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Friendly reminder though…. The 138 had different drums and shoes then the standard 120. Those do look pretty new and clean though.

Cli55er - Thanks, I wasn’t aware of that, but it makes sense. I just took a look at the parts manual and see that the wheel cylinders are different as well.

Based on the visual condition of the brakes, the cylinders may be ok. As long as they are not leaking and the fluid doesn't look bad, they make be good. If so, a fluid change and adjustment may be all you need. It does look like the brakes have been replaced sometime this century. But if there is any doubt, replace them—cheap insurance.

I'd inspect steel and rubber lines. Those are usually what are neglected. Especially the steel lines.

You nailed it. The brakes were gone through in 2004. The plan is to just inspect them thoroughly and check for leaks, new fluid, and adjustment. I’ve just been researching parts in case they are needed.

Spent some time just tinkering last night and decided to wipe down/clean up the engine area. While I was doing that, I made point to look for any areas of obvious leaks etc…. I’m happy to report that all I found was a thick layer of dust from sitting for 20 years.

While I was at it, I decided to make sure the engine would turn by hand. I was 99.9% sure it would since it was running well in 2004. Very happy to say I had no surprises on that front.

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Well, the right rear drum came off quite easily. I’ll try the left rear tomorrow when my 1-1/2 in impact socket shows up to take the axle nut loose. Not sure why, but I have 1-1/2 on the left and 1-1/4 on the right.

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If anyone has the correct oil-bath air cleaner, please let me know. I had bought one that I thought was right, but doesn’t fit on the carburetor. It came with a spare part to possibly make “one from two” and the spare part does does fit.

I’m just hoping to find one that doesn’t need quite as much work.

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While waiting on the 1-1/2 in impact socket to show up tomorrow, I decided to see what I could do with the spare mount rods again. I’ve been soaking with PB Blaster every day for almost a week. I wasn’t very optimistic since I hadn’t been able to get either one to budge at all, but one more try….

It budged!!! Once I got it to move a little I was able to add PB Blaster and get it a little more with each try. I now have both sides moving like they should and followed up with WD-40 as it seemed to clean out the rust and PB Blaster well.

The rods were both full of 80 years of dirt and grime and the threads were a bit rusty. A tap was a necessary step to clean the threads.

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Now, I’m done for the night. I was thinking my headlight reflectors might be toast. But, they were nothing a little simichrome couldn’t handle.

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Okay…looking for some guidance/experience….

I have all the brake drums off. The left rear was very anti-climatic. The right rear was much more “fun” and came off with a BANG.

Here are photos of of each wheel along with a photo of the inside of my master cylinder. My thought is that I’m best off to call Kanter and get a new master cylinder.

What I need help with is if what your thoughts are regarding the wheel cylinders. For now, I’m thinking to just replace the master and see how it goes. I’m just wondering if I should go ahead and buy re-build kits for the wheel cylinders now. Open to all thoughts.

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