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79 midget braking ?

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pethia

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I am contemplating replacing the front brakes on my 79 midget. Any pad suggestions? I am not used to the difficult braking of non-power brakes and would like to improve my stopping speed. Also, what are the thoughts with regard to silicone vs. dot 3 brake fluid?
Thanks in advance
 
silicone does not eat paint.
 
Can't make any recommendations on pads, other than the Midget's brakes take a little getting used to if you're used to power brakes.

Search for the various threads on the whole DOT 5 vs. DOT 3 debate. Some will say water can still get in and rust things, some say the DOT 5 is hard to bleed, gives a soft pedal feel and so on. I use DOT 5, and have no problems. Biggest advantages for me are not destroying paint and not attracting moisture to rust the insides of the brakes.
 
I don't recall anyone talking about the actual pads on these boards - my sense is that while there might be racing pads that have to do with heat, after that, the regular pads you order through Moss or Whomever would be fine - I also suspect there isn't the selection that there might be for a newer car. It is a Midget after all and while meant to be driven enthusiastically, they aren't exactly muscle cars (with only a few exceptions)

BTW I plan to use DOT 5 for the paint saving reasons mentioned.
 
If you are having hard pedal effort / topping issues chance are it's not the pads. Ever replace the brake hoses, especially the flex hose that goes to the rear brakes. It collapses and then guess what front brakes doing all the work. Bugsy my '68 can lock up all four wheels with not a whole lot of effort.
 
It's not so much the pad material and the fluid but the methodology and "rebiultness" of the entire brake system.

The pedal effort should be nominal with non power assist with your 1700# car.

There are a number of pad materials availiable..you might use a semi met pad set. In the rear you are pretty limited in lining and dont have much of a selection....The usual suspects sell the low bid from a country of undetermined origin shoes. If you can find a brake rebuilder who will use a known quantity shoe material and do bonding on your cores you might gain something. Use DOT4 Castrol LMA.

As I said...you skill in assembly might count more than the sum of the parts.
 
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