Very interesting to see Roger's reply. I can understand a single experience of that sort instigating a major upgrade.
I never suffered this sort of issue but I never did much driving in the mountains. I seem to remember a report that John Bolster tried to get the brakes on a new 410 to fade but couldn't manage it.
The fade that Roger refers to with the front master cylinder bottoming out would be caused by water in the brake fluid boiling. It is really important to change fluid regularly. There are now very cheap moisture content testers available. I try to remember to test all the family's cars at least once a year.
An alarming braking experience I had in a 410 was when the entire block of friction material parted company from the pad plate. The car had been unused for some years and I think water had got in between the friction material and the back plate and then frozen.
It took about three pumps of the pedal before the back plate started scraping on the disc and enough pressure could be built up in the other brakes to stop the car.
I now replace all pads on cars new to me regardless of how much material is left.
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