Project “Sexy Beast” 1969 Jaguar E-Type
I broke many personal rules when I purchased this vehicle, a non-running barn find. Of course it needs about a thousand times more work than I initially estimated and of course it demands great amounts of both money and time. I have replaced or rebuilt all of the brake hydraulics, (an overly complex system of multiple master cylinders, remote power booster, and inboard rear brakes). As luck would have it the motor has some interesting noises from deep within so I will be pulling the engine and transmission this February for a thorough rebuild and reseal.

Project BMW 2002
The engine rebuild that started two years ago for my daily-driver BMW 2002 has finally started moving ahead, sometimes these tasks take motivation and sometimes that motivation comes in the form of your car’s engine blowing up! Needless to say I’m now in a hurry to get this lump together. Urgency is no reason to cut corners however and I’m excited to say this engine is going together right. I had all rotating components balanced and when assembling the bottom-end used only genuine BMW bearings and seals, when clearances were checked everything is perfectly within specs. My hope is a long lasting smooth revving reliable motor and I think I’m on the right path.

Some photos from the work completd this past week.

Project Wunderbike 1970 BMW R75/5
I purchased and fell in love with this motorcycle last summer, a late season camping trip in October spelled the end. The engine, which was low on compression at the time I acquired it, decided to go all the way south during our return trip from central Oregon. To give credit where due the motorcycle did make the 200 mile trip back home fully loaded over the Cascades all while running rough and very weak. It made me feel really bad to do it, like galloping a faithful horse ’til it drops, at least I don’t have to shoot this horse, I’ll blow a big hole in my wallet instead! Cylinder heads are currently at the machine shop and I’ll be re-ringing and honing the barrels, rebuilding the carbs, and upgrading the electricals all before heading out for the 2011 riding season.

Time Flies it’s April already and definitely time to start planning for the sunny season! Time too to blow the dust off the keyboard and get this blog rolling again, apologies to my readers for my winter hibernation. The following is a list of activities and events that I hope to attend, most are close to home in the Pacific Northwest. If you need a little inspiration for a weekend adventure I hope you can find some here.

May 22-23
Oregon Vintage Motorcyclists host their yearly group ride and Sunday swap-meet. This year the featured marque is Kawasaki. This is a relaxed group of folks with a non-denominational interest in vintage bikes of all types. I’ve never done the Saturday ride with them but the Sunday swap meet at the fairgrounds is great, tons of bikes and parts on display. Come down to shop or just browse the funky collection of machinery and people.

May 29-31
FIM Superbike Race at Miller Motorsports Park in Salt Lake City. Our friends over at Rare Sportbikes for Sale and I are planning a whirlwind road trip down to Utah to watch. Several of the contributors to that fine site will be competing in this event and we’ll be there to cheer them on!

June 5
25th annual Northwest VW bug-Run at Woodburn Dragstrip. This is the event that really kicks off the season for me, every June hundreds of air and water-cooled Volkswgens swarm this small town for a day of racing, showing cars, and swap-meet fun. A good time for sure, even better when the Oregon weather cooperates!

June 25-27
The Parts Obsolete Porsche campout. Dan and I have made it to this show several times but this year I think we need to enjoy the complete experience and camp-out. Hosted at Gary Emory’s rural property in the heart of Oregon’s wine country is probably the coolest Porsche event ever. You can enjoy a show of truly fine Porsches of all ages and styles in a snobery-free environment. Mr.Emory generously opens his complete facility for visitors to wander unguided through his many workshops, storage barns, and parts warehouses where inventory of project cars and rare parts is simply amazing, this level of trust reveals the quality of the host and the attendees. Not to be missed!
(photo stolen from Dan’s Flikr gallery of our ’08 visit)

June 29-July 2
The Healey Northwest Rendezvous 2010 This Monday through Friday event will gather Austin Healey enthusiasts from all over the Northwest to Eugene Oregon for a full 5 days of activities. Being a mid-week event the closest my work schedule will allow me to get to this event will be the technical clinic being hosted at Sports Car ShopBritish car guru Bob Macherione will be giving a lesson on the intricacies of SU carburetors and Laycock Overdrive units from 3:00-4:30 Tuesday afternoon. (photo credits to Dan again)

To be continued…

With my new workspace, (and the motorcycle riding season sadly behind us), you can expect to see more frequent blog updates as well as new “how-to” articles as I attack the list of projects on my Porsche, continue the long overdue BMW 2002 engine rebuild, and finally get started on the Renault

Getting moved into Paul’s Garage

Garage Updates:

This past week progress has continued on the BMW 2002 engine rebuild. the bottom-end has been completely disassembled and the parts are ready to be cleaned, measured, and machined as needed. The block is already at the machine shop for cleaning and re-boring for over-sized MaxSil Pistons. The cylinder head is back from the machine shop after receiving a thorough cleaning, pressure-testing, new valves, rocker-shafts, and related hardware.

