Hey, everybody...thanks for the advice.

Replacing the MC on this car was simple as pie. The new part came with not only a brand-new O ring, but also little plastic fittings and hoses to screw into the ports for bench bleeding! It made that process a snap, even without a bench vise. (I placed the MC flat on top of a big coffee can and bled it by hand.) Bolted it on the car, hooked up the brake lines and -- even before bleeding at the wheels -- the pedal was firm as hell. Unbelievable! Now it stops like an ace.

Oh, and funny story about the vacuum booster: You may remember I wrote that I suspected fluid was seeping into the booster, then getting sucked into my engine during hard left turns, causing a massive smoke-screen effect? Well, my suspicions were confirmed. The vacuum booster was filled with brake fluid all the way up to the height of the MC. There was enough to fill a 3-lb. coffee can over halfway to the brim. I pumped it out with a hand siphon.

So now my car stops way better, and the resultant tightening up of the vacuum system actually made it run a little better. Though I still haven't got my hands on a timing light (it's been a weird week), I experimented a little with turning the distributor, and discovered that turning it about a half-inch counter-clockwise (looking down on it), it ran remarkably smoother. I had to turn down the idle a bit. Does that mean it was too far advanced before? At any rate, soon I shall lock it down official-style, but for now, it's much improved.

You guys are awesome, seriously. Thanks so very, very much for taking time to help out a clueless n00b out here on the vast prairies of America.

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Carmody
Wichita, Kansas USA
Air Capital of the World


1968 220 (my first MB!)