Coming from the mechanical brake world of Model A's and the almost-no-brakes world of Model T's
, the hydraulic brake system on these old V8 Fords is quite alien to me and almost everything about these brakes runs counter to what I know about antique Ford braking operations: partial shoe linings, no shoe movement upon application of the pedal, don't push the pedal down to check the physical movement of the shoes without the drums being in place, etc. Yikes! After reading all the posts so far
multiple times and disabusing myself of what I thought I knew how brakes work, I think the crystalizing moment came in JSeery's comments in post #16. They summarized what you other guys were telling me. I think the part I was missing in order to understand how these brakes work is that when one brake shoe moves upon application of the brake pedal, it "jump starts" all the other shoes in a nanosecond. The one shoe moves, which triggers the other shoe in that drum to move which then triggers the hydraulic pressure in the other three drums to move. I envision a domino effect jump started by the movement of just one shoe. But the drums must be in place for this to happen. Is that the basic operational concept? If so, that would explain why only one shoe noticeably moved when the brake pedal was depressed with the drums off. Had the drums been in place, the domino effect would have occurred in a flash. Is THAT correct? And if both of those premises are correct, you couldn't test the hydraulic action in a static situation, i.e., up on jack stands. The car would actually have to be moving with the drums spinning to start the braking action. If all of these observations are correct, then I think I got the theoretical "hang" of the thing.
As stated earlier, after multiple bleedings and with the brake shoes adjusted to give a slight drag on the drums, our pedal still went to the floor, even when the clutch was let out slightly to set the car in motion. I understand that our shoe linings are very thin and new ones have been ordered. But thin linings notwithstanding, shouldn't there have been more brake pedal resistance under those conditions than bottoming out against the bell housing with no appreciable brakes?
The new shoe linings should be here at the end of the week, but I won't be able to reline our shoes until next week so that I can finish up a friend's Model A over the weekend. I'll report back next week once the new shoe linings have been installed. Later today I'll also post photos of the modified pedal placement and the master cylinder for comment.
Hang in there with me, Guys! Don't stop trying to help me STOP this car.
Marshall