Counting our blessings

[StudeNewby]

Last Saturday my wife April, her friend Lisa, and I took off in Stuey, our trusty 64 Champ, to enjoy the bargain hunting found in the 100-Mile Yard Sale lining US 301 near our home. One deal we found was a cement mixer at an antique store in Lucama, NC. We didn't get it at the time, but April, the fixer-upper/construction guru in the family, wanted to go back today and see if it was still available.

So this morning she and I crawled in Stuey, fired him up and started backing down the driveway. It was then that it happened. As we were maneuvering between my daily driver and my daughter's car, I went to tap the brake...and the pedal went to the floor. I pumped it quickly a couple of times to test not only the brakes, but also my own senses...was I dreaming? Instinctively I pulled the emergency brake to halt our (thankfully) slow backwards drift and announced the obvious to April.

It was just moments later that I realized how fortunate we were. There had been no warning that the most important system on the vehicle was nearing a complete failure. We could have been anywhere and at any speed when it let go, and even worse, it could have been my wife, by herself, behind the wheel, as she often runs errands on Stuey.

I share this with you first to publicly thank the Lord for protecting us from harm. My second reason is to encourage all of you to not put too much trust in what are now at least 50-year-old safety systems. Even though my mechanic and I had inspected the lines previously, I had not done a complete check of the drums, calipers, etc. (I still don't know what happened, but my MC is all but dry. Have found no puddles, either.) Don't take undue chances: You may not be in your driveway when the brakes fail.

[RadioRoy]

Please let us know what failed, once you figure it out.

[jclary]

Depending on where you park your truck, over concrete or gravel, it is possible your brake fluid could have escaped past your master cylinder seals and not left a puddle. For days now, our temperatures have been in the mid to high 90's. At these temps, what brake fluid that did leak out, could have been vaporized. As you probably know, leaking wheel cylinders usually leave signs on the inside of your wheels and tires.

Speaking of counting your blessings, discovering it, as you did, is a blessing in itself. Since I've never owned a Studebaker as new as a '64, I'll reserve comment, on the specifics, for those with first hand knowledge.

[dean pearson]

Well thank goodness you and yours are safe!
It's a good thing like you said it was you driving and it didn't happen to your wife driving through city streets.
You are lucky it could have been terrible. I too am interested to know the cause.

Dean.

[sals54]

Ditto folks. I went on a jaunt in my GT several years ago with no problems at all. On the return trip, I was coming to a stop sign, just two blocks from home when the MC went out. Pedal to the floor.... nuttin. Luckily, it was a 4 speed car, so down shifting I went... rather rapidly, then e-braked my way home. Yeah, we gotta be on our toes with these cars, thats fer sher.

[studeclunker]

I used to have a '59 Rambler Custom. I was driving into downtown Santa Ana one afternoon on an errand and, approaching a red light, started to brake. Nothing the pedal went to the floor with zero resistance. Nothing at all. Talk about nearly having a heart-attack! Thankfully there wasn't anyone in front of me and I zoomed through that red light. Also thankfully there wasn't any cross-traffic either! I stamped on the parking brake and the rear wheels locked up, upon which I pressed the P button on the transmission selector. The car slammed to a stop, right in front of a brake shop. I then pressed the button for first gear and crawled into their parking lot. It was pure Providence that the people who owned the shop were pretty decent people. They said all the car needed was a new MC. However they also suggested a complete brake overhaul and offered me a very good deal on the process (everything, rebuilt wheel-cylinders, new flex-hoses, MC and all). So, I emptied all my piggy-banks to pay for it and was broke for a few months. I think Mummy-Dearest also chipped in a hundred dollars or so, feeling it was a good investment. Same thing as Stuey, no warning, no indications of any kind, just out of the blue, no brakes at all. All the rest of my vehicles either had squishy brakes or some kind of warning first.

[StudeRich]

A '64 Champ has a Firewall mounted Master Cylinder, so it would be pretty easy to not notice fluid running down the firewall under the M/C almost out of sight and it has a long way to travel before dropping to the ground, so a lot of it will cling to the Truck Cab instead of falling. The Main rubber cup on the end of the Spring in there, may be bi-passing Fluid.

[GrumpyOne]

I've suffered two brake failures, both on my old Avanti. One was a caliper lock up that decided to manifest itself when out of state and the second when a line burst that also occurred out of state. In both cases, I "nursed" the car back home.

Not an experience I wish to repeat...

[1954khardtop]

Glad you're OK, and that it happened where and when it did.

[Pancho]

I'm always happy to hear folks who can find the good in a bad situation. This story confirms the modifications I'm making to my car.

[Robert Crandall]

I am slowly converting my relics to dual master cylinders with the hope that only half of my brakes will fail at one time. If trucks were like cars, then 1964 would have a dual master cylinder, so if a complete failure can still occur, then that makes me interested to find out what would cause both chambers to empty at once.

[ddub]

64 Champs came with single MC. I have had mine converted to dual MC.

[swvalcon]

Good reason to convert to a dual system and always be sure to see that the e-brake works.

[rstrasser]

A few things I have noticed with dual cylinder brakes. When a brake line breaks the pedal goes to about 1 inch from the floor before you have any brakes. By that time your pants are wet or worse.
Another thing on some cars with a dual cylinder brake system, the fluid reservoir is common between them. I almost think my old Dakota is that way even though it has two filler caps. Not sure what a dual system is good for when you loose all the fluid.
Ron

[StudeNewby]

Thanks for the kind thoughts and words. I'll be looking into the issue this week and will post my findings. While I may not be able do it immediately, switching to a dual MC and upgrading to front discs is on the list.