I have inherited my fathers 48 Ford business coupe and it has been sitting for over 14 years. I recently got it running but it has 0 brake peddle. I have not really started looking yet due to other commitments but I am Looking for an outlined process to attack this issue. When the car was parked the brakes worked so it could be as simple as rebleeding the brakes but I have not tried yet. I do Recall the MC being under the car. What is the best way to go into this job? Thanks in advance.
No pedal.... After sitting 10 years. Been gone over many times on this forum. Pull all of the wheels. Replace wheel cylinders, shoes and all hardware. Replace all of the rubber brake hoses, flush out the steel brake lines. If a bunch of rust comes out while flushing... Replace them too. After all of that is all done, replace the master cylinder. Moisture gets into brake fluid and anything that will rust... Will. You will probably find yourself pulling the gas tank to be cleaned or replaced. Gasoline turns to varnish after a bit of time and when you put clean fuel in it the varnish starts breaking down and will plug everything up. Bringing an old one back to life just requires a lot of things to be done after the initial startup to see if it will run. Skip the previous steps ... Any or all... And you will fight everything to make it right.
Thanks. I did A quick search. Guess I didn’t look deep Enough. Maybe if you could connect a link to one of those that covers the process, that would be great. Tank was drained and cleaned and the carb rebuilt. Rest of the components seem good for now. This car has been rebuilt once 20 years ago. Been sitting in a shop for the last 14.
The brake rubbers may not have been that good 14 years ago... I hope it may need just a bleeding... if a steel line rusted through and the wheel cylinders stayed wet you may only need a master cylinder... ... Worst case ... be prepared to have to replace every rubber part...also check the shoes and drums for wear... restore VS. upgrade ...
I agree with graybeard360. If you decide to take a short cut and just add fluid to the master cylinder you are asking for trouble. If you step on the brake you will probably jam the shoes against the drums making it extremely difficult to remove the drums and do the job right. Be sure to get the correct puller (I like the KR Wilson reproduction) for the rear hubs/drums. Using the wrong puller will probably damage parts (hubs/drums/axles). Charlie Stephens
Replace all wheel cylinders , master cylinder , clean all brake pipes or replace if badly rusted . Check brake lining , return springs and clean rust from drums . Re-adjust brake shoe clearance to drums . Always use the best brake fluid.
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