Re: Help with 34 Club Sedan, please!

Posted by Owen_Dyneto On 2008/12/29 12:54:30

One word of warning, do not drive the car with the vacuum pipe removed from the inlet manifold, there are no brakes whatsoever! Come to a very dramatic stop at the end of my hill.

Glad you have apparently found the problem, but what you said above can't be the case!!! By breaking the vacuum line you've disabled the booster but you still have the standard mechanical brakes without power assist, you just have to push a bit harder. If in fact you can't stop the car with the pedal and w/o the booster but you can with the parking brake, you've got some serious problem because all the parking brake does is activate the same system of levers and cables as the foot brake (yes, the parking brake functions on all 4 wheels).

The brakes on these cars (Bendix 14 inch servo) should be nothing short of spectacular. If you have problems after you reconnect the vacuum line and suspect the booster system, consider examining the diaphram in the brake selector (on the dash, determines how much boost you want to apply) and the brake actuating valve under the floor boards. The original diaphrams were of paper construction and mine still worked OK after 70 years but I did replace them with new neoprene ones available from Classic & Exotic. You might also check the brake booster cylinder itself to see it it's capable of holding a vacuum. And while you're under there, check the steel cable from the booster cylinder to the brake linkage - it runs thru a pulley which if not lubricated will sieze and chafe the cable to the point where it will stretch and subsequently break!

I did a few weddings many years back but no longer do, it's a violation of my historic vehicle registration, to be legal here it would require special "car for hire" registration. I just won't take the risk of having an accident and having my insurance denied and sued for all I have. Hope you're legal and proper with those items.