vacuum brakes? drum brakes?? 59 lark VI

ok,
it's me again. boy do i have tons of questions for you guys!

ok. my brakes sound like they need to be replaced or something. it sounds like bad grinding. it didn't sound like this when i first got the car.
what type of brakes does my car have? and what do i need to replace in order to maintain them? would a picture benefit the help i'm asking for?

thank you in advance i really do appreciate all the help! [:I]

** danielle m. **

Springfield, Missouri

[whacker]

danielle, That car should have regular old drum brakes. All the parts should be readily available at your local FLAPS. You may have trouble locating them, however, as the current crop of parts counter people only know how to look in the computer, which very likely doesn't list Studebaker. The grinding noise is caused by the brake shoes rubbing on the drums, indicating that you will need to have the drums turned down to get a flat surface. If this has already been done enough times, you may have to replace the drums. You will also need new brake shoes. If you have never done it, you need to replace the brake hoses this first time, and either rebuild or replace the brake cylinders, depending on their condition. You will also need to clean and repack the master cylinder. If this car has set for a long time unused, you should also replace the brake lines, as they tend to rust at the mounting clips. All this sounds like a big job, but it is really important to have good brakes. There is nothing very hard about this job, and any competent mechanic should be able to handle it. Most of us do our own brakes, but if you have to hire it out it should be easy to find someone who can handle it. Be sure they use the correct tool to remove the rear brake drums!

[showbizkid]

Danielle, it sounds like you're not a mechanic yourself so may I recommend that you find a good brake shop in your area?

Here's what to look for. Stay away from the chain stores! Go to the local yellow pages and look for local brake shops, and call a few. Tell them what you've got and ask if they're comfortable working on it. Within the first few calls, you'll find someone who, enthusiastically, says YES! That's the shop you want. (If someone says "yeah, we could probably do that" - write 'em off ).

You'll spend a couple hundred getting all this done, but it's worth it to know your car will stop when you want it to.


[img=left]http://members.cox.net/clarknovak/lark.gif[/img=left]

Clark in San Diego
'63 F2/Lark Standard
http://studeblogger.blogspot.com

[vegas_vintage]

i found many of those parts at rockauto.com but not all of them.
i think i understood everything you said and will hopefully have my mechanic do this within the week once i figure out what needs to be fixed and order the correct parts.

thank you very much for you help!

** danielle m. **

Springfield, Missouri

[Dick Steinkamp]

quote:Originally posted by whacker
You will also need to clean and repack the master cylinder.

All great advice. The above is probably a slip of the keyboard .

You'd want to replace or rebuild the master cylinder. Clean and repack the wheel bearings.

[Jerry Johnson]

quote:Originally posted by vegas_vintage

i found many of those parts at rockauto.com but not all of them.
i think i understood everything you said and will hopefully have my mechanic do this within the week once i figure out what needs to be fixed and order the correct parts.

thank you very much for you help!

** danielle m. **

Springfield, Missouri

You most likely will not know exactly what you are going to need for repair parts until you get the drums off, clean things up a bit and inspect everything. As mentioned earlier, also check all the brake lines leading to the wheel cylinders, the rubber ones for cracks and the steel ones for rust. Inspect the master cylinder for leaks as well. Your mechanic should be able to do this with little problem if he is any good at all. Make sure to provide him with the shop manuals for your car, this is very important as a lot of damage can be done if you don't know exactly how disassembly and inspection should be done. Once you know what you need for parts, then go to Google and search on "Studebaker parts". You will get a lot of hits for good reliable vendors who sell original and genuine Studebaker parts at reasonable prices. I suggest you work with them as they are easy to work with and have a lot of information to offer. Also ask here for vendor recommenations, most of us have been buying parts from our favorite vendors and will be happy to offer some suggestions. Good Luck

PS Ain't it fun to own and old car which constantly needs fixing[}][}]

Regards,
Jerry

[StudeDave57]

"PS Ain't it fun to own and old car which constantly needs fixing?"

I've found that once you get everything 'up to speed' on your car it's just a matter of maintenance...
If you let your car sit too long without any, or just drive it into the ground, you'll be given your just reward~ more work, and less fun. [V] Maintain it and it will reward you with many many miles of smiles!!!
One important key is to DRIVE IT! All the maintenance in the world doesn't help if you don't exercise your car. I'm facing that now with my Packard. Tons of work was done ten years ago (or more) but it just sat all this time, and now I'm going back over it all to get her on the road again. She's just about there...

Owner/Driver/Maintainer of a daily driven '65 Cruiser w/ 267K on the clock~ 200K of which was w/in the last 15 years...

StudeDave [8D]
V/P San Diego County SDC
San Diego, Ca

'54 Commander 4dr 'Ruby'
'57 Parkview (it's a 2dr wagon...) 'Betsy'
'57 Commander 2dr 'Baby'
'57 Champion 2dr 'Jewel'
'58 Packard sedan 'Cleo'
'65 Cruiser 'Sweet Pea'

[60Lark]

Hello Danielle
I think I mentioned this before, if so I guess I will repeat myself. If you want to find a good Studebaker mechanic that knows Studes inside and out, there is one a few miles south of you in Aurora, Missouri. His name is Myron McDonald - (417) 678-4466. He is a member of the Ozark Trails Chapter of the SDC, Very honest and straight forward fellow, and has a multitude of parts. Good LucK


Studebaker Fever
60 Lark
51 Champion
Phil
Arnold, Missouri

[vegas_vintage]

quote:
I've found that once you get everything 'up to speed' on your car it's just a matter of maintenance...
If you let your car sit too long without any, or just drive it into the ground, you'll be given your just reward~ more work, and less fun. [V] Maintain it and it will reward you with many many miles of smiles!!!
One important key is to DRIVE IT!

I've found so far that people want me to garage it and never drive it, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE driving it and no matter how snooty people are, they won't get me to stop!!!!

** danielle m. **

Springfield, Missouri

[Scott]

Don't let them stop you. Drive, drive, drive. I'd drive mine all winter in Minnesota if the floor was completely without holes.

[CHAMP]

I agree drive it and maintain it. It's all fun. Some people want to save thier cars by not driving them. My feelings are save them for what, somebody else to enjoy?

GARY H 2DR.SEDAN 48 STUDEBAKER CHAMPION NORTHEAST MD.

[vegas_vintage]

I'm glad to see other people out there in that state of mind. At least I know I'm not completely crazy!!

** danielle m. **

Springfield, Missouri