Brake problems

[TexasEd 188]

So My brake problems are two sides of a coin.  I have 4 wheel drums. My car has been on jack stands for 7 years but it seemed to work when I drove it into the garage.

All I want is to get this car driving right now so if I can make an inexpensive repair to get it driving great but not going to throw a bunch of money after something that will eventually be upgraded.

Front drums are locked up on both sides,  I originally thought I'd break them free once the car was on the ground.  Beating on the drums drops a lot of rust out but they still wont budge.

Rear brakes don't work at all.  Brake pedal offers little resistance and I opened the reservoir to see the rear was empty except for some rusty residue and the front has some rust at the bottom of the bowl.

I added some brake fluid to the rear and pumped the brakes but still get nothing.

I want to get a front disk brake kit from CSRP but don't have the money right now.  Maybe in 3-4 months.

 

Advice?

[unilec 57]

So it sounds like the pistons in the wheel cylinders have seized, you can try to slacken off the adjuster at the back of the drum brake and try to take off the brake drum that way

[JET 445 43]

Tow the car forward and backward a few feet at a time, the brakes should come loose. You will need a new master cylinder and new wheel cylinders, it will not cost much. There is no point adding fluid to a rusty master cylinder, even if it works it won't work for long , the rust will chop the seals out.

[danno 128]

You might need to cut the drums off.  I have done this before, use a metal blade on an angle grinder. Do not cut too deep, though.  Brake drums should be easy to buy as a replacement.  With everyone on this forum switching to disc, there must be dozens sitting in a junk pile at a dozen garages.  Put out a request for a replacement drum, and you can probably get them from someone on this forum for just the cost of shipping. 

Then cut your existing drum off.  That could be the easiest way if the shoes are rusted to the drum. 

[1969_Mach1 333]

Back off the adjusters.  Try the hammer on the drums again.  If you have torches, maybe heat the drums so they expand.  If the wheel cylinders are seized, they should be in the collapsed position.

[Brian Conway 264]

...as it was explained to me.  The brake shoes swell after sitting forever and thus your issue with drum removal.  I followed some of the suggestions posted here; back off the adjuster, try heating the drum, don't be shy with using a hammer, try prying with assorted screwdrivers.  After much effort got them off, rears, and was able to re-use them.  I don't credit any one approach, except the backing off the adjusters,  probably the constant wiggleing and prying did the trick.  Brian

[Mike65 475]

When my 69 sat for a few years in storage one of the wheels I could not remove the drum. I ended up backing off the adjuster & alternately beating on the drum with a 5 lb sledge hammer, & prying on the drum with a crow bar eventually breaking it free enough to be able to remove the drum. 

[TexasEd 188]

Thanks guys.  I will save up for the brake kit to swap to disc.  It's not in the budget but maybe by March I can afford it.

 

[Vicfreg 771]

I used the Mustang Steve brackets and factory Ford stock disc brakes.   The price point is pretty good for this, and you can get a lot of the parts at local auto stores, or on Ebay.  I have some details posted on my 1970 convertible forum.   Try going to front discs first, and saving the back drums.  Should be lots of available parts to fix the rear drums up.

 

[Caseyrhe 650]

Rear rubber hose will prob need to be replaced too. Autozone and oreillys both sale it, way cheaper than cjs 

[TexasEd 188]

since I am digging into all 4 brakes this spring should I consider going 4 wheel disc and what would that entail?  Does that mean changing out the rear axle at the same time?  Or just keep it simple with rear drums?

 

[Mike65 475]

When I did the brakes (all 4 wheels) on my 69 Coupe which was originally 4 wheel drum, I just rebuilt the rear drum brakes & converted the fronts to disc.

[Vicfreg 771]

I am with Mike on this. I would rebuild the rear drums and do the front discs.  One issue you may have with the rear discs is that you may have to change out your rear drum brake backing plate or axle retainer plates to accommodate the new disc brakes.   If so, you will have to pull your rear axles to do this.  If your rear end is not leaking, and does not need a rebuild, go with the rear drums for now.  The other issue is that you may need to replace your master cylinder and add a front/rear bias valve with the rear discs.  

 

 

[Vicfreg 771]

Ed, posting some pics of what the Mustang Steve brakes look like when they are done.  I found some NOS 2004 Mustang Cobra brakes NOS Ford/Baer slotted/drilled rotors for the brake system hardware.

 

[barnett468 418]

mustang steve has had some issues with his kits in the past due to poor engineering/design so i would check everything carefully and also make sure the brake bleeder is at the highest point to insure you can get all the air out when you bleed them.

your stuff looks very nice, should be a killer looking system when it is done.

what front shocks are those?

[barnett468 418]

you do not need to cut the drums off if you can't move the adjusters. simply remove the brake line and chisel the head of the 2 flimsy brake shoe retaining pins then whack the drum on the back side a few times alternating from one side to the other with a short 2x4 and big hammer. you maw need to heat the drum if it is also seized on the axle.

 

[Vicfreg 771]

Barnett, those are Viking bolt in coil overs.  I took me like a year of doing research before I decide on them.  They have adjustable rebound and damping, and have a 2 collar adjustment feature that allows you to raise and lower the height of the car.  After fussing with cutting pieces of springs off to get my ride height right over the years, decided to do it this way. Also, Viking is in Minnesota, and makes their stuff there.  I spent a good amount of time on the phone with them, and they were very helpful.   

We will see how the car rides and handles, but should be fun...

[RPM 1,190]

Vikings have a good reputation. Word is that a couple of guys who worked at QA1 started Viking.

[Vicfreg 771]

Oh, I didn't know that.  Makes sense.  They are really high quality parts.  I like they are made in the US.  I found another Minnesota supplier CVF, who I got my pulley system through.  Their price point and quality were excellent.

[TexasEd 188]

I've never worked on drum brakes but in my research I think I want to replace the drums, cylinders,  and all the springs.  Does this look complete?

 

[Tain 63]

19 hours ago, TexasEd said:

I've never worked on drum brakes but in my research I think I want to replace the drums, cylinders,  and all the springs.  Does this look complete?

 

looks complete 

 

[Wildpat 0]

Kinda in the same process to switch my front brakes from drum to Power Discs. I was with Shaun from Opentracker on the phone this morning. For a street cruiser, no real need to switch to disc on the rear. On the other hand, good drums on the rear will be needed.

Also I want to do the front suspension at the same time, and will go with OT Bilstein kit.

[TexasEd 188]

Going to finally order my drum parts today.  I guess I should replace all my wheel bearings too, right?

 

Thanks.

[Grabber70Mach 107]

On the fronts? Then yes, I would recommend getting Temkin bearings and races.

[RPM 1,190]

2 hours ago, Grabber70Mach said:

On the fronts? Then yes, I would recommend getting Temkin bearings and races.

Absolutely Timken bearings. My Chicom bearings didn't make it home for me. Only thing holding on the wheel was the caliper.