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Jim, sounds like the old gal is coming along great. Nice to find the brake issue while in the driveway, instead of heading down an off-ramp somewhere!

There are many time in my garage work where I have to remind myself to take a picture, and there are also plenty of times I am to dirty to do so.

Sounds like '40 will soon be ready for the trip out here in January!

So after some digging and comparing info. a buddy provided to images on the Bendix website it became apparent the 12" X 2" shoes used front and rear on a 1940 160 are Bendix R-33 webs. Sourced two sets of relined R-33's at Carquest for about $65 bucks, no core charge.

The lining was nicely fit, and of proper length for primary and secondary shoe application. The primary lining looked to be about the thickness I would expect for a Bendix self energizing brake system. The secondary lining is normally thicker, but in this case it was substantially thicker. The lining on the secondary shoes appeared to actually be fitted with oversized lining.

A common practice that seems to have been lost with time is to fit the shoes in the respective brake drums and check for at least 90% friction to drum contact.

In this case, I had about 90+% contact with the primary shoes in the rear drums. That figures, the rear drums measure darn near standard. However, the secondary shoes fit with only contact on the very edges of the shoe. The center of the shoes stood off the drum about .050" to .090" thousandths. With the miles most of us put on these cars, it would take about 10 years to bed that in. Until then, the brakes would substantially under-perform.

The answer is to arc the shoes on a brake shoe arcing machine. This was common place in any competent auto repair shop years ago for reasons mentioned above. Pictured below is a pictorial of the process and equipment to arc brake lining to conform properly and completely to the circumference.

A before and after of the friction to drum contact is very telling. I hope this is informative and gives folks an idea of what arcing brake shoes was (is) all about.

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Very cool Jim! Any luck running down the other part numbers?

Jim
I have an air cleaner for you. Do you still need one? E-mail me.
StelvioGT@yahoo.com

Hi West,

Email sent, Thanks!

Quote:

Hey Kev, no I haven't had a chance to dig into the components just yet. The plan if all goes well will be to put tomorrow in on the brake system. I will make a laundry list and spend next week chasing down the numbers we chatted about the other night.

Hope to make some big progress this weekend.

Worked on installing the foundation brake components this weekend. Found the center web strut on the Bendix 33's is just a touch wider than the ones that Bendix supplied Packard. This is likely because the 33's are a truck application. This requires a bit of file work on the E-Brake link and ends of the star adjuster. Not a major issue, just a bit of time.

Wheel cylinders literally seemed brand new. Happy days! One piston was stuck, and the cups were as tight as I have ever seen. Called NAPA and they said they had no wheel cylinder kits. Armed with the kit numbers Big Kev supplied in the caht room the other night they changed there answer to "ye, we have those in stock". Thanks Kev! A real time saver.

Once the brake foundations were assembled, it was brake line time. I ordered in a 25' roll of 1/4" steel brake line. My buddy Bob gave a hand removing the winding snake through the front cross member and from the master cyl. to rear axle. What a chore! I am really finicky about making things as they were originally, including not using couplers in the runs of line if I do not have to; just hard headed I guess.

We got the lines out and began to roll, match, bend, and flare line. The rear line was a touch over 8' long, and actually went through the frame for about 18" up toward the master cyl. It was tricky, but did manage to get it all installed with no couplers. Looks very good. Basically once a short section is bent to match, we overlaid the tubing and taped it together as we went. Most excellent with two people to manage the job.

Had a slight problem with the rear shoes. They were just a smidge tight and anchor adjustment would not correct. Thought about it a bit and checked the fronts. They were fine. The fronts were turned just a bit under and the lining seemed a bit thick. I think the rears being standard made for a tight fit. The fix was to turn about .045" off the end of the star wheel assembly to facilitate adequate retraction of the shoe assemblies. It worked just fine. While it has been a bit of a time consuming brake job, I am now able to use commonly available brake shoes and have the piece of mind of all new brake components.

System is all bleed and fluid tight! All that's left is the major adjustment per the manual (e-brake, anchor, and proper shoe clearance) and the job will be completed.

The more I look at the fuel line, I think I will order in a roll of 5/16" and do that in the near future. A little time consuming, a lot of piece of mind.

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A bit of progress this weekend. We adopted a forlorn little stray doggy this week. He likes to hang out in the garage and seems to be Packard approved. He is a little weak right now, but getting stronger by the day.

Managed to get new inner tie rod ends installed. It was not to tough, just a good whack on the pickle fork and they released with ease.

Got out the 36" Crescent and 3/4" drive socket set to remove the pinion flange. With new seal in hand, it turned out to be the wrong size. It happens, it is easily corrected. Also ran into a situation where the seals I got for the front hubs just dropped in the hub. They are about .020" under. Came from the same fellow, will send all back and he will get me the correct ones. Just one of those annoying little setbacks we all encounter from time to time.

Other than that, started to do e-brake adjustments and brake adjustments. Changed transmission oil, and filled front shocks with hydraulic fluid. Getting closer, just working a little at a time.

The car is beginning to limber up and take shape. It is neat to see things come to life with care and attention.

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I just noticed your running board molding. They look correct. Guard them with your life. $800 to replace them with new ones.

The seals came in yesterday. This was a pleasant surprise and really speaks to the dedication that George of Olcar Bearings has to helping his customers. He is a really nice fellow and has been great to work with. Thanks Dave C. and Jay F. for your mention of him here in the forums. Jay, your pinion seal thread and conversation we had sometime back prompted me to go with a rawhide seal.

The old pinion seal shell had to be rebuilt because the fellow I got the seals from didn't have the correct size pinion seal assembly. No big deal, I was careful to not damage the old one upon removal. The replacement leather seal and felt looked great! I removed the old felt, and knocked out the old seal. Interestingly, it almost looked like the major leak was between the seal body, and seal holder shell. Because of this, I applied a small smear of silicon to the leading edge of the new seal. Put everything together and pressed together. Not much trouble at all.

I will let the RTV setup over night and soak in ATF tomorrow to soften leather and lubricate the felt. A pleasant evening task in preparation of installation and reassembly of the pinion flange.

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