'56 Patrician Brakes

Posted by John Payne On 2012/10/16 1:55:00

I appreciate that there are other topics covering brake issues, but I thought I might start another as I'm not sure how to dig the relevant info out. I think I have mentioned previously that since reconditioning the brakes on my car (drums honed, new linings, wheel cylinders reco'ed, new rubber hoses), the car pulls rather strongly to the left under brakes. No amount of adjustment seems to be able to compensate for this unnerving tendency. So yesterday, in an effort to try and eliminate some variables from this seemingly complex equation, I swapped the front drums, shoes and bearings left to right, and readjusted. I then took the car for a short test drive and was astounded at the difference. Instead of transferring the strong pull to the right as I was expecting, braking is now so close to neutral that it's close enough for me. Can anyone enlighten me as to why this would be?

Also, as my next step was going to be changeover of the wheel cylinders, I was looking the spec's up in the service manual and noticed that the fronts are 1 1/8" and the rears 1". Why so? Presumably there's a good reason but I thought you would have all four the same to give even braking. Wouldn't smaller cylinders on the rear reduce braking capacity at that end (and maybe increase pedal pressure), and thereby reduce overall braking efficiency? I acknowledge in advance that I'm no expert in the science of braking, although I have often pulled them down and rebuilt them. Regards, John