Brakes: 51 Champion brake cylinders

[davemanus]

Are the brake cylinders identical for all 4 wheels on a stock 51 Champion Starlight?

[(S)]

They are different, front to rear. You should find a book for these complicated (to most) little critters.

[RadioRoy]

If you own the car, you should also own the chassis and body parts manuals. They show almost every part, how that part relates to the parts next to it, and all of the part numbers. If it's the same part number, it's the same part.

The left front and right front wheel cylinders are the same from side to side.

The rear cylinders are the same from side to side, but are different from the front cylinders.

The rear cylinders have a smaller bore than the front cylinders.

So you have two different wheel cylinders on a 51 Champion, both fronts, and both rears.

[jclary]

If you own the car, you should also own the chassis and body parts manuals. They show almost every part, how that part relates to the parts next to it, and all of the part numbers. If it's the same part number, it's the same part.

The left front and right front wheel cylinders are different castings from each other because of the angle of the brake hose connection.

The rear cylinders are the same from side to side, but are different from the front cylinders.

The rear cylinders have a smaller bore than the front cylinders.

So you have three different wheel cylinders on a 51 Champion, left front, right front, and both rears.

Good grief, Roy! I have been fooling with these things for most of my life and this is the first I have heard of this. (Gee, us "know-it-all's" hate to admit this kind of thing!) This is a piece of information that I often jokingly call, "almost-important." I have done a lot of brake renewal jobs on my Studebakers and other vehicles and never encountered a problem with "left and right" front brake cylinders. Is this something unique to the '51 champion, or are other years like this as well?

I usually put things back as I find them, so not encountering this might be more of an accidental success on my part. It was certainly not from studied knowledge. I'll pay closer attention from now on. (A new reason to pull out one of my manuals and do a little studying.)

[RadioRoy]

Well John. It turns out that I am wrong. I know it's hard to believe, but a quick glance at the chassis parts book reveals the story.

Apparently some of my cars have front cylinders that are different from side to side, but they are not my Studebakers.

Sorry for all the confusion, consternation, heartbreak, degradation, garment ripping and gnashing of teeth I may have caused.

I should have taken my own advice and read the parts manual first!

Thanks for catching this.

[jclary]

Well John. It turns out that I am wrong. I know it's hard to believe, but a quick glance at the chassis parts book reveals the story.

Apparently some of my cars have front cylinders that are different from side to side, but they are not my 51 Studebakers.

Sorry for all the confusion, consternation, heartbreak, degradation, garment ripping and gnashing of teeth I may have caused.

I should have taken my own advice and read the parts manual first!

Thanks for catching this.

Hey, don't give me too much credit for "catching this." Until you posted the correction, I was still believing you. Now, both of us know how rumors get started.

After my trip this week to Amish country, I want to know how the Amish who don't drive cars, or use so many other modern conveniences, decided it was OK to use gas-powered weed eaters??? (Proof that there are lots of things I still need to learn.)