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  • Sneaking tiny bits of progress

    As many of you know from another post, I have managed to awaken my frumpy little four door lark from a 16 year sleep in the "Man Cave." Since I am so far behind on my wife's list of things for me to do first, I am having to sneak a bit to make any progress on the little forlorn lark.

    Thanks to the kindness of Jamie McLeod (starliner62), I have a set of front brake shoes. I have not been able to get to the complete brake rebuild that will be required, but at least I now have the parts to do the job.

    Today, I moved the brake-less lark out of the man cave and sprayed the emergency brake cable with enough penetrating oil to free the cable up. Now I can at least maneuver the car around in the yard using the hand brake. After sitting for 16 years, it took over 3 quarts of transmission fluid to bring it back to normal shifting response.

    Now I have to decide what sequence to do the brake job. My thinking is to rebuild the master cylinder first, front wheels second, and back wheels last. That way, I can still move it using the emergency brake until I do the back wheels. My wife's sequence involves painting the exterior of the man cave before anything is done on the lark! Now that the county has completed their tax assessment, I suppose painting it would be OK for now. I try to keep it looking as worthless as possible.

    One of the jobs I am having to do is replace the brakes on my wife's Maxima. It has taken 4 trips for my normally reliable "FLAPS" to get the proper rear brake pads for the Maxima! I joked with them that there was something strange about having in stock all the kits to rebuild the brake cylinders on a 1960 Studebaker, and could not quickly and properly fill an order for something as common as brake pads for a Maxima.

    So far, I have managed to resist the urge to take the little V8 powered lark and do donuts around the walnut tree!
    John Clary
    Greer, SC

    SDC member since 1975

  • #2
    mm-mmm. Walnut donuts. Now I'm hungry!

    Maybe you can make a deal with the wifey -- same number of hours on the Lark after a honeydo. We really need that Lark to be roadworthy.

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    • #3
      UPdate

      Saturday, I finally got around to replacing the brakes on my wife's Maxima. Today, I managed to tackle the master cylinder on the Lark. Seems nothing goes as planned and certainly not as quick as I always think it will. First, I had to run to town and take care of some errands.

      When I got back from town, I gave the old master cylinder a quick cleaning with the wire brush on my bench grinder. Then I chucked it in a vise for disassembling. Once that was done, I used some spray brake cleaner so that I could clean the reservoir and bore enough to do an evaluation. Got everything ready for honing and realized that the hone I had was too large to work on a 1" master cylinder. I could not find my smaller hone so another trip to town was required to buy another one.

      I used a mixture of brake cleaner and brake fluid as honing lubricant and got the bore nice and shiny. Opened the "new" rebuild kit only to discover that the rubber dust cover boot was missing. That took another hour or so looking through my stash for a boot. The rebuild kit contained an extra check valve but someone had robbed the boot. Now that I have the master cylinder ready to go, I'll try to get to the wheel cylinders. I intend to use spray cleaner and compressed air to flush the brake lines as well.

      The problem I have just now is that I can't hide the fact that I am working on the Lark for now because I have it out in the driveway up on jack stands. At least she has new brakes on her car, so maybe I can skate by with that for a couple of days.
      John Clary
      Greer, SC

      SDC member since 1975

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      • #4
        OK, so today between voting, a trip to the feed store for some chicken feed, and the grocery store, I tackled one of the front brake cylinders on the lark.

        I removed the wheel, (of course that means re-packing the wheel bearings), brake shoes, and the cylinder. I then chucked the cylinder in a vise and removed the dust cover to find just a "smidge" of corrosion.


        Ya think I should look for new cylinders???

        Click image for larger version

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        John Clary
        Greer, SC

        SDC member since 1975

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        • #5
          John,

          Absolutely!! Don't take any chances with old brake components. Don't forget to buy new flex hoses as well. I highly reccomend DOT 5 fluid. I've used in lots of brake overhauls and the great thing about it, you don't ever have to do a major brake overhaul again! I even use the DOT 5 in the race car...never had any brake problems, no spongy pedal or "boiling" the brake fluid. Hope this helps.

          Dan Miller
          Auburn, GA

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by ROADRACELARK View Post
            John,

            Absolutely!! Don't take any chances with old brake components. Don't forget to buy new flex hoses as well. I highly reccomend DOT 5 fluid. I've used in lots of brake overhauls and the great thing about it, you don't ever have to do a major brake overhaul again! I even use the DOT 5 in the race car...never had any brake problems, no spongy pedal or "boiling" the brake fluid. Hope this helps.

            Dan Miller
            Auburn, GA
            Dan, that is exactly what I did on my '51 Land Cruiser several years ago. When I switched it over to DOT 5, I fabricated all new steel lines, replaced all wheel cylinders, master cylinder and flex lines. So far, it has stopped every time I needed it to.

            As for this one, I am trying to keep from spending any more than I have to. First thing is to check in my parts stash to see what I already have.
            John Clary
            Greer, SC

            SDC member since 1975

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            • #7
              Hopefully, this "her brakes/his brakes" will continue to be productive for you. Don't know what you'll do when you get to the hill holder, though.

              Good to read about your progress.

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              • #8
                Anybody that thinks they can buy a Stude sight unseen, and have a whimsical leisure drive back home 'as an adventure of a lifetime' should take a long and hard look at this picture...
                HTIH (Hope The Info Helps)

                Jeff


                Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please. Mark Twain



                Note: SDC# 070190 (and earlier...)

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                • #9
                  Hey John. I was thinking long before I got to your second post, why would someone even think about rebuilding 50 year old wheel cylinders in this day and age. There are a multitude of them on eBay every day. And I whole heartedly agree that brakes are the most important part of any build or restoration. Cheapest part of a restoration too. Don't be a CASO do it right and be safe out htere.
                  Good Roads
                  Brian
                  Brian Woods
                  woodysrods@shaw.ca
                  1946 M Series (Shop Truck)

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by ROADRACELARK View Post
                    John,

                    Absolutely!! Don't take any chances with old brake components.
                    Originally posted by woodysrods View Post
                    Hey John. I was thinking long before I got to your second post, why would someone even think about rebuilding 50 year old wheel cylinders in this day and age. Don't be a CASO do it right and be safe out there.
                    I think John was kidding about whether he needed a new wheel cylinder.....
                    Proud NON-CASO

                    I do not prize the word "cheap." It is not a badge of honor...it is a symbol of despair. ~ William McKinley

                    If it is decreed that I should go down, then let me go down linked with the truth - let me die in the advocacy of what is just and right.- Lincoln

                    GOD BLESS AMERICA

                    Ephesians 6:10-17
                    Romans 15:13
                    Deuteronomy 31:6
                    Proverbs 28:1

                    Illegitimi non carborundum

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      I would not hesitate to rebuild an old cylinder as long as it is truly "rebuildable." One note of caution is,(considering the age of these cars), making sure that the cylinders have not previously been honed to exceed their maximum bore limits.

                      One thing I have read in a couple of vintage tech manuals I have...they reccommend using a "Go - No Go" gauge after honing. I have never seen a set of these gauges made for brake cylinders. Has anyone else? I know I could use calipers to measure and one book even shows using a brake piston with a feeler gauge to check for clearance. However, the Go No Go gauge would enable a dummy like me to get it right.
                      John Clary
                      Greer, SC

                      SDC member since 1975

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        thought the same thing, John, if that cylinder isn't badly pitted, just hone that puppy out a little and do the rebuild kit.
                        Sounds like you know what your doing. : )
                        61 Lark

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