Brake surprise

[Jim Beckman]

I'm working on my 1951 Commander Starlite, and I've got all the brake equipment off it. Now looking at the parts catalog, it appears that the brakes are for a 1954 Commander, backing plates and all. Should I be surprised? Should I be happy? I guess this means I don't have to fool around with the self-adjuster mechanism, but is there anything else I should be aware of before I start getting the parts for rebuild?


Jim Beckman
Leonardo, NJ
1951 Commander Starlight

[N8N]

you should be happy. that's a good upgrade. Just make sure that *everything* is consistent (e.g. both front and rear brakes match) Not much to be aware of other than that you will likely have to order the front shoes from a vendor, if they need replacing. (I am ASSuming that they came from a V8 car and therefore are the 11" front drums.)

If you got the 56-up finned drums, you got *really* lucky.

Check your front hubs before you order grease seals and/or bearings. There was a change in the inner bearing and grease seal in '56 so you need to find out exactly what hubs you have prior to ordering anything (the spindle size/shape didn't change, so you can interchange drums between years.)

nate

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55 Commander Starlight
http://members.cox.net/njnagel

[Jim Beckman]

Thanks much, this is just the sort of advice I need. This group is a fantastic resource for keeping the old metal moving!

In fact, I *have* got the finned drums, 11-inch in front and 10-inch in back. Is this as expected? And is this from a 56 (or maybe later) model? I haven't looked closely at the parts (just went down in the basement to measure diameters) but it looks like these drums may have a separate steel lining pressed into the drums, so if they were worn beyond limits the lining could be replaced and the finned part of the drum re-used. Am I right about that? Is it still possible to do that?

I've got the complete front suspension assemblies on my work bench, all rebuilt and re-assembled, so I'll check carefully when ordering the seals and so forth. Makes the process more complicated, but it sounds like I'm ahead of the game with these brakes. Thanks again for the help.


Jim Beckman
Leonardo, NJ
1951 Commander Starlight

[StudeRich]

Jim, it not only means YES, they are from a '56 or later (with fins) which have the later type smaller wheel bearings and hub, but also they are from a 289 equipped car to be finned.

Order all parts for a '56-'65 V-8 car. you may need inner and outer rear grease seals, front grease seals, brake linings, flex hoses, return springs and Master Cyl., Wheel Cylinders as req'd.

No, you cannot re-line brake drums it is not safe so is illegal.


StudeRich at Studebakers Northwest -Ferndale,WA

[N8N]

To add to Rich's post, I believe there was one more change made, if you are replacing springs you need to know if you have self adjusters or not. I believe the self adjusters were introduced for the 1963 model year. The return springs, self-adjuster (obviously) and star wheel are different than earlier years. There's some numbers on my web site for these parts, or I'm sure that some vendor can hook you up with a kit.

One thing that I would definitely do, if you are opening up the hydraulics, might as well get some new hoses. They don't age particularly well, and even if they've already been replaced, they may be 20 years old or more (and I've seen them fail younger than that.)

nate

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55 Commander Starlight
http://members.cox.net/njnagel