Classic/Antique Car Repair: 1967 caddy hard brakes, wheel bearing grease, power brake booster

Question
Hi Dick,

The brakes are acting up in my 1967 Caddy coupe de ville.
When starting out they tend to grab sharply and I notice the passenger side front end pulling/diving down?
Then after driving a few minutes the brake pedal is hard as a rock and it takes two feet on the pedal to slow her down?
Occasionally I need to add a little fluid to the rear resevoir.

Thanks in Advance!
BL

Answer
The grabbing is a sure sign that the brake lining on that side of the car is contaminated by leakage, probably by brake fluid, but possibly by wheel bearing grease.  This cannot be cured except by fixing the leak, and replacing the linings with brand new, and both sides of the car on that axle must be done to keep the brakes from pulling due to small differences in coefficient of friction between two dissimilar linings.

Cure that problem first, by replacing whatever seal is leaking on that wheel (check the other 3 wheels too, if one has failed, the others probably are ready to go). Then tackle the other problem. It is possible that the hard pedal symptom will go away when you cure the contaminated lining problem, but if it does not, I think your power brake booster is also failing.

Dick