The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Driveline Question about JC's premade '54 Chevy brake lines.

Well, it took me three hours to finally get it done with breaks(joke not intended ) in between and with prying and hammering and BAM, POUND, BAMMMMM, (thankfully I thought to put the lug nuts back on before this) and prying with the two screwdrivers it popped off, and without the lug nuts on I would have caught a 10 pound piece of metal on my foot!!! I got the wc off and went to the left side after putting the right side back together, got that drum off(was partly loose already, only took about 60 seconds to get it off) and took that wc off. The rear ones look(I only say look) pretty good but the front ones are trash. I must say that both the front and rear have advantages to how easy it is to get stuff off but both have disadvantages too, like having to go get new cotter pins or having to beat on the drum and pry on it for a while, although that can be a good stress reliever!

Oh, the rear drums will definitely need turned, they have some rust issues, not much, but some. Also, rear shoes will need to be replaced soon, the material is good and thick but coming off of the metal part of the shoe.

Fooey, the rear cylinders are junk too. The one that the bleeder screw came out of trouble free was packed with the same grease or dirt/sand that the front two were packed with and are beyond repair, and the one left(rear right cylinder) has the bleeder screw frozen into it. So, about the only thing I am going to be saving from them is maybe a bleeder screw and the metal push rod ends, from the pictures they don't come with the cylinder.

i don't know if he remembers but i gave him an impact screwdriver the last time i was down there.

Yep, I remembers. Got the left and right mechanism figured out too, Ron. Luckily there's no set screws so I don't have to worry. I was going to mention that I had one but forgot. If anyone can find a good deal on these wheel cylinders let me know, only one is not frozen but it is the one that has the frozen bleeder screw.

Jordan: I'm baaaaaaaaack! Glad to hear you got them off. You get an "atta boy" for that.

Now, we all want you to have NEW wheel cylinders but don't think those you have are bad by the way they look. I had to literally drive out the little pistons/rubber cups on my 52. I then cleaned/blasted and honed and they now look new....but we want you to have NEW ones. BUT, I would save the best rear and the best front, as each has a different diameter, just to have one around...maybe even "play" around with it to expand your knowledge and skills.
Its not a bad idea to get you a box and put all your old parts in it until your done. Just never know when you might need something....or someone else.

Also "rust" on the face of the drum, where the shoes rubs the drum, is not unusual. A piece of sand paper and it will clean up...but since you need to turn them it doesn't matter. Clean them up real nice, even paint them, before you have them turned and that way they will stay nice and clean after turning and all you'll have to do is wipe a little grease off them.

Now, get on those books. You had the day off but go over that homework one more time

Thanks, I got the old ones soaking on the ends just in case. I don't have any clue what the stuff was in those, but it is coming off. IF, I can get the bleeder screw out of one of the rear ones and the gunk out of the other, I'll have a set to have on hand for an emergency, or maybe if they aren't pitted, to use around the yard until I get some new ones. I'm glad I got some offers for some cylinders, I will have to go the new route with the front right, it was the one that twisted off, I think I made a typo above in one of the other posts.


Oh, I didn't have any home work thankfully, although I looked forward to going to school today, I wanted to get finished on my clock some more.(some good language, wasn't that???)

Well, hopefully I'll have Christmas money enough to get all of these parts, until then I suppose that I'm going to soak these.

Hey guys, I've got some good news and then some just regular news. The one that the bleeder screw came out of turned out really good and is only in need of cleaning/repair kit. All of the other ones except for the one that the bleeder screw twisted off on(haven't checked to see if it is good inside yet)turned out to be smooth inside, and no corrosion except for the outside part. I'm going to try and see if my brother can get the bleeder screws out.


Also, is it possible(safe)to drill out the bleeder screw and tap it? If not it is fine with me, I just want to save them if they aren't in bad shape, but if it is not going to be safe then I don't want to take the chance.

P.S. I wouldn't be the one to drill/tap it, I'd have my brother take it to my mechanic neighbors.

The danger in having to "re-tap" a bleeder screw is that if you drill it out you stand a real good chance of messing up the "bottom" of the hole where the bleeder screw seats. If you can't get it to screw out without messing up the threads throw it away and forget about it!

That's what I figured. The rear ones might be saved but I think I'm definitely going to go with new on the front.

Hey Alvin, I'm in the process of removing things and cleaning them up, doing one wheel at a time. The rear shoes look almost unused but must have been cheap because they are coming off of the metal pieces. So, four new shoe sets/four new wheel cylinders will have me ready to go....uh, I mean stop.

Heck Jordan looks youll be able to quit usin the Fred Flinstone breaks real soon!
KEEP AT IT!
Tim

Sure hope so, it would be nice to actually be able to get somewhere that I could actually evaluate what needs to be done on the truck mechanically. For example....Corn field or back road!!!!