I have a 1957 Silver Hawk. Was originally a six cylinder, now has a 289 in it. I completely rebuilt the brakes. I replaced everything except the hubs and backing plates. That was about eighteen months ago. I have driven it about 2,000 miles. Everything works perfect no problems. I had between 5 and 6 inches of brake pedal.
The car always stopped fine. Sometimes I would even stop a lot faster than necessary just to see how the brakes were working. However, I never locked the wheels up. The other day I decided to see if I could lock the wheels in the event of an emergency.
This is what happened. I was moving about ten MPH in my long driveway. I hit the pedal hard. There was a loud CLANG from the front left wheel, the brake pedal went to within an inch of the floor and there was a grinding noise. It took the car about ten feet to stop.
I removed the front brake drum and lo and behold, I saw that the drum had split into two parts. In a way I was relieved because, not being a mechanic, I assumed it was something I had done wrong when I rebuilt the brakes.
What I hate the most is I paid a machine shop $70 to turn that drum and replace the stripped left hand bolts with new right hand bolts. I am not sure what to do now. If I buy another old brake drum, will this happen again? Will this happen to the right side next time? I don't know.
As you can see from the photos, it also ruined the brake shoes. Has anyone else had this happen?
I have read about Turner brakes. First, i am not sure if I have the expertise to install them and second, will they fit what was a 6 cylinder car?
Any input will be appreciated.
The car always stopped fine. Sometimes I would even stop a lot faster than necessary just to see how the brakes were working. However, I never locked the wheels up. The other day I decided to see if I could lock the wheels in the event of an emergency.
This is what happened. I was moving about ten MPH in my long driveway. I hit the pedal hard. There was a loud CLANG from the front left wheel, the brake pedal went to within an inch of the floor and there was a grinding noise. It took the car about ten feet to stop.
I removed the front brake drum and lo and behold, I saw that the drum had split into two parts. In a way I was relieved because, not being a mechanic, I assumed it was something I had done wrong when I rebuilt the brakes.
What I hate the most is I paid a machine shop $70 to turn that drum and replace the stripped left hand bolts with new right hand bolts. I am not sure what to do now. If I buy another old brake drum, will this happen again? Will this happen to the right side next time? I don't know.
As you can see from the photos, it also ruined the brake shoes. Has anyone else had this happen?
I have read about Turner brakes. First, i am not sure if I have the expertise to install them and second, will they fit what was a 6 cylinder car?
Any input will be appreciated.
Comment