1976 Scorpion; Gold

The plater spent some time with these wheel bolts (black zinc) but they did not come out as we wanted so I painted them.
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Attention to detail, I love it.

Your Testarossa is my poster dream car as an '80s kid. Always preferred it to the Countach.

My grandparents had an R107 like yours, used to ride around on the parcel shelf behind the front seats! Times were different back then. Theirs was a '70s brown 6-cyl 280SL grey market car, with a 5-speed manual transmission, fancy Blaupunkt stereo with equalizer on a long flexible stalk, and tartan cloth seats!
 
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Work and cold weather are hampering this project. I now have everything below to get it all back together to drive. My short list for when I have a free weekend:
1) Bleed the brakes
2) Check the vacuum booster works
3) Change oil filter while car is in the air
4) Hook up the vacuum pump to the booster and the HVAC system with new hoses and a 'T'
5) Replace the plastic "T" in the fuel line to the carbs with a metal "T"
6) Re-fit the old Bayless air filter assemblies
7) Re-fit the coil
8) Re-fit the wheels/tires
9) Drive Car!

Belts, hoses and new air-filter box can come later; I'd like to get it running first.
 
Brake bleeding done.
Oil filter changed.
Vacuum temporarily hooked to the booster and it works.
Need to replace the undertray and get the car back down on the ground so I can finish up stuff in the engine compartment.
 
Finally some warm weather. With the underpan off, I replaced the oil filter. I still have some originals.

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icr said:
Work and cold weather are hampering this project. I now have everything below to get it all back together to drive. My short list for when I have a free weekend:
1) Bleed the brakes
2) Check the vacuum booster works
3) Change oil filter while car is in the air
4) Hook up the vacuum pump to the booster and the HVAC system with new hoses and a 'T'
5) Replace the plastic "T" in the fuel line to the carbs with a metal "T"
6) Re-fit the old Bayless air filter assemblies
7) Re-fit the coil
8) Re-fit the wheels/tires
9) Drive Car!

Belts, hoses and new air-filter box can come later; I'd like to get it running first.
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About the brakes. I hope some of the Scorpion owners who have piled of lots of miles will chime in here. The stock 1976 Scorpion I drove back around 1980 tended to lock up the front tires under heavy braking (even when using the 'rising foot pressure as weight transfers to the front' technique. (Stock wheels and tires). If I had a Scorpion, I might consider getting rid of the vacuum pump and booster. This would require more foot pressure to stop and might give the driver more control. Has anyone tried this?
 
johnph said:
About the brakes. I hope some of the Scorpion owners who have piled of lots of miles will chime in here. The stock 1976 Scorpion I drove back around 1980 tended to lock up the front tires under heavy braking (even when using the 'rising foot pressure as weight transfers to the front' technique. (Stock wheels and tires). If I had a Scorpion, I might consider getting rid of the vacuum pump and booster. This would require more foot pressure to stop and might give the driver more control. Has anyone tried this?
Click to expand...
all of my scorpions have the booster delete.
 
I've got a '76 that has the booster delete mod (in fact I'll bet the original booster from my car is in the pile of boosters Mark posted above).
My car has Wilwood calipers and larger discs. My impression of the brakes is that they feel a little funny, kinda like they are drum brakes. The initial bite is low, but with increased pedal pressure the car stops. It just takes a lot more pressure than I expect, but its easy to get accustomed to. I'm not sure what pads are on the car, maybe that's it? But it doesn't feel like improvement could be made with "grippyer" pads.
I've never driven a Scorpion without the mod, but I would probably delete the booster if I were building a Scorpion.
YMMV!
 
I was over to visit my father (nearly 90 yo). He has three Alfa Duettos and one has the booster out currently. It is the same Bonaldi booster but I can confirm that the threads for the brake lines are indeed 3/8" x 24 and not metric 10mm x 1.25 pitch like the Lancia.
 
I have been reading all of the comments about too aggressive brakes on the front and various ways you guys have dealt with it but I don't recall anyone increasing rear brake function (bigger rotors, better calipers etc) to balance braking.
 
This is the list of modifications the P.O. Did with my Montecarlo. I have not had any brake issues on street driving. Al be it in the dry only so fare.
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carl said:
I have been reading all of the comments about too aggressive brakes on the front and various ways you guys have dealt with it but I don't recall anyone increasing rear brake function (bigger rotors, better calipers etc) to balance braking.
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To your point a second booster for the rear brakes could deal with part of the problem, they already have 38mm rear calipers.

Personally I have gotten very used to the force to bring an X to a swift, easily modulated, stop. I find my boosted 124 brakes painfully touchy as are the difficult to modulate Miata power brakes (All similar weight cars). Yes the power brake cars are a little easier to drive in some ways, they are not easier to stop properly. Not a big fan of power brakes on light cars.

Now get off my lawn.
 
If I drive my (over boosted brakes) spider for awhile and then jump in one of my Xs then the brakes feel...er...lacking. If I do the opposite then the spider feels way too touchy. My Miatas felt fine and if I jump in the GTI after driving any car it feels like it wants to slam to a stop just by thinking of slowing down.

The point I was trying to make is you all complain the fronts are too strong in relation to the rears but no one focused on making the rears stronger. I don't really have a dog in this fight, I never had a scorpion and have never even sat in one.
 
carl said:
The point I was trying to make is you all complain the fronts are too strong in relation to the rears but no one focused on making the rears stronger. I don't really have a dog in this fight, I never had a scorpion and have never even sat in one.
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Since majority of braking comes from the front that is emphasis is. Look at how many vehicles have come with disc brakes up front and drums in the rear.

Any one solution of just different master cylinder, rotors, calipers, booster isn't going to be ideal for all every condition.

The solution for the Scorpiocarlo I've posted about here previously. Add an adjustable brake proportioning valve. There are cheap level and knob versions or splurge for a LED screen one.

Orange-bias-dial-angle.jpg


rally.build

Monit Brake Bias Adjusters

The New Monit Brake DialDesigned to work with all pedal boxes and balance bars, the new patent pending Monit Brake Bias Dial allows drivers to easily view, and adjust, the position that their brake bias is set too. Reset the display to ‘zero’ at their preferred position and confidently adjust...
rally.build

With an adjustable one in the passenger compartment you can change for the conditions (wet, cold, fat passenger,..) on the fly. Do a test in dry to find your setting, do a test in wet to find that setting. Then use a label maker to print both settings (Dry +8 Wet +4) and stick beside or directly on the knob.

Its like having a trailer brake controller for your trailer's electric brakes. Too much and your trailer brakes lock up. Not enough and tow vehicle is doing all the braking. Find the sweet spot. That's what its for. Sidenote- If you are ever towing and trailer gets into a death sway quickly adjust all bias to trailer and tap brake and she'll straighten right out like you dropped an anchor. I don't want to remember all the times I've had to.

Does your Miata and GTi have ABS? If so then there is why.
 
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