QuestionJack: I have a 1930 Roadster (Australian built) and I recently took all of the drums and backing plates (complete with shoes/springs/rollers etc) and sent them to Mike's "A"Ford-Able Shop (Georgia) to have Cast Iron Drums pressed into the four hubs and to have the existing backing plates/brake shoes checked and arched to the new drums. All of that was done, and they were returned; I installed the front backing plates and drums in a very short time with no problems. However, I could not get the rear hubs over the emergency brake lining on either the right or left rear backing plates. I had collapsed the emergency bands to their limit and wired the arms in place so they could not move-- to take out all of the slack in the system. I chalked the area to find the interference, and the emergency bands would not slip over that corresponding part of the rear drum. It was just too tight. I checked both the OD of the band and the ID of the hub-with a miccometer and they evidently did not correctly machine the emergency brake part of the drum---it was too tight. I was told that the current emergency bands are thicker than the original bands and hence---required more machining The drums were returned to them, and they were re-machined---and returned to me. I followed Les's instructions in the handbook and re-installed everything; set the brake rods to the correct distance using new rods and pins; made a brake adjustment board and set the front and back brakes to the numbers in Les's book. The problem is----in just a short drive around our neighborhood(less than three miles) the drums get so hot that they can barely be touched. So I keep backing off on the adjustment screws---and that decreases the temperature of the new drums but the braking ability is almost gone.
QUESTION IS: Is this a "normal break-in-procedure" to go through with new drums and arched braked shoes to match? I never had this problem when I originally did the brake job with the steel drums (before I had the hubs and drums reworked)and at that time they were not arched to match the steel drums.
The work that was done was by Mike's professional repair shop that they use in Georgia all the time. They swear that everything is now machined to specification. The foot pedal brake spring is new and returns the foot pedal to normal position after being depressed---so that is not dragging. I personnaly don't think I should still have these kinds of problems---but what else can I check?
Any other suggestions/comments? Donald Penrod
AnswerIt sounds like you did everything right and you know what you are doing. I had to grind off the new emergency linings to make them fit. I don't see how they can machine enough off the drums to make room for the thick lining. When you adjust the brakes like Les says, there should not be much drag. A little drag is ok, but if the drums are getting that hot, something is dragging big time. Adjusting brakes is an all day job at best. Let everything cool and start over. If the shoes are arced properly, they should adjust well. Just hook up the rears and get them working like they should. A good lock up at about 1 1/2 inches down on the pedal, I think. Then start on the fronts.
To answer your question, the only run in that I know of is leaving a little drag in a wheel or two in order to get them stopping evenly, and go with that. No break in that gets the drums really hot. Don't get fooled by testing them too much with a lot of hard stops. They will fade and drive you crazy. Go easy and do your adjusting with fairly cool drums.
Good luck and let me know how you fix it.
Jack