The Porsche is wearing a newly installed stainless exhaust. After a bit of trading I ended up with a complete stainless system from a Carrera 3.2, while very similar to the earlier SC the exhaust system required a bit of modification to fit. Special thanks go out to my friend Trent for his exceptional TIG welding skills making this install possible. The new system sounds fantastic and there is a noticeable change in the car’s performance and willingness to rev.

It’s a weakness or possibly an illness but when I see something like this by the side of the road I absolutely have to stop and check it out, if you suffer the same symptoms or just enjoy funky little European cars, then please, read on.

A couple weeks ago my friends Scott, Keith, and I took a motorcycle camping trip out near Prineville Oregon. After rounding a corner I saw this beauty sitting in the sagebrush with a sign bearing the magic words, “for sale”. I must admit that at first glance of the boxy shape I took it for an Alfa , no grill meant rear engine perhaps a Fiat? Closer examination showed it to be French! I didn’t know that Renault made these!?

The car was unlocked and though it was dirty and dented it was surprisingly complete with good glass, an engine seemingly in one piece, most of the trim intact, and aside from the front doors even the paint was original, (there must be a story here but I don’t have it yet). I of course called and left a message for the seller.

Fast-Forward three weeks. I had almost forgotten about the little Renault when the owner finally called and we worked out the details, he needed the car gone and I for some reason needed the car, we settled on a price of free so I was left with no choice but to go rescue the poor little voiture!

After borrowing a truck from a generous friend and a trailer from work we were set to go. Scott and I headed East for another weekend of adventure. Surprisingly the Renault still had air in the tires, no stuck brakes, and working steering, I was fearing the worst but we had it loaded-up in no time.

The proud new owner enjoying the moment… and a beer!

Almost done…

Safely loaded the work was done, time to enjoy the outdoors. We had a great view from our campsite of Chimney Rock

After a long drive Sunday I had my prize at home in the driveway. Excited and eager to check it out I decided to see what it would take to get her running again. The license plates expired in 1988 and I suspect that it has been sitting for most of these last 21 years. I removed the spark plugs and sprayed a generous amount of WD40 down each hole, changed the grimy old oil, and replaced the battery. The engine rolled-over smoothly by hand…now my excitement was growing! After only a minute or so of cranking the starter the car developed oil pressure. I poured some fresh gas into the tank, installed some new spark plugs, and gave it just a small shot of ether down the carburetor throat, what followed was pure magic!

The engine sounded good and ran for 30 minutes without leaking a drop, the project is just beginning though. Brakes, clutch, and gearbox all need assessment and attention.

The interior is “rough” but mostly complete and original.

1.1 liters of dirty French fury

A good sign for sure!

Stay tuned for project updates and please add your comments. I’m hoping to have this little car back on the road soon but I’m new to Renault so if you have experience or know of parts sources please don’t hesitate to post them up.

This car was purchased inexpensively with the intention of repairing a few simple problems and using it as a commuter or selling it for profit. Since then it has demanded an excessive amount of attention and investment but has turned into a clean and reliable Volvo.

In addition to a complete head gasket job the following parts have been replaced with new OEM pieces:
-Timing Belt and Tensioner
-V-belts
-Radiator
-Water Pump
-Thermostat
-Hoses
-Coolant Reservoir
-Complete Exhaust System
-Oil and Filter
-Fuel Filter
-Ignition Cap, Rotor, Spark Plugs, and Wires

The car also has new tires, alignment, and a complete tune-up with all adjustments made to manufacturers to specs. I will update as the project continues.

Nice paint and a dent-free body

Clean interior

This year marked the 22nd annual running of the Larison Rock Hillclimb hosted by Emerald Empire Sports Car Club. It marked my third year and Dan’s fifth at this excellent event. For those who’ve never participated in a hill-climb race it is one of the most thrilling forms of racing and the stakes are very high indeed! Instead of curbing, hay bales, and grass that surround most auto racing venues there are only rocks, trees, ditches, and drop-offs to punish the driver who ventures off course.

