot of Prep-sol to prevent fisheyes again and sprayed some green self etching primer. So far to good......but the real test is when the color goes back on.



Modified by JPX at 1:18 PM 5-5-2007

[icky1.8T]

hey looking good...funny that original color looks like mine ....stinks you had to do all that painting just to have to take it all down again . but good find. keep the updates coming

[JPX]

The rear hatch panel saga continues.....I just keep doing this the hard way. Now that a lot of paint is back on the panel, I have some material to work with wetsanding back down level. That rework area has been a pain to smooth out....lots of 1500 grit on a block and rubbing off all the stuff I put on (again). But I think I can shoot the last color coat tomorrow and then move on - getting sick of working on that.

I finally stopped messing with the on-car painting/clear coating for now. I needed to get the car out of the garage to work on my Subaru's knocking sound.

But I got some stuff done.....I hit the rear Clipper arch with a clear coat (photo is before the coat)

I also attempted to make the driver side seat belt retract better by washing the belt in some soapy water based on this thread. It does retract slightly better, but it still likes to just flop onto the floor.

The trim pieces are back on and the car looks a lot better. Not perfect.....but I didn't want my wetsand/buffing panels to be too smooth or they'd make the rest of the car look bad! Can't wait to drive it to work tomorrow!

[JPX]

I took apart my Subaru yet again and have been relying heavily on the Cabriolet for the daily commute . As a result I have actually racked up 3000 miles since I bought it in November!

Today's work involved an oil change with a Bosch filter. Oddly enough I did another transmission oil change out of paranoia. This time I used 1 qt Synchromesh and 1 qt 80W90. It shifts a hair notchier than before, but is reasonably smooth. Clutch cable needed adjusting as well - and may still need more yet since it is some touchy. Since I don't know how old the clutch is, I must assume that inevitability is not too far away.

Finally I think I got a handle on the noisy squealing sound from the v-belt area. I had a assumed that a water pump bearing was dying - and it may yet conk out (don't know how old it is). But I found a huge amount of slack in the AC/Crank/Waterpump pulley. Tightened it all back up and the sound was gone. Ahhhhh.....I can't believe how much quieter the car is again.

I keep putting off the blown CV boot replacement - even though I was in the general vicinity today. Still has grease in the joint .

Oh and as a strange and slightly embarrassing sidebar - we left the key in the ignition of the Suburban last week and drained the battery. How weird it was to use the Cabriolet to jump start my truck.


Modified by JPX at 1:41 AM 6-25-2006

[SammySJ99]

JXP...

I to have the axle that is on its way out and I have also bee putting it off...

I am waiting to sell the SRT-4 engine I have ao pay for the coilovers I want to put in the car. And at the same time replace the axles.

I have still yet to see you putting afount SAn Jose... And I look... LOL

[JPX]

Finally got around to reassembling the replacement hatch panel now that the paint has been buffed out:

Removing the wires from the panels was an important step to retain all the connectors.

Used a piece of thick plastic container to pry off the emblems.

Mounted it up:

Met some fellow VW folks at Treasure Island

Modified by JPX at 11:12 PM 3-31-2010

[xyc0n]

Looks like a damn close match! Can't even notice it. Good work.

[tlaskows]

Good job!

Number one to do task is to keep the damn thing running... all year round.

Tom

[JPX]

Thanks guys! Today was a very satisfying dash tidying up day.

* Fixed the dash clock - the old one was cracked.
* Replaced the heater controls - old one had broken mounting tabs
Now I can enjoy the luxury of turning off the heat during the summer!
* Retrofitted the headlight switch backlight with an LED.

Also installed my replacement oil dipstick funnel.....broke the original one while messing with the AC compressor a while back.

