Technical Help to start - brakes?

[Paulsx19]

Lot of perished rubber here. First, I do not have one of those owners manual type books that tells you what's what and where. 1989, I've found 2 reservoirs side by side, one with 2 wires on the cap saying "press". I dont know which is the brake reservoir? My problem is the brake pedal goes almost to the floor and has little effect, and at the same time all 4 wheels are binding slightly. The car has been dry store for a couple of years but pretty sure all the hoses were on their way out before that - some already replaced, but not all. The master cyl seals may also be gone.

 

[sledgehammer]

The bigger reservoir is the brake reservoir, smaller one is clutch.
The brakes tend to stick if it hasn't been driven for a while, the calipers will need overhauling, new parts are available from dgrally on ebay or Eurosport.
Replacing the master cylinder is real pain of a job, difficult to get to and very fiddly! I've done it on both X19s I've owned.
If you have the right tools there should be no job you can't do yourself though if you have some practical skills.
The Haynes isn't great IMO, think of it as the book of clues!

 

[Paulsx19]

Hi there,
Thanks for the answer there. The brake master is the larger square one with press for level and the 2 wires coming from it - not sure where the indicator for that is but the reservoir couldnt be any fuller. I'm just goin thru logical checks at the moment. No history at all with the car - it was won in a charity auction, and its last MOT was 2019. I had to replace the fuel line to the carb to get it started cos petrol was just pouring straight out of an old braided pipe, but the main tank lines had already been replaced. The flexi brake pipes are new on all 4 corners, strangely one of them is a high pressure one so they couldnt have had 4 in stock the same I assume. Thing is, when certain parts have been done, and others not, you don't know exactly what has been fully taken care of. The calipers may very well have been done. There might be perished rubber in there blocking the hydraulics. Mileage is 37,000 which looks right from its condition and MOT history. Radiator and engine tie bar are the only rusty pieces. I need the radiator recored because its leaking - its steel cored which is a bit bananas. Paintwork scuffed a lot cos it was used as a garage shelf. There's a lot of small jobs to get it ready for a MOT.

 

[sledgehammer]

That's very low mileage, which equals a lot of standing around, bad news for things like brakes and fuel system.
I'd go through the calipers first before looking at the master cylinder. It might just be that the caliper sliders retainers are a bit rusty and need cleaning and lubricating. The brakes on an x19 are pretty much prehistoric compared to modern car brakes, don't expect them to be anywhere near as effective as a modern car even if they are working 100%.
You might be able to tell the condition of the calipers by removing each in turn and with it still connected push the brake pedal to move the piston out an inch or so. If its a rusty piston, it needs replacing, if it's just a build up of gunk, clean it and push the piston (front calipers) back in with a g clamp. Rear caliper pistons screw in and out on a threaded rod, you may need to undo the bleed nipple to release the pressure.
Probably good to bleed the brakes anyway at some point.

 

[Paulsx19]

Aye, it is very low, but I reckoned usually its more straightforward to fix the oily bits than bodywork restoration.
So, since the reservoir is full, and there are no observable leaks from the brake system, you're thinking is to go for possible sticking calipers first. I have a trolley jack, axle stands, and the original toolkit. There appears to be front and rear workshop jack lifting points. What's easiest?

 

[sledgehammer]

The calipers are the obvious place to start, might be hard to diagnose a master cylinder fault until the calipers are known to be good.
Am I the only one who'd be concerned about one odd performance brake hose? Would this cause uneven braking? Any one out there know for sure?