GTV-6 brake rebuild, vent, praise, questions

[Mark Kingsbury <cubrr@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hello,
    Well, Sat. morning I picked up my GTV-6 from the body, very anxious
to have it back after not driving it (other than to the body shop) for
about 2 months. Ken's Auto Body in Atl. GA (I have no affiliation but
good work should praised openly) did a wonderful job of repairing a
couple of minor dents that occurred due to a combination of sloping
parking lot, loose parking brakes, and small trees.
    With plans of 115 ball joint mod. to the caster arms in my head, I
started her up only to find that the brake pedal doesn't give any
resistance till about an inch from the floor.  I made sure I could stop
the car and continued to the Ferrari dealership just down the road (hey,
I was in the neighborhood) to drool. Unfortunately I didn't have enough
pocket change for the F40 they had for sale at $296,700.
    ANYWAY, what they DID have was some brake fluid they let me have at
no charge after I looked at the reservoir which was almost empty.  THAT
DID NOT HELP, though.
    I continued on my way till I smelled the distinct aroma of burning
brake pad material. I stopped and saw billowing clouds of smoke coming
from the rear of the car. YEP, Not only was my RR caliper leaking but it
was sticking just enough to not be recognizable at first, but enough to
cause the smoking.  I stopped 3 more times to let things cool off.
    SO, I'm now looking at my first do-it-myself caliper rebuild.  The
last time this happened (to the LR, didn't stick though!) my mechanic
where I used to live replaced the caliper with a new one because he said
that the none of the available rebuild kits had all of the necessary
O-rings.  I recall though, a fellow digester stating that Alfa Ricambi's
kit does have everything you need. I assume this is still correct?
    My first reaction was to write a HELP ME message to the digest, but
remembering that this issue was recently discussed, I looked through
some recent archives and found some great info.  Thank god for this
digest!
    I remember seeing somewhere an excellent description for installing
rear brake pads by Fred DiMatteo. Was it on this digest or somewhere
else?
    With Car-Disk in the drive and hand on mouse, I forge onward. Any
insight (or warning) to what I'm getting myself into would be
appreciated.

Enzo
The "A" List:
Mine -- Alfa GTV-6 Maratona, 84
Wife's -- Audi A4 1.8T Quattro, 98
Dog's -- Acura Integra, 90

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