VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1929-1932 29 brakes

Hi Guys,
I need some advice before opening up and having a look.
I hear scraping noises when going around corners. It sounds as if the rear drums are making contact with the back plates when going round a corner, as if there might be sideways play.
I dont have the time to open up and have a look right now as I am quite busy with two other big jobs(Model A and E Type) Any suggestions would be much appreciated.
Regards
Chris
Cape Town

Howdy Chris....I have a '28 with the mechanical brakes on it,If it only does the scraping noise when it turns I would suspect the front brakes. The front brakes have a swivel on the backing plate and if the swivel gets stiff,or won't rotate, the brakes will apply when you turn. A temporary fix is to backoff the front brakes, but I imagine that the swivel(Brake centralizer)needs to be polished or cleaned up a bit.

Tks Terry,
I'll have a look but I am quite sure it comes from the rear. I have only heard it on the outside wheel during tight turns. It is as if the side loads are flexing the wheel.
I have not had the Chevy for very long and except for rebuilding the steering box, have no Chevy experience.
As I said, the Model A and the E Type are keeping me busy, but I must have a look.
TKS
Redards
Chris

I suspect your rear breaks, and the brake drum is probably dragging on the backing plate. The reason may be that the wheel is loose on the axle. Jack up the rear end and grab the top of the rear wheels and shake violently. Is there excess play? Check the wheel nut by removing the key and attempt to tighten the wheel nut.

TKS Ray,
Yep, there was a little play and I have just nipped up the axle bolts and fitted new split pins.
I have also noted excessive wear on the exterior brake linkages, levers and fittings of the rear brakes.
Thanks Gents, I have to get the other two babies going, but I can start my parts wish list. Nr 1 is a king pin set.
Have a great week end.
Regards from a cold and windy Cape Town
Chris

Hi Gents,
I had a look and as I said before found a lot of wear on the external brake linkages( at the wheels) the pins are loose and there is a large amount of floating around of the rear shoes.
I have taken it apart and will weld up the holes and fit new pins.
I found that the rear axles are tapered and the one side has a shim. I am not sure if you guys are familiar with the Model A, but it seems to be quite a commen 'fix' to fit shims if the taper is worn. By the way, for the guys who might not know, a worn taper allows the drum to sit slightly deeper on the axle, causing the drum to touch the back plate, which I assumed was my problem.
My question now, should the shim 'bandaid' also be used on the Chevy?
Next question. The one rear wheel was wet. However when I opened up I found a lot of grease in the drum and all over the shoes, but not oil as I expected. Could this be because of an over zealous previous owner pumping to much grease into the side shaft bearings?
Your suggestions are appreciated.
Regards
Chris

Chevrolets of that time period occasionally had the same problem as Model A's. Beer cans, shim stock, other thin metal pieces can be cut in a cone shape with top lopped off. It should fit the axle taper on either side of the pin. Trial and error is the normal way to determine the correct thickness of shim. It can be calculated using the formula for a triangle but that is not at the pay grade of most of us.

If the brake area was full of grease someone overdid the greasing of the rear axle bearing. This is one case where a little is good but more is not better.

TKS Chip,
A few months ago I accidently ordered two pairs for my Ford. The second pair will stand me in good stead.
Thanks for the carb and the filter you sent me some time ago.
Regards
Chris
Cape Town

A better way to fix the problem of the worn hub bore/axle taper that causes the edge of the brake drum to rub against the rear anchor peg & backing plate,is to place a spacer shim between the axle bearing shoulder,and the bearing locking nut.
It will mean removing the axle,dismantling the locknut and bearing removal,then machining up a spacer shim,say 0.062" thick,
then re-assembly.
Once assembled,remove the axle key,and putting a thin smear of valve lapping paste on the axle taper,rotate the wheel hub as you would when lapping a valve in to its seat.Check the hub to axle taper fit(after a thorough clean of both parts)by gently pushing home the hub & wheel assy onto the axle taper.If you can pull the wheel assy off by hand,you'll need to continue the process,until when after re-fitting the wheel assy you find you need a hub puller to remove the wheel.
This way both tapers will be mated together as best as possible.A much better method than fitting tapered axle shims.

TKS CJP,
Yep, I agree thats the way it should be done. In my case though, I still had to use a puller to remove the hub, so a band aid might suffice for now. The drum is not touching the back plate yet. The side without the shim is just touching the front anchor bracket during hard cornering.
Thanks for your imput.
Regards
Chris