Re: Brakes on 11th Series Super 8

Posted by Owen_Dyneto On 2012/6/19 17:29:07

Three comments. First, with self-energizing brakes and two different strength shoe return springs, the weaker spring always goes on the primary shoe so that this shoe contacts the drum first and then transfers it's force to the rear shoe.

As to adjusting, there is an easy way to get very close the first time after a reline without a road test. After following the full adjustment procedure in the Service Letters, put all 4 wheels up on jackstands. Apply the parking brake (which actuates all 4 wheel brakes) partially (a few clicks) so some drag is felt on all 4 wheels. Then just using your arms to rotate the tires against the drag, adjust each wheel individually until you have the desired result (front left should have ever so slightly less drag). There was a special tool for this which essentially gripped the tire firmly and the tire was rotated with a torque wrench on the fixture so you could actually measure quantitative and relative forces. In this case you're essentially doing the same thing just using your arms and sense of feel to rotate and feel the relative braking force at each wheel.

Third, some of Packard's competitors did not have hydraulic brakes in 1934, and some did not for even longer. Hydraulic brakes were still viewed by some with concern, and Packard and several of their competitors stayed with mechanical brakes for several years. For Packard it was hydraulic in the juniors and mechanical in the seniors. The mechanical brake system was very much more costly. Lincoln stayed with mechanicals for how long? 1938? I don't recall, did Pierce-Arrow ever went to hydraulics?

Personally, I'm a real fan of these Bendix 14" mechanical brakes, they have tremendous braking power, the variable power boost is a neat and useful feature, and for a car that has annual lay-up time, never a concern about wheel and master cylinders, hoses, bleeding, flushing, water corrosion in the lines and cylinders, etc. You could conceivably loose brakes at one wheel if a cable broke, but it's a practical impossibility to loose your all brakes.