right, mucho fun with the brakes on my rapid, now changed:

the shoes

one of the front calipers

one of the rear cylinders

the master cylinder...

and various other things like new retaining springs, adjustment bars for the rear with lots of copperslip (etc)

bled correctly... (prob. most of the money spent on this lot has been in brake fluid)

and though the damn things are working they still aint inspiring me with confidence...

there's a hissing noise if I hammer the brake down. and no difference between braking effect with the engine on or off, the tube between the servo and the engine has already been replaced with a copper tube (some strange kinks in it though), anyone reckon I should source a new servo or work on finding out whats wrong with the damn things a little more

Hissing is usually wear/cracks in the rubber sealing ring just inside the top of the servo under the master cylinder. Unbolt the master cylinder and lift off (if you are careful you won't need to disconect the pipes) and look in the hole. There will be a rod sticking up and around that a plastic retainer and under that the rubber seal. If yours is cracked I have a new one I can send you (FOC) to get you going. I have had a servo that got tired, and that gave a poor pedal (changed to a good used one). However, I have noted that the 4 pot brakes as standard never feel as good as the 2 pot - they are supposed to be better, but I found them rather dead and unwilling to stop a loaded car. Braided hoses may be a help here.

TH

Something far from right there; the standard 4-pot setup is over-braked for GPA rally use.

I'd suspect a vacumn leak too.

well, the pipe from the servo to the manifold seems to have been replaced with a copper one, so I think my money's gonna be on the rubber ring in the servo, heh, if I actually get chance to sit down and fart this weekend I'll have a look at it, (been VERY busy with work lately)...

this brakes saga seems like its keeping you busy (it sounds like it wont need doing again once youve sorted it ,,,given that most of youre brake system has been "looked" at)

heh... yeah, I'm actually quite pleased at that, if nothing else the whole lot has had a major overhaul and shouldn't be giving problems for a bit ... now new shoes and pads have bedded in properly the brakes feel like they did when I got it, which is effective but still not as good as I think they should... or maybe I'm just too fussy, bit hard comparing an 80 or so BHP Skoda rapid with my 300 or so BHP S14 that was my last car (and to be honest I *think* I prefer driving about in the skoda - usually), I'll hopefully get time this weekend to have a look at the servo