Edited since I forgot to include a bunch of other work on the car.
7/11/2006 EDIT
Valve cover gasket replacement and cover painting
I was wondering why 7 of the nuts were easy to remove and the 8th required an allen key own: to remove. Then it occurred to me why the valve cover wasn't quite sitting right on the head:

I stopped by a couple of places today to get the replacement valve cover stud - no one had the shouldered stud and I was even GIVEN a straight one by one place. I'm not feeling to great about 7 shouldered and 1 non-shouldered stud. :-k

7/12/2006
This evening I finished degreasing the valve cover and CHEAPED out on paint - you can't imagine how many $6.99 rattle cans I have used for various projects in the last 6 months.

So I grabbed a can of white enamel left from painting my youngest daughter's bed - one of the few "decorating" projects that did not necessitate Pottery Barn colors.

Boy if anything is leaking, I sure will see it in a hurry. [-o<

7/14/2006
After I put the valve cover back on, I forgot to put the windage tray back in after tightening all 8 nuts!

And then on top of that, the tiny rubber grommet at the tip of the accelerator cable crumbled in my hands.

But, finally, it is all back together. I cleaned up the intake manifold and wiped down a lot of grease from the hoses/tubing. That white valve cover does not stand a chance - but it will be fun to look at for a little while.

Ready to drive for the weekend! Yay!

7/16/2006
Front struts, an axle and a bunch of other junk
This morning I loaded up the kids to take them to ballet class, started the engine and found my gas pedal lying limply on the floor. The bushing to the accelerator cable disintegrated and the cable no longer stays connected to the pedal. So we didn't get out of the garage.

*clenches fists and drops to knees while gritting teeth together in frustration*

I'm going to rig it up with zip ties and some rubber washers to hobble through the rest of the weekend.

Placed an order for the replacement bushing one on http://4crawler.com/Diesel/ForSale/AccelPedalBushing.shtml.
Bummer - no Cabby action today. :x

7/18/2006
Got a wild hair and took of the left side drive axle since the CV boots were puking grease all over the place. And it was starting to get a little noisier as grit entered the boot. Things went well....nothing stripped, broken or screwed up.

7/19/2006
I got my high-tech throttle pedal bushing in the mail. Â But I am satisfied with the ziptie for the moment but will change it shortly. Â I will probably also buy some shift bushing parts from the same guy since my shift rod bearing crapped out.

First priority is working on that new axle I took out yesterday.......So I got a new strut mount and changed that. Â That could have gone smoother, but successful nonethless. Â Strut is okay for now. Â I will totally need alignment since I completely lost track of where the eccentric bolt was set. Â I still need to change the other strut mount as well.....should go easier since I have a feel for everything (and don't need to mess with the axle on that side).

Sorry to disappoint, but I flaked and decided not to change the diff seal. :? Â Â Just cleaned everything up to prep for the new axle.

The axle was a bit of a headache because I had to pack the grease for the inner CV - YUCK. Â That grease sucks. Â I got it EVERYWHERE. Â I got everything bolted together, but not everything torqued just yet. Â I want to put the car back on the ground before muscling everything - especially that axle nut (177ft-lbs). Â I'll do that tomorrow....too tired now.

I took the axle core back to the store today. Â The parts guy gave me a roughing up about returning a core [*******]8 months[/size] after buying the rebuilt one. Â But I got my $60 core credit on a gift card......and you can bet I will be using it for SOMETHING later.

7/20/2006
Today was simple, but I wanted to take my time on torqueing everything methodically so I wouldn't miss anything.

I also cleaned up the axle grease that spun onto the fender well.

I found that in my rabid camera shots of the projects that I had a great reference photo for the eccentric alignment bolt position before I took it apart.  Lined it up back to that position and was all set.  This assumes the original alignment was worth a damn. :x  This buys me a little time to work up to changing the other front strut mount later on.

Before and after shots:

7/23/2006
With the driver's side strut mount replaced, I took on the passenger side. I had the assembly out of the car in 15 minutes. Compressing the spring takes the longest time without air tools. But when I took the assembly out, I found the strut insert was leaking. Bah! Need a new strut insert! Which means I have to replace the other side too. Shucks.....and right after I had just but that side back together. own:

I didn't have a pipe wrench big enough to take the cap off the strut insert. But channel locks and the jack bar worked.

This is how bad the passenger side mount was: [Click here to watch VW-Mk1-Front-Strut-Bearing-Worn]Click here to watch.

Put it all back together and set down the passenger side. Repeated for the driver side. I hate doing things over - but I have to say it is good practice and I get it done faster now. :::

And I'm standing there looking and the engine bay and realize that the passenger side mount is missing the washer on top of the mount nut. WTF?! :cussing: Awww man......I had put the washer UNDER the mount for some boneheaded reason. ](*,) That's what I get for rushing. So this afternoon I have to take that apart AGAIN and assemble it correctly.

That means I will have removed and installed BOTH sides TWICE. #-o

Modified by JPX at 1:48 PM 5-5-2007


Modified by JPX at 8:14 PM 1-30-2008

[JPX]

This week I splurged and bought a small steam cleaner specifically for my cars. The Cabriolet got first shot at it.

I tackled the driver side floor mat first since it was pretty dirty and easy to set out to dry overnight. I had spilled a soda on it that morning, so it was a great way to see how well the stain would come out. I liked the results a lot, so I moved onto the seats next.

The upholstery throughout the car is in excellent shape - no fading or tears but just a bit filthy. The front seats are going to take several passes to really get the dirt out, but the rear seat results are amazing. And they were so easy to clean when removed from the car (2 big screws for the back and 2 little screws for the bottom)

Rear Seat Bottom Cushion and the carpet with the front seats removed.

Before and After - Rear Seat Backrest

And prepare to be grossed out - this is the water the steam cleaner picked up. Clearly somone spilled coffee in the rear seat many times as shown in the nozzle.

I'm very excited about this steam cleaner because the results are so immediate on the Cabriolet. And I know my Subaru needs a deep cleaning as well. It facilitates the OCD tendencies I have with keeping my cars clean.

Oh and Mr. Clean Magic Eraser rules!

Modified by JPX at 11:16 PM 3-31-2010


Modified by JPX at 11:17 PM 3-31-2010

[vwluger22]

keep up the good work im just starting to make my to do list. by the way where did you get the steam cleaner and how much?


Modified by vwluger22 at 10:31 AM 9-23-2006

[foursixthree]

WOW!!! That steam clean looks HOT!

[Kevswhitecabby]

wow...that is really impressive i must say!!!! what exactly are the products ur usin....

[SammySJ99]

Wow... WHen I get Jessi back can I come over and do my car? LOL

Did you clean the matching baby seats too? LOL

**Note: his baby seats in the cabby match the seats... LOL**

[JPX]

Quote, originally posted by SammySJ99 »

**Note: his baby seats in the cabby match the seats... LOL**

It's true



Modified by JPX at 11:19 PM 3-31-2010

[Kevswhitecabby]

u ahve such a clean restoration...i luv it!

[JPX]

Thanks Kevswhitecabby for the kind words.

Tonight I finally got back into my coveralls and got out some wrenches. This is a warm up for an inner tie rod replacement on my Subaru

First up was a routine tire rotation. But it was a good chance to clean the backsides of all four wheels and check to see if anything else is broken. Rear wheel bearings seem smooth and somewhat tight for now and lots of brake pad/shoe meat left.

Second was taking on the messed up shift rod bearing bracket.

The old bearing was actually fine, but it was a squishy rubber one. I put in the UHMWPE bearing from MissingLinkZ which was conveniently packaged with a pair of screws and locknuts to replace the blown rivets on the bracket.

Cleaned everything up and made sure to reinstall the shift rod back inthe clamp the way I found it.

Wow - this is a tight feeling setup. A lot less floppiness in the shifter.


