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Rear Brake Cylinders - 1942 Series 67

Started by Tod - NTCLC, October 05, 2009, 11:21:53 AM

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Tod - NTCLC

I need some assistance form either someone with a book, or someone with some first hand knowledge.  I ordered the full brake set from Kanter, and they sent me 4 front wheel cylinders instead of two fronts and two rears.  As often happens, I ordered the set about a year before I actually did the work, so when I went to install the rears, I discovered the problem.  I then purchased just the two rear cylinders from Kanter, and once again, they sent me two fronts??  When I called to talk to them, they claimed that the fronts and rears are the same cylinder on the series 67 and the commercial chassis (the smaller rear cylinders are only for the rest of the line-up).

I have since checked around, and find that NAPA also lists the rears as being the same as the front, and CaddyDaddy claims the same thing.  I have never heard of the fronts and rears being the same size (always thought that the rears were supposed to be smaller), but, if the big parts houses make that claim, then I will go for it.  I did not save the originals since they were pretty much a solid block of rested metal.

So, here is the problem - I can use Kanter's cylinders, they mount and fit perfect, BUT, the fitting for the brake fluid line is designed for a brake hose fitting, and not the original steel brake line fitting - the fitting on the hose being a bit larger and coarser thread than the smaller, finer thread on the brake line.

Finally, my questions - is the series 67 rear cylinder supposed to be the same as the front?  If yes, how does one overcome the brake line situation - is there an adapter fitting that will allow the brake line fitting to fit into the hose fitting on the cylinder?  I could use hoses in the rear, but that is just wrong.  I guess I could have new lines made up, but it just seems strange that that would be necessary.

Any tips or information will be greatly appreciated -

Bob Hoffmann CLC#96

Tod, with brake parts, as time moves on, one size tends to fit alll more each year. For SURE fronts are 1 1/8" & rears are 1". And the MPB shows many years interchanging. So... you need to find someone that will MATCH your originalls & throw their interchange book out the window. HTH, Bob
1968 Eldorado slick top ,white/red interior
2015 Holden Ute HSV Maloo red/black interior.
             
Too much fun is more than you can have.

Rod Dahlgren #19496

Hey Bob, true that the rears are supposed to be 1". Larger ones will throw off the balance slightly. But could be used if the lines can be attached. There used to be an adapter to go from the original hose/copper-washer to the inverted flare he needs. Any idea if you can still get the adapter fitting from NAPA or someplace?
I get really frustrated with parts guys... Most have never worked on any cars at all.. Especially old cars. I try to pick up old aftermarket parts books with illustrations and dimensions in the book.. The I can search the books for some parts by dimension and ask for that part by number.. Takes MANY HOURS to do this.. Then when I tell my customer how long it took to find a 2.00 part, they can not understand why I had to add something for the hours of research.

Rod  CLC#19496
Did You Drive Your Cadillac Today?

Tod - NTCLC

Well, if it is true that 1" is what is called for in the rears, it looks as if those can be had, but every vendor is telling me that they are not correct for the Series 67 and the commercial chassis.  The service manual only indicates that these models use larger rear wheel cylinders than the other series, but does not give a size (I need to re-read more carefully to make sure that is the case).

Maybe there is some sort of adapter that I just don't have - I don't want to undersize the rear wheel cylinders, but I am surprised that no one else has encountered this.

harvey b

Hi There,i ran into a similar situation when i overhauled the brakes on my 37-60 series,the rear cylinders that were on the car had a small brass block,similar to the one that is used on the top of the rear end,it used a long bolt that screwed into the wheel cylinder,it had a hollow type bolt and one port to screw the line into?,my new cylinders did not use this arrangement,the line went directly into them,i can look and see if i saved these fittings,they may not be what you need?,i remember thinking this was a strange setup at the time,my new cylinders came from a place called oldtime parts,will post later if i can find these blocks. Thanks Harvey B
Harvey Bowness

Tod - NTCLC

Yep Harvey, I think you hit the nail on the head.  It appears that there are adapters to make this work.  I spoke to hot-rod shop who says he has many adapters for these applications, so I will take a wheel cylinder and the brake line over to see if we find a match.

In the interim, I have sent out inquires to the other Cadillac parts suppliers on the Vendor list, and I will see if I can find some consensus on the size issue.

Any tips or suggestions are appreciated.

harvey b

Hi Tod,i found the parts i was telling you about,only found 1 of them,this will give you an idea as to what you need.My car had the same as yours with what looked like front wheel cylinders all around,the rears were slanted like the front,i am not sure if this was original as my car has been worked on before i got it?,look at the pictures and it will show how mine was when i got it,the bolt had brass washers on it too,to help seal it up.HTH Harvey B
Harvey Bowness

harvey b

Heres another picture,i hit the wrong button and did not send both at once :'(  Harvey B
Harvey Bowness