Hugh and all,
One thing that we all must remember is that the biggest problem with our old
style brake systems is that there are very few people who know how, or even
want to work on them. Having your 1959 Imperial brakes completely rebuilt by
someone who has no idea of how they work, or how different they are then other
systems is just as bad as running around with worn out parts. Every one of us
has to be sure that when we rebuild our own brakes or pay someone else to do
the work, that they are correctly installed and adjusted before we take the car
out on the road. Many people don't understand this about our cars, and this
problem really is unique to them (unless you look at a collection of vehicles
that is much older than we are use to dealing with, like cars of the '20s).
I have heard horror stories and even found myself a victim of brakes shops and
their mistakes. Years ago an older man who owned a '62 Imperial made the front
page of the Seattle Times because he paid a well known shop in our area to put
new brakes on his car. They failed the next day on his way down the "counter
balance", a steep road on Queen Anne Hill. Needless to say there were law suits
and lots of bad press for the repair shop. After that nobody in Seattle would
do a brake job on an old Imperial.
It is our responsibility as drivers and custodians of our old Imperials to be
certain they are in good working order.
Paul
In a message dated 12/23/2003 6:54:13 PM Eastern Standard Time,
hugtrees@xxxxxxxx writes:
>
>
> So, when, we were asked, is a 1959 Imperial no longer a 1959 Imperial?
>
> When it becomes a guided missile, of course.
>
> For once, I totally agree with Kenyon, even his remark about whining. (Mea
> culpa.) The brakes on these cars are really quite good, when the system is
> working. As vital components, they need regular maintenance. And the whole
> system should be replaced at any point you make a substitution or
> replacement of any part. New brakes line is cheap, the flexible hoses are
> available at Pep boys, and the wheels cylinders can be found without much
> difficulty. Any half decent brakes specialist can re-pad your shoes if
> needed. They seem to be a little too keen to turn your drums as well. Get
> a second opinion on this because once the metal is gone from your drums,
> finding a replacement will be more than a little difficult. I had mine
> measured by a professional mechanic in my local Mopar club who said he
> thought they were in great shape, regardless of the age of the car.
>
> I also agree, with Paul, I think, that the overall system is up to the task
> of modern traffic, though one should drive these cars more conservatively on
> crowded freeways than one might a modern vehicle.
>
> The bellows unit is fine. So are the drums, though some have decided to
> change their front brakes to disk brakes, to get even better performance.
> This requires major surgery. It is not really necessary, in my humble
> opinion, but I could not hold it against anyone who takes this route. The
> shoes and drums are very large, as befits a large car, and the twin slave
> cylinders on the front wheel are quite effective and resist brake fade quite
> well.
>
> For its day, the single pot master cylinder was quite up to par as well.
> However, all that can be had today are rebuilt units. These are forty years
> old and all have suffered some hard work in their day. I personally have no
> faith in ever being able to find a good one. This is because I never have.
> Karpps say they will rebuild yours, sleeving it internally with stainless
> steel, and guarantee it for life. But whose life? Would my wife be able to
> sue Karpps in the event of a catastrophic failure? I think not. The life
> of the car? It's already over forty years old. Life seemed to me to too
> ambiguous a term, not philosophically speaking, and the whole idea too much
> of a risk, bearing in mind I was rebuilding the front of my car following an
> accident caused by yet another master cylinder failure.
>
> So I installed a twin pot master cylinder from a 1968 Dodge Charger. The
> bellows unit hides it from being obvious and, deep joy, one can use an older
> style power bleeder on it, with a bit of effort. The replacement master
> cylinder has the same bolt pattern on the plate holding it onto the car and
> there is only a minor amount of additional plumbing required. It met my
> criteria of keeping the car both as original as possible and safer than it
> was before.
>
> I doubt if there will ever be any new single pot master cylinders available
> ever again, so one has to compromise for safety's sake at some point.
>
> Hugh
>
>
>
>
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