VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1929-1932 Sticking Brakes

Reference my 1929 Sedan 4-door.

I went out to drive it the other night. Outside Temperature was around 35 degrees.

I went to back out of the garage and found the brakes (I believe) to be sticking. I checked the undercarriage before backing out and everything seemed fine.

They would eventually break loose but it would take a hundred feet of driving going forward. After that everything seemed fine.

I do pull back the emergency brake when I park.

It will be 67 degrees here in Oklahoma in my area on Thursday, I'll see how it acts.

Should I leave the emergency brake off during temperatures lower than 40 degrees? I park it in gear anyway.

Has anyone experience this situation?

Thanks in advance.

Bob

If your parking and leaving the E-brake on then i'd say thats the trouble. Through an extensive period of time the car sets, the Brake will try to fuse to the drum thus making it lock. I use to do that very thing parking using the E-brake but dad always told me dont do it becouse of that, so i started parking and leaving the car in reverse gear. If your on a slight incline, use the reverse gear and block the wheels. If your on a steep hill, only then would i use the E-brake and THEN leave the car in reverse and also turn the tires toward the curb. Also blocking the rear wheels.

I always leave the emergency brake off when I park my old cars. That avoids the rear brakes locking/sticking. I learned this many years ago with rear brakes locking up on cars that haven't been moved for several years. Many clutches stick, too.

Thanks for the response.

The weird thing is, the car only sat in the garage 5 days since I last drove it when before I drove and the brakes felt locked up. It could be there was moisture in the brakes and froze those nights.

I am off work for the next few days so I will see how it acts.

Bob

I would suggest pulling the drums and sanding the linings. A glaze builds up and the lining sticks to the drum.
Use a breathing mask....asbestose.

Check the brake rods and cams, maybe they are not releasing when you brake after parking. If they're OK you might want to remove the drums and spray with brake cleaner to remove any dirt build up.
I don't use my emergency brake, I leave the car in first gear when I park.