So, I have this '69 Rover 2000TC "P6" chassis. I bought it about 14 years ago. It's a pretty solid car, but it's got problems. I'm hoping to tap in to the wisdom of the GRM hive mind to see how (or if) to go forward
The biggest stumbling block is (don't laugh) the brakes. Being a '69, this has dual circuit brakes with dual remote boosters, a US specific dual circuit master cylinder and (the worst part) inboard rear disc brakes with Girling swinging calipers. (These are, in brief, an insane Rube-goldbergian nightmare, and were only used on the Rover P6 and some rare Euro Ford with IRS.)
I spent all kinds of money having the boosters, front calipers and the master cylinder overhauled...had ongoing issues with the MC leaking, boosters sticking and never even got to the point of attempting to get the rear brakes functioning. I got as far as pulling the rear calipers off and having them resleeved. (yes, I am using the proper Castrol GT LMA brake fluid.)
At this point, I am pretty disgusted with the OEM system and think it's probably worth re-engineering it. It would be really nice to use commonly available calipers. The rear calipers have a bizarre mounting system (the caliper is secured to the diff with a bolt running fore and aft, the caliper is designed to rock and uses special brake pads with angled friction material.) Screenshot below (not my car) showing a caliper mounted to a diff w/o the disc, the pads or the full e-brake linkage.
And with the discs
I've got a couple of ideas. One is converting to outboard rear brakes (could leave existing inboard discs in place or have spacers made so that the rear halfshafts would have the right distance to the diff hubs.)
The other idea is doing a whole rear IRS unit/subframe swap with something off a different car.
Here's what it's like now (illustration is of an early version P6 with Dunlop rear calipers and separate calipers for the e-brake. ) It's a trick DeDion axle that has a sliding bearing part in the DeDion tube so that the rear wheels can move independently from each other but maintain a constant camber.
The problem is that I don't really have any fab skills. I've done some pretty major work in the past (reshelled an MGB) but am just not at the level of many GRM folks. I can just about spatter weld repair an exhaust system, make a crude bracket or something. I'm not going to be able to make a rear subframe/IRS unit from something else fit or fab custom brackets to mount calipers outboard on the existing suspension.
The other stumbling block for installing a conventional vac booster and M/C is that clearance is very limited around the M/C. I don't see a good way to install a normal vacuum booster. The clutch and brake M/Cs take up essentially the full width of the area where they mount.
Here's a photo showing where the brake and clutch M/Cs _would_mount in an LHD car. (It's where the blanking plate with two bolts is immediately above the frame rail.) Photo is of a RHD V8 car, which is why there are no M/Cs in the photo, but it's the best illustration I can find of the clearance issues. A normal booster would smack into the inner fender on one side and the exhaust header on the other. I would really like to keep power brakes. My car is stored about 45 min away, so I can't easily grab photos of the actual car.
Here's a photo of a LHD US dual circuit car. Unfortunately, it's blurry but if you find the reservoir you can follow it down to see about where the MCs are. TIIGHT.
ANYWAY, I'm just wondering if GRMers have any advice about a.) what to do and b.) who to have do the fab work if going down the restomod route. I'm near Chicago. I bought this car because it was cool, mechanically eccentric/different from the MGB, BMW 2002, etc I had before... but the road less traveled means that the bolt-on repair and mod solutions that fit my skill level just don't exist for this car.