Modified by JPX at 11:21 PM 3-31-2010

[JPX]

Just a quick note.....I had a horrible day driving the Cabby yesterday because the shift rod clamp came loose. No fun searching for 1st gear in traffic.

Got home, slid the rod back into the clamp and hit it with 15ft-lbs torque and life is good. Ah what fun to drive it! I highly recommend the MissinglinkZ bushing(s).

[JPX]

This evening I took a look at the spark plugs that had been in the car since I bought it last year (has it really been one year already?!).

This is the first pass of my tune up following a distributor cap problem. I was a little miffed that the plugs are Autolites. :x So I guess new Bosch plugs are in order at any rate.

The gaps ranged from 0.028 to 0.034. And I think plug #1 was not tight enough - a little too easy to turn when I was taking it off.

I was relieved to see that there was not a lot of carbon or evidence of blow-by. But it is clear that the engine it not tuned as finely as it could be.

After I put everything back together, I turned the distributor slightly (I mean really slightly) clockwise and the engine smoothed out A LOT. So I will carry my 13mm wrench with me tomorrow to see how this setting goes and adjust if needed.

And if I find it is being a totally PITA, then I will use this as an excuse to buy a timing light. O

Oh and I shot a bunch of lithium white grease on the shift mechanisms to see if eliminated the shifter's front-to-back squeak (after engine is warmed up). :shrug:

[56-okrasa]

Have you tried using those Bosch 4 electrode spark plug available for use on VW Cabbies?
I've got a set of those that I've had on my engine & is still pulling strong after 50K miles. I also noticed a slightly better torque at mid range RPM, better mileage ang lower emissions.

[icky1.8T]

Autolites for Cabbies... yeah get those Bosch Super Plugs in there pronto. what exactly is the shifter doing when warmed up and did your solution help? looks like you advanced your timing a little which would smooth things out...I'd recommend getting a timing light anyway. most are available for between 30-50 dollars and is a useful diag tool to have.

[leeko]

hrm. what kinda steam cleaner is that.
i want my hands on one of those.

my interior is white ^_^

[JPX]

Quote, originally posted by icky1.8T »

what exactly is the shifter doing when warmed up and did your solution help?

I think I forgot to regrease the black lever ball after wiping it clean. The new shift rod bushing and the ball just needed a little grease to get it working right.

And I had to back off the timing on the drive into work today. It was detontating WAY too much. Now everything is working.....well, fine. Pricing advanceable timing lights .....yeesh $100.

[YJSAABMAN]

Yeah, the good dial-back lights are not cheap! I just have a cheapy SunPro from PepBoys.

[JPX]

I picked up a vacuum brake bleeder since I have never owned one and have three cars to flush fluid on now. So I figured I needed another tool to add to the garage.

It is way convenient being able to bleed brakes by myself and usually without jacking up the car. I flushed a rear wheel as a test and it works great - but the clean fluid flushed clean, then got dirty again quickly.

Not satisfied with the continually "browning" of fresh fluid on the Cabriolet, I determined that the source of the problem was from the reservoir itself.

So I removed all the fluid I could from the reservoir with a syringe a friend gave me a long time ago (I think it was used for horse tranquilizers? :? ) The screen cup was also filthy - this came out with a pair of needlenose pliers.

Then I placed a lot of towels under the master cylinder to catch the inbound mess of brake fluid. Gave it a big firm pull and it popped off. Watch out for two rubber grommets underneath.

Brian suggested brake fluid cleaner - and it would be a fast and easy way to get to the "hidden" compartment in the reservoir. But I ran the reservoir through water with a toothbrush and pipe cleaners since I didn't have any brake cleaner handy.

Then to make sure no lint or water was left behind, I flushed the reservoir with fresh brake fluid. I also cleaned up the cap and the cap gasket.

Pressed the cleaned reservoir on the master cylinder, filled and bled all four wheels.
7mm - Rear wheel cylinder bleeder screws
11mm - Front caliper bleeder screws
Ahhhhhh

[JPX]

It's been a while since I updated this this thread, so here is the catch up.

