RE: [Chrysler300] Dual master cylinder conversion

["Richard Barber" <c300@xxxxxxx>]

In about 1958, another car ran a stop sign and pulled out in front of me as
I was wheeling along in my ?50 Chrysler Windsor.  I hit the brakes hard,
blew out a front hose and the pedal hit the floor after wiping off just a
little speed.  I grabbed the handbrake, the other car stopped and I was
unable to stop but was able to swerve around him.  A very close call,
compounded by the facts I was driving too fast and the hand brake on the
rear of the transmission is not very proportional?usually either on or off.
The car wasn?t that old and had been well maintained, but heat, flex, road
salt and other factors led to the rather premature hose failure.  I was
working in a service station at the time and we inspected brake hoses during
the frequent lube jobs and did spot some hoses in pretty sorry shape.  We
often replaced hoses during brake jobs if there was any question.

I think that locking up the parking brake mounted on the rear of
transmissions while at high speed might shear off a U-joint and really
compound the problem.  What year did Chrysler finally convert to
cable-operation of the rear drums for hand braking?  

It has been noted that there are various terms for the auxiliary brake
system including hand brake, parking brake and emergency brake.  The old
transmission-mounted brake is much more a parking brake than an emergency
brake.

Shortly after taking delivery of our 1955 Chrysler 300, I approached a stop
sign, hit the brakes and the remaining microscopic thickness of a front
brake shoe peeled off leaving a metal-to-metal contact at the right front
and severely reduced braking capability.  Another car that had timing
priority had pulled out in front of me and I was barely able to get stopped
in time, even with a touch of the on-off hand brake.  A complete brake job
followed immediately with replacement of all flex hoses and inspection of
the steel lines.  Subsequent failure of the large rubber diaphragm in the
power brake booster led to a rebuild of the booster and master cylinder.
Good thing the brake pedal is 9? wide so I could get both feet on it.

Bottom line, a well-maintained single outlet master cylinder will greatly
reduce the probability of failure.  But, remember, Murphy was an optimist.
Extra careful driving of a car so equipped is recommended as we may become
reliant on the excellent stopping power of current cars with large 4-wheel
disc brakes, ABS and sticky tires.  If one plans to drive an old 300
aggressively and extensively like you were in a new SRT-8 300, it would be a
good idea to upgrade to disc brakes and a dual master cylinder.  Loss of
brakes seldom happens in routine operation and is terrifying when it occurs
in the usual emergency situations.

I would hope that our judging of 300?s with modified braking systems would
not overly penalize this almost invisible upgrade.

Rich Barber
Brentwood, CA

________________________________________
From: Chrysler300@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:Chrysler300@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On
Behalf Of keboonstra
Sent: Wednesday, April 21, 2010 10:38 AM
To: Chrysler300@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [Chrysler300] Dual master cylinder conversion

  

I'm doing a high quality "driver restoration" to factory correct on our
300C, and I am considering the idea of converting to a dual master cylinder
system if I can work up enough worry about the single cylinder system. I've
never had a problem with loss of braking in my lifetime of driving, and have
heard or read of very few cases where it happened to someone.

If I make sure I have a very well freshened brake system throughout my car,
how much concern should I have about a single master? Changing to dual would
be my only concession to modernity other than the installation of seat belts
and radials in my car, and I don't get pulled easily over to the "updating"
side in our old car hobby. I really enjoy experiencing the way an old car
acts for the most part, but I want to keep safety in mind as well. What do
you think?

And how about this related question. Suppose your brakes went out and all
you now had was your parking brake to save you from certain mayhem. Would
you pull the brake just a little to slow down gradually and risk having it
fade and become useless? Or would you pull it decisively so as to lock it up
before it has a chance to fade from overheat? Would pulling it too hard at
speed bust up the brake and leave you with nothing?

Or how about hitting the "R" button at road speed? Is there a lockout to
keep it from going to reverse at certain speeds? That maneuver may possibly
throw your car in a spin, but prudently done it might be better than
coasting a half mile looking for a soft tree to stop you. 




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