Map of Larison Rock from the EESCC website

Friday evening tech inspection at the Best Western in Oakridge.

Day 1 saw Dan and I set personal bests, each of us Running up the hill in 2 minutes 13 seconds, not too shabby but we each knew we could do better.

On Day 2 my afternoon work assignment was to run the radar gun to clock the car’s speeds as they passed through the “straight-away”, the fastest part of the course it is actually just a short stretch of road after a long corner allowing the fastest cars to achieve speeds over 90 MPH! Our Rabbit is able to get just over 70 before hitting the brakes for the next turn, very impressive for a road with a sensible speed limit of 20 MPH.

Dan at 60 MPH on the “straight-away”

Several sacrifices were made to the mountain as they are every year, this driver from California met a Douglas Fir at speed in his ford Focus, give those engineers credit though, he walked away!

Tree-1 Focus-0

Though I set my personal best time ever up the hill this past weekend the day belonged to Dan. My time of 132.5 seconds was shattered by Dan’s final run of just over 129 seconds! looks like our little grudge match will continue another year…

See you at The Rock in 2010!

Get the rest of the story at Dan Crouch’s Blog

This is my favorite time of year in Oregon, the Winter chills have given way to warm showers and occasional sunshine. Spring in the Northwest is a lot like the feeling you get at 8:00 AM on a Saturday morning, the whole weekend lies ahead, possibilities are endless but there is an urge to hurry, indeed Monday (or in our seasonal case the rain) is still just around the corner. It’s a balancing act to use the limited time to the fullest while still relaxing and enjoying every moment. This coming weekend promises to be a beautiful one and Alex has just got his motorcycle endorsement so I hope to show him a few of my favorite roads and get his new (old) CBR broken-in properly.

All this fair-weather excitement has got me looking to the calendar and thinking of the wonderful summer months ahead. What follows is a brief, incomplete, yet enthusiastic schedule of this summer’s planned events. If your calendar still has blank spots allow me to suggest a few things to fill them in…

May
5/17/09
Oregon Vintage Motorcyclists vintage motorcycle show and swap meet at the Benton Co. Fairgrounds in Corvallis Oregon. Should be a fun day and a chance to check-out some great classic machines.

5/30/09
The 24th Annual NW Bug Run at the Woodburn Dragstrip. This is always a great show, a fun event, and one of the best swap meets in the Pacific North West for classic VW parts. Also a cheap chance to “run what you brung” on the dragstrip, it’s a blast so try it out!

Paul in action at the strip in ’07
(thanks to Sarah Marshall for the great photo).

June
6/12/09
Ed comes to town and it’s Paul’s birthday weekend! Plans remain fuzzy at this time but one thing is certain, a good time will be had and updates to the blog may occur in a drunken stupor, stay tuned…

6/27/09
Parts Obsolete hosts it’s 15th annual Porsche Camp-out. Dan and I stumbled across this excellent event last year not really knowing what to expect. What we found was one of the coolest Porsche events anywhere, and it’s right here in our backyard, McMinnville Oregon. What a perfect excuse to enjoy some twisty roads through Oregon’s wine country then spend some time with fellow Porsche enthusiasts. I can’t wait to do it up right and camp-out this year!

July
7/4/09
Emerald Empire Sports Car Club hosts the 22nd running of Larison Rock Hillclimb. This is a must-do event. The thrill of running full-speed up a single lane road through the trees is unbelievable. Equally amazing is the quality of the event management, the club membership. the fun surrounding the event, and the friendship of all involved. This should be another memorable year at “The Rock”.

2008 at Larison Rock (Photo courtesy of TjRubley.com)

7/??/09
The Dan and Paul official Summer motorcycle trip. Last summer Dan and I tried to make it around the Olympic Peninsula on the 4th of July weekend. Thwarted by crap weather I propose we make another go of it this year. If not Washington another worthy 3 or 4 day goal. I think a yearly trip should be scheduled for each July starting now! Dan, are you reading this?

August
8/2/09
Portland Bug-In at PIR. This is another fun VW show and swap. A great afternoon wandering around Portland International raceway checking-out cool Volkswagens, neat stuff for sale, and catching a cool buzz and a sunburn at the concession stand. What’s not to love?!

