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1932 Cadillac Brake lining questions

Started by Alex D., November 26, 2021, 07:27:44 PM

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Alex D.

Looking to reline the brake lining on a 1932 Cadillac. The manual states 3/16 lining. The previous owner had them relined with 1/4 inch upper and 3/16 inch lower.

Why the different size lining? I think this may be part of the problem centralizing the brake cam and a soft pedal.

What would be the proper lining material, woven or molded? McMaster sells semi-metallic and molded.

The drums have been turned .070 over, should I go with a thicker lining?

Trying to get this right. Any input is appreciated

Alex D.
1932 370B  V12

Dave Shepherd

When drums are cut that far oversized it is always recommended  to have the linings  arc ground to insure full contact with the drum surface. No idea why different  thickness linings,  but getting a proper adjustment is near impossible.

Roger Zimmermann

#2
As you have certainly the shop manual, you know that the drums should not be turned more than .030". Probably the thicker lining was used to compensate for the excessive inner diameter. However, the cam is pushing both shoes, the one with the thicker liner will contact the drum but not the other one. In your case, the lower shoe is somewhat working, but the floating one (the upper) not. There must be no wear at this lining. With a thicker lining at each shoe, you should have less trouble.   
My knowledge with those brakes are limited to what I did for the scale model, therefore my comments may be irrelevant.
Do you have trouble with the front brakes? Are the rear ones in a better condition?
1956 Sedan de Ville (sold)
1956 Eldorado Biarritz
1957 Eldorado Brougham (sold)
1972 Coupe de Ville
2011 DTS
CLCMRC benefactor #101

Alex D.

The rear brakes are locking up but with the same issue of different size lining and probably due to malfunctioning front brakes

Going to replace the 3/16" lining of the lower shoe with 1/4 ". this hopefully will give me some adjustment of the cam.

Watched a friend arc grind his shoes by applying adhesive backed sandpaper to half the inside of the drum and work the shoes back and forth. The other half he applied a dry guide coat to the drum and worked the shoes back and forth. The guide coat showed the contact area of the shoes. A process I might try if unable to find a brake shoe grinder locally.
1932 370B  V12

Dave Shepherd

Any arc ground truing  requires the exact drum diameter.  White Post restorations does this routinely when they do shoe relines.

wheikkila

After you get the same size shoes. I would check around for a shop the does clutches and brakes. Most shops that rebuild these items can arc the shoes. Early in my career we arced the shoes with every brake job.  Later we quite turning drums and just installed new ones with every job. Unless you just need to remove the glaze.
                           Thanks Wayne   

kkarrer

You definitely want the same thickness on your linings.  Any good lining product will work.  Most larger cities have brake and clutch specialists (we do here in Austin and I can put you in touch) that can arch the linings to match the drums.  You also want to be sure that your rods are all straight and make your adjustment so that there's just a bit of drag when you turn the wheels.  You'll hear them and if that sound comes and goes as you turn the wheel, the arch isn't yet proper.  If it's just a bit off you can probably "burn them in" with a few hard stops.  Also, I finished restoring my 32 AW Phaeton and I have a radiator shell and complete headlights and a few other parts.  If you're interested, let me know.
Ken Karrer
CenTex CLC Reg. Dir.
kenneth.karreremail addresses not permitted

pmhowe

This is good information. Exactly what I needed to know. Thanks, Alex for starting this thread,
Phil

DaveZ

I don't know about the 12's and 16's, but in 1932 the V8's had two different shoes. One steel and one aluminum. One had woven and one didn't. I would have to go look to see which is which. Off hand I don't remember the reason, but it had to do with one being the floating.
Regards,
David Zitzmann
1932 345B

Roger Zimmermann

In the master parts list, there is only the woven type mentioned for the short and the long shoes. That material was sold in rolls only, in two available thicknesses: 3/16 and 1/4.
1956 Sedan de Ville (sold)
1956 Eldorado Biarritz
1957 Eldorado Brougham (sold)
1972 Coupe de Ville
2011 DTS
CLCMRC benefactor #101

Alex D.

DaveZ
According to the service manual, "The floating or upper brake shoes are energized with the forward motion of the car. For this reason, they are made of aluminum alloy. The anchored or lower shoes are energized with the backwards movement of the car. Therefor they do less braking and are made of steel".  The V8 and V12 are the same, where the V16 is larger and wider.

Roger
To make things more confusing, the brake lining chart in the master parts book is for the woven type. The next chart shows roll lengths for Ferodo and U.S. Asbestos. Is the Ferodo of the woven type or the European manufacture? We all know asbestos outlawed.
The service manual specifications state "full molded lining used on rear brakes and semi-molded on front brakes". Is semi-Molded the woven type?
1932 370B  V12

Roger Zimmermann

I may be wrong, but the second chart is just telling from which manufacturer the lining are: look at the part number and compare with the part number from the first chart.
At that time, asbestos was not (yet) a concern. I'm not sure if you can find woven lining nowadays.
1956 Sedan de Ville (sold)
1956 Eldorado Biarritz
1957 Eldorado Brougham (sold)
1972 Coupe de Ville
2011 DTS
CLCMRC benefactor #101

Alex D.

Roger

Purchased the 1/4-inch woven material from McMaster-Carr, https://www.mcmaster.com/brake-lining/. This way I thought I would only have to re-line the lower shoes. May have made a mistake since the lining from McMaster appears to be of a different density.   My thought is to go ahead and just replace the lower 1/16 with the 1/4-inch lining and if needed go back and replace the upper.
1932 370B  V12

kkarrer

My suggestion is not to overthink this.  I did this job on my 32 (as described in the previous comment) and they worked just fine...surprisingly well in fact given that they are mechanical brakes.  Hard to believe that Cadillac stuck with this system well into the 30's, when other makers like Chrysler had juice brakes in the 20's.  Get car back on the road and enjoy it! 32 and 33 were great styling years.
Ken Karrer
CenTex CLC Reg. Dir.

Alex D.

For an update on my 32, the upper and lower shoes have been relined with 1/4-inch woven lining. Without any luck finding a brake shoe grinder in my area I applied sandpaper to the inside of the drums and worked the shoes back and forth until I got good contact. Rather time consuming but appears to be good results. I now have a good firm pedal and driveway test are with good results. Road test results will come in the spring when legally tagged and other issues worked out.

Alex D.
1932 370B  V12