Back in December 2006 I had a REALLY squishy brake pedal. On a mountain road, downhill, in traffic, with space aliens chasing me with laser beams blasting craters on the payment around me!

Since I noticed a damp spot on the rear axle, I zeroed in on the wheel cylinder. Sure enough, upon taking apart the drum, there it was - and the shoes were contaminated with fluid

One of the pistons on the cylinder was completely seized from corrosion - and the other one, while it moved, was heading that way. There was crap all over the bore and the pistons.

After spending a lot of time on cars with all disc brakes, it took me a while to orient myself with drums - cursed springs and more springs. This is how I dealt with the big bottom spring to pry it on to the new shoes.

But after messing around with it, I successfully reinstalled the shoes and the drum........only to realize that I forgot to install the little spring/cups after tapping the damn bearing cap back on! ]

And that parking brake cable is NOT for the weak at heart to remove or install .

I put the car back on the ground, bled the brakes and drove it to Santa Cruz for the local GTG. The pedal still went to the floor a couple of times - a little unnerving during the drive over the hill.

So unfortunately, the next step was to replace the master cylinder.

I ran out of time to work on the car at all for a while. But to make sure the project ended on a perfectly crappy note, while moving the cars around in my driveway, I almost put the Cabriolet through the side of my Suburban when the brake pedal went to the floor again.

I made it a point to prepare for the upcoming work with some new gooides: I finally stepped up to a pressure brake bleeder. Now I can waste brake fluid by the gallon rather than merely cups. :yikes: I took a test run with air pressure only and it works great!

I also treated myself to two sets of Craftsman wrenches - a 6 side box end set and a metric flare nut wrench set. That 11mm flare wrench is a god-send.


Modified by JPX at 11:29 PM 3-31-2010

[JPX]

Fast forward a couple of months to March 2007 - So after many weeks of just not doing anything with the Cabriolet, I finally replaced the master cylinder. It went fairly smoothly in about 2 hours. Added another hour cleaning up the brake fluid that inevitably spills everywhere.

Some tips:
- 13mm deep socket and a universal joint is a must for the mounting nuts.
- Do not even THINK of attempting to remove brake lines without an 11mm flare nut wrench..

I bench bled the new master cylinder and popped everything back in the car. Then I used my fancy pressure bleeder. OMG! How did I ever live without this thing? Piece of cake bleed job on all four wheels. And when it was all over - a rock hard brake pedal!

With my confidence level up, I look apart the right rear wheel to change the wheel (slave) cylinder. Other than the usual fighting with big springs and the parking brake cable, it looked like things were going to be a snap.

Wrong. ] Store was already closed and I lost another day with this headache.

The replacement wheel cylinder's mounting bolts (2X 5mm allen) are not in the right place. The cylinder holes don't line up and I can't mount it to the backing plate. The other wheel went fine......must be some machining tolerance error.

I took the Autozone wheel cylinder back and found that THREE others at the store had the same problem with fit. I finally ended up paying a few bucks more for a wheel cylinder at Kragen that fits correctly.

Another difference I noticed on this "bad batch" of Autozone cylinders is that the mount holes are not drilled all the way through the casting like the Kragen and OEM cylinders. And the spring on the first Autozone cylinder (pictured) was way too strong compared to the Kragen and OEMs.

I finally got everything reassembled with the new brake shoes (damn those springs)

Then put my fancy new custom car cover for the Cabby. This one is a higher end "Stormproof" cover made by http://www.coverking.com.

What a funny profile! ork:

It fits very nicely, although I think the mirror pockets could have been placed a bit farther back so that the elastic fits a little better under the front bumper.

Now the Cabriolet can be protected while outside in bad weather and I have more flexibility with my garage space.


Modified by JPX at 11:25 PM 3-31-2010