8/20/09
The official VFRD Summer Summit in Dillon Colorado. I can’t wait for this event! It should be a great time, I’ll be taking a whole week and a whole lotta’ pictures for this one. I’ve previously attended 2 VFR Discussion group meets and have been amazed at the informal yet organized atmosphere as well as the skill and friendliness of the attendees.

September
This is the last summer month in Oregon, one of the best months of the year. Intentionally left open for now but I’m looking forward to filling it up with more awesome events. See you soon!

This wasn’t the first time I’ve been in the position of trying to convince someone that they do in fact need a motorcycle in their life, it wasn’t the first time I’ve done foolish or stupid things to bring a motorcycle home, and it surely wasn’t the first time I’ve frozen my ass off on a motorcycle at 2:00 in the morning. Sadly the crazy series of events that unfolded last night were actually quite predictable when you mix a young man with the need for a bike and cash in his pocket, a long-time rider and motorcycle enthusiast eager to help, and a motivated seller with a cheap 20-year-old sportbike. On Saturday evening we headed up to Vancouver Washington to inspect a CBR 600 that Alex had spotted on Craigslist for $1350.

After preparing for the worst we were actually quite surprised by the condition of the bike. Aside from a destroyed front fender, missing mirror, and a few scratches on the plastics the body was in remarkable shape for an almost-vintage sportbike. Indeed most of this bike’s kin have been crashed then scrapped, rattle-canned in dismal flat-black, or stripped of their shattered shells entirely and morphed into squidly “street-fighters”. This example, though far from perfect, was still a respectable street machine. The style of the late 1980′s and early 1990′s sportbikes is destined to be classic since it was the era that brought us the first modern fully-faired race-bikes-for the road. I suspect that in a few more years Honda Hurricanes, Yamaha FZRs, and Suzuki GSXRs will be to my generation what the 1960′s British twins were our father’s.

There were some problems beyond the obvious cosmetic ones. The chain and sprockets were complete junk, red rusty grime was visible even though the chain was well lubricated and the teeth on the rear sprocket were nothing but a series of small bent-over points with razor-sharp edges, in other words perfectly normal for this kind of bike. Then there was the running issue, the owner claimed a fouled plug was to blame for the uneven idle and rough acceleration, I took a quick test-ride and it was indeed very reluctant to rev. The skeptic in me was thinking that any sane person would have changed the $2 spark plugs if that was all that was causing the problem, why try to sell it in this condition if the problem was so easy and inexpensive to repair? There was a good chance something very major and expensive could be the source of troubles. After much hesitation and negotiation Alex struck a deal and dollars changed hands.

The proud new owner astride his steed.

Now it was my turn, Alex had not yet got his motorcycle endorsement so it was my task to ride the bike, but how do we get this thing back to Eugene, 150 miles away? It was already after 9:00PM! After a terribly long phone call to Geico (those cavemen sure are slow!) Alex handed me a scrap of paper with the bike’s newly assigned policy number and the recently signed title should I run afoul of the law, which was seeming more and more likely. As we merged onto I5 my doubts were growing, by the time we crossed the Columbia River bridge into Oregon, around 10:45PM, I knew I wasn’t getting home on this thing. I took the next exit straight into one of Portland’s crappiest neighborhoods where I found a dimly-lit parking lot to consider our dilemma. Feeling the exhaust pipes told the story, 3 burns and then a cold pipe, it wasn’t running on #1 cylinder. Amazingly the cycle’s original tool kit was still stashed under the seat and contained a spark plug wrench, good fortune too that it was an outer cylinder not firing since the inner two would have required major surgery to access. Still what were we to do at midnight, 2 hours from home with an immobile motorcycle, this situation was getting frustrating quickly!

Yours truly trying to get all the cylinders firing.

Luck shifted to our side when I switched the #1 and #4 plugs the miss changed cylinders too, amazing, it might just be a faulty plug after all. My fears of low compression, burnt valves, carburetor failures, and similar were fading. After scraping the plug’s electrode with a screw driver tip it finally showed some spark when the engine was cranked, weak sideways little sparks but there was a glimmer of hope. I installed the plug and the engine lit on all four for the first time. A test run up the road confirmed that this was now a real motorcycle! I grinned in my helmet and thanked fate for giving us a break.

