Foreign Autopart Rebuilt calipers

[Jpinkowish at aol.com]

Brett and other New Englanders,
My experience with Foreign Autopart(E. Hartford, CT) rebuilt rear calipers
for my '85 4kq is so far(18 months/2 winters) is favorable.  Smooth action,
even disc and pad wear, from side-to-side and inner/outer.  E-brakes work
fine.

Have you taken your problem caliper back to Foreign?  I would bet that they'd
give you another one.  IIRC, all of their caliper rebuilds are performed by a
company in Revere, MA.

Now, I will confess that before I installed the calipers, I separated the
caliper from the hanger and spray painted both with Dupli-Color gloss black
engine enamel(#DE 1613).  Use either coarse steel wool or a soft brass wheel
on a grinder to rough up the surface.  After 2 winters, I need to touch up a
few chips in the paint on the calipers, but there is no rust and they still
look pretty sharp.

I also used this paint on the hats and edges of the new rear discs I
installed, and they still look just fine.  Just remember to completely
degrease the discs before painting them.  If you decide to paint your used
discs, just use a buffing wheel -- soft brass, etc. -- to remove the surface
rust from the hats and disc edges.  No big-time metal removal, otherwise
you'll unbalance the rotor.  This is really a low effort project that yields
pleasing results -- no more orange rust showing through your wheels!

Jan Pinkowish
'85 4kq
Bristol, CT