Re: The Duchess Project: 1940 Super 8 Convertible Sedan

Posted by Joe Santana On 2022/4/28 9:32:41

Thanks, Jon, I'm going to try it again this morning. It usually takes me 4 times to reassemble something correctly.

Earlier in the thread I mentioned that Jeff Adkins at Moose Motors in Penngrove put together the backing plates for me, matched the drums and arced the new shoes, and I have been very careful to mark the drums and keep them matched. I know it must be something simple.

The problem I have with so many things mechanical is that my mind finds logic for the opposite of what's right. For instance, that little star adjuster. Normally righty tighty (clockwise) lefty loosey (counterclockwise), right? Because that bottom spring holds it, you need the brake spoon to turn the star, so the motion is now up and down. Positioning the spoon under the star and pressing down turns the star left/counter-clockwise. Positioning the spoon at the top of the star and pushing up turns the star clockwise. The more you turn it clockwise the more the adjuster Unscrews itself. And it takes a real leap of faith in my mind to believe that the more it unscrews, the tighter the brakes will be. I know it seems simple to most people, but I have to really think about it.

And it's counterintuitive to me that cone-shaped outer bearings should NOT follow the same angle as the hub. The hub gets smaller to the outside, but the bearing gets smaller toward the inside. My mind has trouble grasping that and of course in the parts manual there's no cutaway illustration of the front brake assembly. Anyway, I know it's my problem, so I'm going out there again (it's like winter here 44 degrees now, up from 36) and do try #2. Only 2 more to go.