The ride home was freezing cold and nerve-racking as the interstate was being heavily patrolled for late night DUI drivers. Luckily none of Oregon’s finest noticed my expired tags and the CBR didn’t miss a beat the whole rest of the trip. The 600F actually rode quite nicely, it has good power, decent brakes, light steering, and a comfortable riding position. Pulling into my driveway at around 2:00AM I was relieved to be home safe on a running motorcycle, it had seemed impossible or at least very unlikely just a few hours before.

I awoke Sunday morning after just a few hours sleep and headed out to the garage with a cup of coffee. This isn’t even my bike but I couldn’t wait to clean it up a little. Alex was out of town for the day so I decided to take some liberties with his new girl. I removed most of the body work and cleaned it up, leaving the filthy engine and frame for him. I changed all the fluids and replaced the spark plugs. The motor revs happily now but a test ride will wait until the chain and sprockets are replaced along with the mirror.

Starting the disassembly and cleaning process

Carburetors and cables all working smoothly

She sure looks good with the VFR!

Congratulations Alex!
I look forward to a long summer with many happy miles ahead.

The design of the Porsche 911SC brakes requires that the brake calipers and wheel hubs be removed in order to replace the brake discs which are mounted to the back of the hubs, the hubs contain the front wheel bearings. At this time I am going to replace the front wheel bearings, grease seals, brake rotors, brake pads, and front brake hoses. This job will require that the brake system be bled out so I also plan to flush the hydraulic system completely with fresh DOT-4 fluid.

This job is relatively simple but since it involves the braking system as well as the wheel bearings and associated hardware that hold the wheels onto the car it is essential that all work be performed carefully and completely.

RECOMMENDED TOOLS
-Floor jack and jack-stands or an automotive lift
-1/2″-drive ratchet or breaker-bar
-19mm 1/2″ drive socket for lug nuts and caliper bolts
-1/2″ drive torque wrench (accurate!)
-3/8″-drive ratchet with metric sockets and various extensions
-11mm open-end wrench or line-wrench
-13, 14 and 17mm open-end wrenches
-Large Slip-joint (Channel-lock) Pliers
-Medium-sized hammer
-Various punches
-Bearing race driver set
-6mm hex (allen) wrench or socket
-Latex or Nitrile gloves
-Lots of rags
-A friend to assist with brake bleeding or a pressure bleeder
-Brake cleaner

Let’s get started!
*Notes:
-Photos are clickable for larger more detailed pictures.
-Leave the keys in the ignition so you will be able to turn the wheels side-to-side.
-Before raising the car loosen the front wheel lug nuts.
-Never rely on a jack alone to support a vehicle!

Here are the new brake components that will be installed.

These are the new bearings and seals.

Use the jack or lift to raise the car high enough to get the front wheels off the ground. If using a jack make sure to place the jackstands securely under the frame.

Once the car is lifted and safely supported remove the front wheels.
You’ll now have access to the Brake and wheel-hub assembly.

Use an 11mm wrench to remove the caliper hydraulic line where it enters the caliper, if replacing the rubber lines undo the fitting above after removing the large retaining clip (pictured below). Plug the end of the line and the caliper to prevent excessive brake fluid spillage.

Remove the two 19mm brake caliper securing bolts.

The caliper is now free and can be pulled off the brake rotor.

With the caliper off drive out the brake pad retaining pins with a small punch.

Caliper disassembled.

Clean the calipers thoroughly with brake cleaner, a soft brush, and rags. Castrol Super Clean and warm water is another option that works very well for removing that stubborn brake dust and grime. Set the calipers aside to dry. Now it’s time to replace the wheel bearings.

Use a pair of large channel lock pliers to grip and remove the bearing dust-cap from the wheel hub. Underneath you will find the bearing lock-nut.

Loosen the 6mm hex pinch-bolt on the bearing lock nut then remove the nut and washer. You can now pull the complete hub and rotor assembly from the car. Once removed wipe as much grease as possible from the inside of the hub and the axle spindle.

Remove the 5 13mm nuts and bolts that secure the brake disc to the aluminum hub and discard the disc (unless you are planning to reuse or resurface the rotors). Clamp the hub in a vise and use a large flat-tip screwdriver or seal-puller to remove the inner wheel bearing seal.

Withdraw the seal and the inner bearing and clean the hub thoroughly with solvent or brake cleaner and plenty of rags. The bearing races are pressed into hub and must be tapped-out using a long punch and a hammer. Take your time and work carefully to prevent gouging or damaging the soft hub material when removing the steel races. Tap on the exposed lip of the bearing race as shown.

Hub shown with the races removed.

