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Been too quiet recently so wanted to post a few pics of some caipers I recently got from a Fiat Dino, thinking they might be the same as early Goose (i.e., iron, 3-piston Fiat Girling) units. Daryl was kind enought to send pics from his car and this confirmed that the casting numbers are the same, so at least the main caliper bodies match. Most of the small bits looked to match as well, but I couldn't tell about the anti-rattle plates (see photo #3) or the 10.0mm thick caliper spacers in photo #2. Note the bright silver plating on the freshly exposed surfaces!

I haven't removed the pistons yet but assume they will be 29-30mm tall. If that's the case, these will be rebuilt using SS pistons and a seal kit sold for early Miuras (i.e., the ones w/ solid disk only; later Miuras had slightly different 'small' piston diameters). Has anyone successfully used early Miura or Fiat Dino brake kits to rebuild early Goose rear brakes? If it works the kits are plentiful & not outrageou$Smiler
Regards to all, curious what you think? Nate S

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I had to replace (and overhaul) both rear calipers this spring. I was told they are Girling ORA (same as Big Block Cobra and Lister Jag) If you google Crosthwaite and Gardiner they have replacement components or Classic Garage they have a set for sale.

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Hi Nate, Hope you are well.
I rebuilt some Mangusta rear calipers last year and was able to buy all the parts off the shelf from John Freeth at performance braking here in the UK. John worked as an engineer at Girling for 25 years so knows a thing or two about these brakes!

His replacement pistons are nickel plated mild steel as original. If you have access to stainless ones for similar money that would be a better choice. John can sell you just the seals if required.

http://www.performancebraking.com/

Johnny
Any good machinist with a lathe can duplicate the plated mild steel pistons from 304 or other stainless steel, thus removing pits from rusting cutting the seals from your list of problems. For some reason, Euro brake calipers- including Ferrari and Porsche- nearly always use plated mild steel for their caliper pistons, while everyone in the US including aftermarket use stainless steel since 20 years ago. Curious...
As most know, I use aluminum ATE 2-piston calipers once on 911-S front ends, in the rear of our Pantera, and lost a seal from a pitted piston 5 or 6 years ago. Took a few days to make & replace all the pistons; rebuild kits are available but not pistons. Some refurbishers will acid-strip old pitted plated pistons, then touch-up weld, grind to size and re-plate with fresh chrome or nickel. VERY pricey!
Folks, really appreciate your response, suggestions & part #s for the brake hardware. One goal remains to restore the 'ebay' iron calipers, but I ended up ordering a set of new seals from Crosthwaite & Gardiner, as Denis mentioned, to fit ORAs originally on 1010. (Had NO idea 'C&G' stocked these elusive parts, was starting to think that NOBODY did). Anyway, they are a great source for anyone needing seals for the later calipers. Thanks Denis!! So finally the ORAs are back on the car, and things are slowly coming together - image attached.
Gotta separate problem/question that I'll post in a new note, needs to be dealt with sooner or later. Regards to all, Nate

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69goose, MANY thanks for checking that out, I dorked up the assembly of those parts and put them in backwards. (Thinking about how the system needs to articulate the rose joint have to be at the inboard end; blissfully unaware of the mistake until reading your note). Hate to undo stuff but no option here! Best regards, Nate
Hi Johnny, hope all's well for you, thanks for the note & vote of confidence! The restoration has reached a point where it's fun again - parts and subassemblies are mostly done, just need to be reassembled on the chassis. I hope to roll the chassis outside soon and take an overhead pic; the front clip has not been re-installed yet so you can still see a lot of interesting details that are normally obscured by bodywork). Re. mods, except for the engine, I've tried to keep things as stock as possible, hoping that would minimize the re-engining challenges and theoretically speed the resto process along. In truth schedule went out the window LONG back so the effectiveness of this approach remains in question. Nonetheless, I WAS highly tempted to try out that low-ratio steering rack somebody mentioned recently as a way to enhance the driving experience, and still REALLY like the look of those new 10" rears...regards to all, nate
Nate,

GLAD to see such progress!!!! You have been a busy beaver!!! All that time off-shore must have sparked sumthin in ya!

FINALLY, I have seen more 12/3 rear brakes than ever before....where was this website when I was trying to get my rear calipers squared away....? Oh that's right....the internet was just being born!

The Dino brakes you have are very close....excepting those funky looking spacer plates.... My guess would be that either the pistons are short, or the pads are thin....and these pieces take up the slack.....

These cast iron rear brakes are not "early" or anything.... they are simply "another" caliper that fit on the cars from what I can tell, as their use is peppered throughout production. 878 had them, and it is square in the middle of production.

I got all of my rebuild parts, including pistons, from John Freeth also. If you need piston numbers etc, ping me. IIRC, the small ones were badly pitted but the large ones were fine....! Pads are E-type Jag, and the e-brake pads are used on several cars.....

To answer your original question, these "Fiat-Girling" "12/3" brakes were used on the Fiat 2300 which really only existed anywhere but the US. It was sort of a sporty larger sedan if you look it up.

Just to clarify on brake info:
Type CR- normal front Goose brake, large aluminum housing, two pistons 2.375"
Type ORA- Normal rear Goose brake, large aluminum housing, two pistons 1.75"
Type 12/3- Occasional rear Goose brake, cast iron two piece housing,marked Fiat-Girling, 3 pistons

There is also, so I am told, a three piston front brake that supposedly some of the last cars were equipped with, that resembles the 12/3. I wonder if it is the same caliper as used on the Group5 Panteras?????

Anyone? I have a seal kit for one of these Group 5 calipers, if you have a 3 piston front caliper....I'll send it to you to see if it fits our cars!!!

Keep on chuggin!!!!

Steve
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