Thanks to all for their feedback and suggestions. This summer I tore out pretty much the entire braking system and replaced everything. I got a lot of help from a lot of great people. The previous owner had relocated the combination vale up to the wheelwell he said "to get it away from the headers". He did so by manhandling the lines and adding extension pieces. As you can see from the first picture it looked nasty and sloppy. This is no show car, but in good conscience I can't pull it apart and replace stuff without giving some attention to appearance. I think I did a decent job with that. The comb valve was cleaned up and mounted to a fabricated brkt and all lines replaced with new. I ordered up some custom ones from Inline Tube (great source!!!), and bent them myself using coat hangers as templates. The master (as well as ALL cast iron brake parts in the brake system) was painted a metalic graphite which protects the finish and retains a pretty natural look. I need to change the lid on the master due to a pesky drip out the back (suggestions??), but otherwise I think it's quite an improvement! The car stops great, which of course is all that really counts.
One word of interest...in one of my posts this summer we discussed the "pin" at the front of the comb. valve and its role in bleeding. The GM manual states that you MUST depress it while bleeding in order to get the rears bled fully. There were differing opinions on that here on TC, but if you do a quick search you will see LOTS of people who open up the system for one reason or another and can't get the rears bled. I fashioned a simple tool to keep this pin depressed and had perfect flow to the rear wheels and they bled out in textbook fashion. Necessary? Who knows. But it took no extra time and gave me peace of mind that I did it "by the book". :yes:

Nice job!

I avoided the 'depressing' pin situation by going to a full-manual adjustable proportioning valve.

You cleaned it up a lot- no doubt! That leak is odd though- is the gasket okay?

~Scotch~

Thanks, Scott. Like I say...she's no show car (maybe someday!), but I take as much pride in everything I do as anyone else would with a showroom-perfect ride.

I have my doubts about the gasket as well. Someone I spoke with today gave me a good idea...he said to wipe the gasket clean and dry and coat the surface with chalk, then drive it...the chalk should indicate any area where it is seeping through. I'll give that a whirl.

p.s. Scott---your car is absolutely gorgeous and an impressive performer to boot! I love the site and what you've done with the links in the photos. Nice work! :thumbsup: