The Ford Barn

philcobill · 08-16-2023, 08:14 PM

We are repairing and servicing the brakes on Little Willie, our 1929 Special Coupe. When driving the car the brakes were very stiff, and you had to push very hard to get the car to stop. I felt unsafe driving it because the car would not stop quickly, you had to anticipate stopping a long distance from a full stop even using the engine to hake slow the car down.. It was like driving a truck.

The mechanic looking at the brakes discovered they were in bad shape. The drums needed to be turned, two of the linkage rods were bent, the parking brake needed repair, the brake shoe linings all needed to be replaced, and then mated and arced to fit the drums. The brake linings were contacting a only a small part of the brake drums. It is my understanding that the linings must contact the drums their whole length, so mating and arcing the linings will fix that. Two of the car's four backer plates were cracked and needed to be replaced. There are a couple of other minor issues involving the brakes and hubs that will be addressed as well.

I am glad that we are having the brakes repaired and serviced so that Little Willie will be safe to drive. My question is, with all of these problems, if a competent mechanic addresses all of these issues, is there anything else that we should watch our for?

08-16-2023, 08:14 PM	#1
philcobill Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2021 Location: Walworth, New York Posts: 138	Brake issues We are repairing and servicing the brakes on Little Willie, our 1929 Special Coupe. When driving the car the brakes were very stiff, and you had to push very hard to get the car to stop. I felt unsafe driving it because the car would not stop quickly, you had to anticipate stopping a long distance from a full stop even using the engine to hake slow the car down.. It was like driving a truck. The mechanic looking at the brakes discovered they were in bad shape. The drums needed to be turned, two of the linkage rods were bent, the parking brake needed repair, the brake shoe linings all needed to be replaced, and then mated and arced to fit the drums. The brake linings were contacting a only a small part of the brake drums. It is my understanding that the linings must contact the drums their whole length, so mating and arcing the linings will fix that. Two of the car's four backer plates were cracked and needed to be replaced. There are a couple of other minor issues involving the brakes and hubs that will be addressed as well. I am glad that we are having the brakes repaired and serviced so that Little Willie will be safe to drive. My question is, with all of these problems, if a competent mechanic addresses all of these issues, is there anything else that we should watch our for? Last edited by philcobill; 08-16-2023 at 08:20 PM.