No-Rol cylinder rebuild

[Ed Metzler]

Anyone know possible source of rebuild kit or replacement for badly leaking "NO-ROL" cylinder in the brake system of my 1940 LaSalle?  The casting info on the cylinder is "Wagner FD 3091".  Guess I can always bypass it and live without this hill-holder feature, but it has worked beautifully for years and I hate to lose this function. 

[Bob Schuman]

Ed,
Look at Studebaker websites such as Studebaker Drivers Club, also Studebaker parts vendors. The No-Rol was an option on many cars , with Studebaker the largest user starting in 1936 and extending to nearly the last Studes.

I had a No-Rol on my 41 Cadillac and rebuilt it several times, always having to buy a complete cylinder (I think they called it a Control Valve) because I never found any repair kits. I'm pretty sure the internals were the same for most years and models, the mounting and connections being car and model specific, but that does not matter since you only need the internal parts for a rebuild. The large screwed end cap and the small cap holding the control shaft both use copper gaskets like big spark plug gaskets. The control shaft has a rubber seal around it. The internal parts are simple, an easy rebuild job.

If any vendor rebuilds No-Rols I am unaware of that.

Bob Schuman

[Jay Friedman]

I remember that feature on Studebakers back in the day.  (Yes, I'm that old.)

I drove a modern VW Passat recently, which has a modern version of the same thing in the clutch mechanism with a different name, and which VW touts as an innovation.  I occasionally have to tell people who are not old cars nuts that automotive gadgetry goes back a long way when they marvel over this or that gizmo on an old car. 

[Dan LeBlanc]

I have a VW CC. The auto hold feature I believe is done through the electric parking brake - not that I actually use it. I find it a nuisance on the CC and have it set to always off.

[Ed Metzler]

Thanks, Bob Shuman, for the advice.  The hill holder is one of the favorite topics on the Studebaker sites - hoping I can track down some repair parts.