I prefer to work with clean parts so I recommend cleaning the hubs again with the races removed. Make sure the bores where the races sit are smooth and undamaged, if you nicked the edges while tapping-out the old races use a bit of emory cloth or a small file to smooth any imperfections before installing the new bearing races.

The Bentley service manual recommends that the hubs be heated to 250 degrees F. to aid in the installation of the new bearing races, while not essential it does expand the metal and ease installation greatly, (also adds a pleasant smell to the oven)!

The new races can be installed with a punch but care must be taken avoid any damage to the surface where the bearings will ride. A bearing install kit is an inexpensive way to install the races without damage. Select the proper sized attachment and tap the new races into place as shown below.

Carefully tap in the new race.

The hub showing the races fully seated.

Gloves are a must for the next few steps. Use a high-quality wheel bearing grease to lubricate the new races and pack the wheel bearings, also add plenty of grease to the insides of the hub. I’m old fashioned and prefer packing the bearings by hand rather than using one of the many available bearing-greasing devices, the clean-up is easier too, just peel off the gloves and toss them when the job is done.

Packing the new bearings with grease. (To do this by hand place a large glob of grease in your palm and force the bearing into it until grease comes out the inside of the rollers as shown. Make sure it is well lubricated).

Wheel hub with the bearings fully greased and installed.

Now place the new grease seal in position and tap gently into place. Make sure to install it squarely and tap evenly around the outside edge to prevent distorting the seal. If the metal is bent or distorted the seal will not work properly.

Wheel bearing seal installed.

Clean the new brake rotors of any contaminants or rust-preventative oils then
attach to the wheel hubs using the 5 bolts and torque the 13mm nuts to 18 ft. lbs. Carefully slide the hub onto the spindle and install the grease-packed outer bearing, washer, and retaining nut.

Tighten the retaining nut firmly while spinning the hub assembly, then back the nut off and re-tighten it until the washer can just barely be moved with a screwdriver. It is important that the bearings have some pre-load without being too tight. If you can’t wiggle the washer at all they are too tight, if the washer moves freely or you can feel play in the disc they are too loose. When the bearing pre-load is correct tighten the lock-nut pinch-bolt to 11 ft./lbs. then tap the dust cap back into place.

Use large channel lock pliers to slowly compress the brake caliper pistons back into the caliper. Note: If the caliper pistons will not retract, the dust boots are torn or missing, or there is visible fluid leakage from around any of the pistons it is time for the calipers to be rebuilt or replaced, do not reinstall damaged or nonfunctional brake components!

Once the pistons are fully retracted into the caliper bores you can install the caliper. I like to add a few drops of blue loctite thread locker to the caliper mounting bolts for extra peace of mind.

Install the caliper bolts and torque to 94 ft./lbs. Then reinstall the brake fluid line to the caliper.

There are a million or so products on the market designed to prevent disc brakes from squeaking or squealing. I recommend using one of them to coat the back of the brake pad where it contacts the piston. Brake noise is usually caused by the pads vibrating and resonating in the calipers when the brakes are applied, a light coating of lubricant between the pad and piston is often all that is needed to prevent this.

Slide the pads into the caliper.

Reinstall the pad retaining pins and spring-plate.

Use a punch to drive the pins fully into the caliper and the brake job is nearly done.

All that is left is to bleed out any air and then reinstall and torque the wheels. Top-up the brake fluid reservoir with fresh fluid and open one of the caliper bleed screws using a small hose to catch fluid in a suitable container. Have your friend, assistant, wife, or complete stranger pump the brake pedal until clear bubbe-free fluid is coming out of the caliper, then move to the other side making sure that the fluid reservoir does not run out of fluid. Reinstall the road-wheels and torque to specs.

*Notes on safety with new brakes.
-Pump the brakes several times before starting the car to move the pads against the rotors and verify the pedal feels good and there are no fluid leaks.

-It is important to drive the car gently as the pads will need to fully seat and wear-in to the new rotors before maximum braking effect is possible. There are many opinions on the proper method for breaking-in new brakes and I will not get involved in that discussion here but to simply recommend taking it very easy on the brakes for at least the first 100 miles or so.

-It is good practice to remove the wheels and inspect the brake and bearing components after the first test-drive to verify that everything is tight and leak-free.

-Most importantly if you have any doubt or problems with the brake system do not continue to drive the car! find and repair the fault or have it towed to qualified shop for repairs.