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1932 Mechanical (wire) brakes: a few tips needed

Started by 47bigcadillac, July 15, 2009, 03:25:52 AM

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47bigcadillac

Hi everyone. I am looking at ways to make the brakes of my 1932 v8 a bit more..."effective" at stopping the car.

Currently they work but require tremendous pressure to really stop the car, especially downhill and at higher speed.

The brake pedal travel and play seems in line with what the shop manual indicates. Pedal does not go to the floor.
When braking hard there is not wandering sideways...brakes do squeal quite a bit though.

On my 1947, fluid brake system, I can improve things by adjusting the shoes to be closer to the drum, using the adjusting wheel-nut, so that less pedal pressure is needed to achieve the same stopping power.

Can a similar effect be achieved by turning the brake adjusting nut on the cam lever in a 1932 ?
Does the brake cable require more oiling perhaps ?

Any ideas welcome.

Thanks
Rob Brandys
R. Brandys

1932 355B  5 pass Coupe,  Fleetwood          
1935 LaSalle Coupe  5077
1947 Club Coupe      6207

Don Boshara #594

I don't know about the 32s, but the 33s had a vacuum booster. Have you checked that out?
1940 Sixty Special
1966 Mustang Cpe

47bigcadillac

the vacuum brake booster was only available on some of the bigger v12 and v16 cars of 1932.
R. Brandys

1932 355B  5 pass Coupe,  Fleetwood          
1935 LaSalle Coupe  5077
1947 Club Coupe      6207

Wayne Womble 12210

They do take a bit of leg to stop, even when they are good. You need to be careful with the adjustments though. The aluminum shoes will expand when hot and cause some drag, so I wouldnt go overboard with the tight adjustments. My opinion is, if it`s  squealing, the linings probably could use changing. They are probably glazed.

47bigcadillac

#4
ah I see..good points thanks!
if only the surface is glazed, and the lining thickness is still sufficient I could perhaps try to slighlty sand the surface with some thin grain sand-paper..
R. Brandys

1932 355B  5 pass Coupe,  Fleetwood          
1935 LaSalle Coupe  5077
1947 Club Coupe      6207

Wayne Womble 12210

I had pretty good luck with a Model A Ford using the woven linings. They worked well. When I got the big 31 Cadillac sedan, I had to throw out an anchor to stop it, so I had some woven linings installed on it. They also worked well, but will probably not last as long.  I have about 6000 miles on them now with no troubles. I also have a `31 parts car that, interestingly,  had a half set of woven linings on it when I disassembled it. It had hard linings on the front half of the shoes and woven on the rear half. I am sure that was a field conversion. Just thoughts.

Johan Boltendal #158

Wayne is right, as he usually is, what I like to add is; adjust the whole brake system after the manual, adjust connections, arms, bracket distances, etc, all as requiered.
don't forget the cam bracket cenrtralisation on all 4 brakes. It is essential to have all dimension right, to get the proper stopping power.

When this is done the way it should be, you should be able to lock up all 4,with the right pressure to the pedal !
Johan

47bigcadillac

John and Wayne, thanks again for those advices.
I am going to put the car on 4 stands and work on those brakes until I get this right..no reason why it should not brake like the day it was made.
Rob
R. Brandys

1932 355B  5 pass Coupe,  Fleetwood          
1935 LaSalle Coupe  5077
1947 Club Coupe      6207

Warren Rauch

  I did some checking in the 1932-33 issues of the Serviceman.
from May 15,1932: They made a change in the front brake cable method of greasing. Up to this point you had to remove the brake rod and using an adapter HMJ-254 force grease into the cable. Starting at car 355B serial # 12-2535 , there is a plug in the ferrule at the rod end that can be removed and a grease fitting put in to do the job.( remmember to oil the pins in the system)
from Jan 1, 1933  There is a correction for the 1932 shop manual. The dimension for the front brake rod adjustment should be 3 11/16 instead of 3 3/16 inches. The 3 3/16 measurement was when the brakes were applied, but since the adjustment was normally made when they are released, this required the change.( I checked a 1932-33 manual and it had the new number)Warren