The Great Pumpkin - '71 Duster
The brakes on this car were a little scary. When I got it, they were real loose. I believe they had been backed off to reduce drag at the track and never got put back for the street. Even after tightening them up, they still needed to be pumped. Nothing was leaking but it was all worn out pretty bad. Again, it looked like this was all the OE stuff. If not, it hadn't been serviced in ages. A couple of the shoes were cracked and everything was generally crusty.
Before making a choice on what to do with the brakes, I did a lot of research on what was out there and there is in fact a lot to choose from. I had two complete disk set ups already on hand but I decided not to use either one and sold them off. My issue with them was that they were either the heavy factory parts and/or were based off of those, both of which put the wheels out farther than my original set up. Not what I was after!
I never knew that until recently. I really liked the look and stance of the car the way it was. I realized that I had the experience of tires rubbing on the front fenders with that setup on my old Dart but I never put two and two together. There are few choices out there to remedy this scenario. I could have gone with a Wilwood set up which uses 10" drum spindles and only moves the wheel out around .20" but I decided on the SSBC/aluminum Kelsey Hayes style 4 piston calipers instead. They're super light and appear to be well made. They are an 'upgrade' for the OE cast iron ones and only fit cars with that option. Whatever. I just liked 'em. I was able to get the rest of the parts to complete the job - spindles, hubs, rotors, new bearings and seals and hardware. Some of you guys might think it was an odd decision to stay with the small bolt pattern but I avoided the cost of new wheels and kept the look I liked. I even found some longer wheel studs for a little peace of mind from a source down in Australia. See thread about those here.
There was an older B+M line lock on the car but it never worked right. I was never sure if it was because the brakes were too loose or if it was just not working. I learned that it wasn't installed right. The solenoid needs to be installed after the distribution block. This old one was just spliced into the front brake lines out of the master. The brake light would come on and would hold for a second but it wouldn't hold the car if you let off the brake pedal. I got a Hurst roll control.
All the old lines came out too and I bent up new ones myself. There was a lot of trial and error and re-dos. Doing the front line that goes across the firewall was a real *****, as were the ones that go under the frame to the flex lines.
I ordered a braided front line kit from Mancini. I got new wheel cylinders for the rears as well as new drums, shoes and hardware. All the fittings are stainless so they don't rust ion place. I also had a new lightweight master cylinder and mounting bracket. I had most of this stuff for a while so it was good to finally put it to use.
I put a prop valve in the line to the rears that was mounted on top of the frame connector with a home made bracket. Worked out OK and is easy to reach.
Not many pics at the moment but here's some to start.
Here's the crusted, heavy drum brakes detached from the car for the first time in decades.
Old drum brake master after draining old fluid. Those lines were on there good.
Ancient front lines soaked with penetrant.
Here's the OE distribution block, also soaking with penetrant.
'Restored' master cylinder pushrod. Soaked in Evaporust, wire wheeled and coasted with Rust Prevention Magic.
Here's a tool I made to straighten out bulk lines that come in coils. You uncoil it a little and stick it between the wheels while running it back and forth. Comes out straight as an arrow. makes life easier.
That's all I have for now on the brakes. I'll update with more stuff when I get to it. More to come.
The brakes on this car were a little scary. When I got it, they were real loose. I believe they had been backed off to reduce drag at the track and never got put back for the street. Even after tightening them up, they still needed to be pumped. Nothing was leaking but it was all worn out pretty bad. Again, it looked like this was all the OE stuff. If not, it hadn't been serviced in ages. A couple of the shoes were cracked and everything was generally crusty.
Before making a choice on what to do with the brakes, I did a lot of research on what was out there and there is in fact a lot to choose from. I had two complete disk set ups already on hand but I decided not to use either one and sold them off. My issue with them was that they were either the heavy factory parts and/or were based off of those, both of which put the wheels out farther than my original set up. Not what I was after!
I never knew that until recently. I really liked the look and stance of the car the way it was. I realized that I had the experience of tires rubbing on the front fenders with that setup on my old Dart but I never put two and two together. There are few choices out there to remedy this scenario. I could have gone with a Wilwood set up which uses 10" drum spindles and only moves the wheel out around .20" but I decided on the SSBC/aluminum Kelsey Hayes style 4 piston calipers instead. They're super light and appear to be well made. They are an 'upgrade' for the OE cast iron ones and only fit cars with that option. Whatever. I just liked 'em. I was able to get the rest of the parts to complete the job - spindles, hubs, rotors, new bearings and seals and hardware. Some of you guys might think it was an odd decision to stay with the small bolt pattern but I avoided the cost of new wheels and kept the look I liked. I even found some longer wheel studs for a little peace of mind from a source down in Australia. See thread about those here.
There was an older B+M line lock on the car but it never worked right. I was never sure if it was because the brakes were too loose or if it was just not working. I learned that it wasn't installed right. The solenoid needs to be installed after the distribution block. This old one was just spliced into the front brake lines out of the master. The brake light would come on and would hold for a second but it wouldn't hold the car if you let off the brake pedal. I got a Hurst roll control.
All the old lines came out too and I bent up new ones myself. There was a lot of trial and error and re-dos. Doing the front line that goes across the firewall was a real *****, as were the ones that go under the frame to the flex lines.
I ordered a braided front line kit from Mancini. I got new wheel cylinders for the rears as well as new drums, shoes and hardware. All the fittings are stainless so they don't rust ion place. I also had a new lightweight master cylinder and mounting bracket. I had most of this stuff for a while so it was good to finally put it to use.
I put a prop valve in the line to the rears that was mounted on top of the frame connector with a home made bracket. Worked out OK and is easy to reach.
Not many pics at the moment but here's some to start.
Here's the crusted, heavy drum brakes detached from the car for the first time in decades.
Old drum brake master after draining old fluid. Those lines were on there good.
Ancient front lines soaked with penetrant.
Here's the OE distribution block, also soaking with penetrant.
'Restored' master cylinder pushrod. Soaked in Evaporust, wire wheeled and coasted with Rust Prevention Magic.
Here's a tool I made to straighten out bulk lines that come in coils. You uncoil it a little and stick it between the wheels while running it back and forth. Comes out straight as an arrow. makes life easier.
That's all I have for now on the brakes. I'll update with more stuff when I get to it. More to come.
