VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1937-1945 Brake adjustment

Just bought a 1940 Master Deluxe 2 door town sedan and the right rear brake drum is hanging up. I knew it was sticking and took it for a short drive to see if it would free up. NO! so now it is up on jack stands tire off and thought I would try to adjust the brake to loosen it up. I know where the adjustment hole is but don't have the bent tool for adjusting it ,( thought maybe I could use a screwdriver ?) and I also don't know which direction loosens it. Help! , any advice for a Newby.

First remove the drum and make sure the4 long pull back spring is not broke.
Then check to see if the wheel cylinder has frozen pistons.
If all that is OK and no grease or brake fluid leaks sand the glaze off the liningss and drum.

with Chevgene, and once you get the drum off you will see that there is an adjuster on both ends of the wheel cylinder and you can figure out which way to turn them.

Thanks Guys! The drum was a bit stuck so I thought I better ask before I started leveraging something and break it! (guess that pun works) got the drum off, sanded the linings and the drum and had my wife operate the pedal... it looks like the pistons extend but stick when they are extended a little... even thought the long spring seemed fine. I had her apply the brakes and then release and I forced the piston back in a few times. drum went on and wheel is free. By the way all the internals and linings look good and drum seems pretty smooth for 76 years old. I think it just needs some exercise on the road going slowly.
Thanks again,
Chuck

The cylinder will need honed and the piston cleaned up. If not they will stick again. Ask me why I know.

I would recommed rebuilding all the wheel cylinders and replacing the rubber hoses in the near future. Also would be wise to do the master cylinder.

Good Advice, I actually had planned on that but was hoping I could get it out and drive it for a bit and I was able to do that... But no long adventures till the brakes are made right!

You were lucky to get the drum off with out a lot of work. Screwdrivers at different areas on the drum, etc.

Anyway. to tighten the cylinders you turn them clockwise when tightening and counterclockwise when loosening. That is, when facing the drum from the rear you do the rear piston adjujstment by turning the adjuster counterclockwise (screwdriver is fine) and when facing to the rear the forward adjuster is also turned counterclockwise. By facing the drum I mean looking toward the front of the car or toward the rear of the car. Front drums and rear drums are turned the same.

Reverse the above when tightening the shoes until the lock up the wheel so that youy can't turn it with arm pressure. You turn adjuster (fading the drum) clockwise.

Good luck,
Charlie

One last thing...on Brakes for me... I have decided to get new linings, either new wheel cylinders (or rebuild the existing) and get a new or re-build the master cylinder and new hoses. drums seem pretty good but will check on having them resurfaced. What part sources do you guys recommend or at least have had good experiences with?

I know it is a real job but if the car has been sitting for any length of time, you might want to consider replacing the steel lines as well as the rubber ones. With a new (rebuilt) master cylinder and new (rebuilt) wheel cylinders, there will be a lot of pressure in the lines. Steel lines can corrode from the inside out and if that has happened, the first time you hit the brakes very hard, you could have a sprinkler system! Beamer

I just replaced all my lines with the newer copper/nickel version. I think they are nicer to work with. The line that goes across at the front would be the hardest to replace.

For the shoes, I was able to buy new ones from a classic Chev truck parts supplier here. They used the same shoes on the 1/2 Ton pickups. My shoes have the modern compound and they work perfectly. One of the similar suppliers in the US would be Jim Carter.

Same here. I used steel at first, decided it didn't come out as nice as I hoped, wasted material, and then ordered a 25' roll online. Much easier to work with, especially when double flaring.

Oh, yeah, that T junction up front is a real pain in the a**!!!