GTV brakes; ignition; and gas

[George Hovis <gnhovis@domain.elided>]

I've been following the GTV brakes thread and I seem to have the opposite 
problem: When I first start the car, I usually get a rock-hard pedal.  I 
wait a few minutes for the car to warm up and the pedal returns to 
normal.  I replaced the master cylinder two years ago and as best we can 
tell, do not have a vacuum leak.  Is there a valve in the vacuum line 
somewhere or some other valve which is somehow gummed up and opening when 
it gets warm?  Lately that interval from hard to soft pedal is taking 
longer (and the mornings are getting cooler.)

BTW: Following the thread on electronic ignitions, I went to Ben Dixion's 
site and read the article on building an electronic ignition, then went 
to the Jameco site (no endorsement implied) and bought their kit.  I 
assembled the kit, put it in a box as recommend on Ben's site, hooked it 
up, and have since put 1,500 trouble-free (knock on wood) miles on it.  I 
even have pictures of the box on my web site.  (See News page.)  My gas 
mileage has improved by 15-20%. (But remember I have one or more bad 
intake valves which are passing way too much gas into the combustion 
chamber--now some of that is burning off due to the longer spark 
Ithink...)  

Here's a good question:  What kind of mileage are people getting from the 
4-cyl engines?  I was getting 28-30 mpg, and now seem to be getting 
32-33. (That's after you correct for the pathological spedo/odometer 
which tells me I'm going 55 when I'm doing 70 and measures a mile at 
about 4000 feet.) 

There was a thread some while back about which gas to use and if higher 
octane matters. It might not matter from a theoretical/physics 
perspective, but it does from a quality perspective.  Certain members of 
my extended family (names have been changed to protect the innocent) used 
to own several gas stations.  In certain areas of the country and with 
certain brands, the lowest priced gas isn't always produced by the 
refinery which owns is sold at the  station.  Sometimes it is stated as 
such on the signs in the station, sometimes not.  What you are buing when 
you pay more for the higher octane gas is really a higher quality 
product.  Whether you car can make use of the higher octane is another 
issue.  My advice is that if you can use lower octane gas, don't go for 
the cheapest available.  Or at least sure that it is in fact refined by 
the brand represented or go for the next higher grade.

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