I've got new stock brakes on my 1948 Plymouth coupe. Any thoughts on an easier way to get them adjusted correctly? The hold downs are eccentric and the anchor bolts are eccentric. That's 4 adjustments per wheel. I love my stupid Mopar, just wish it would stop straight.
Chrysler actually made a special tool for brake adjustments. If this is a daily driver you might consider putting disc up front and a new axle in the rear. Yeah, its alot of work, but you will then have a modern braking system. Be sure to ask the question over at www.p15-d24.com as those guys are the experts on these stock systems. .
Unless your a real traditionalist and just need to keep everything stock. If so your probably on the wrong web site. You need to put disks on the front. Believe me there is no one more old school than me. It is the best thing I did to my 48 since putting the V8 auto in. Your back brakes are probably good enough since the disks will do most of the stopping. There is a guy on here "old school" I think that sells a pretty good kit. I bought it and was pretty happy except that the instructions weren't too clear in a couple of places. He was good to answer my emails promptly and said he would clarify the instructions in the future.
73 RR is correct, it takes a special tool and a process outlined in the factory service manual to properly set up the brakes. Once properly set, that actually work very well. I see that you are in Minnesota. So am I. I have the tool and the manual. PM me.
you can make your own tool similar to this......but disk are what i ended up doing w/my 51 and a dakota rear....then i made a new master setup w/dual pot
It is critical that the brakes are adjusted properly. Here is a how to. http://www40.addr.com/~merc583/mopar/framesets/wipbrakeframeset.html You can also machine a slot or drill a hole in the drum at the shoe drum interface that will allow you to put a feeler gauge through the window and set the clearence while you rotate the drum around the shoes. With a tool similar to the one illustrated above, you can measure the interior diameter of the drum, subtract the spec'ed clearence and adjust the drums to be concentric to that tool set to that measurent. They are pretty good brakes when they adjusted and centered properly. but follow the steps in the linked instructions to get the process down. There is also a simpler tool detailed on the Graham Paige Club site under the repair section.
Thanks for all the good advise. I kept this project original except for the multiple carb setup I built. I may change my mind about the brakes after the first panic stop, but for now let's see how your ideas turn out.
There are quite a few folks from Minn on the P15 D 24 and Pilothouse Dodge Truck forum. You might want to sign up over there also. Lots of flathead Plymouth and Dodge knowledge. There is only one site administrator so it might be a while between requesting and gaining approval, couple of days is not unusual but lots of reading there about your car and its systems. before you can join in. I do know the regional Plymouth Owners Club up there is planning a touring meet this summer you might be interested in.
I rebuilt my stock brake system and ran it for about a year before switching to Olddaddy's http://www.rustyhope.com/ disc kit. Install was straight forward, just had to drill the current mounting holes in the spindle to a larger size (don't recall the size) and tap. From there a straight bolt on. Have to say it was the best thing I have done to my 48 Coupe other than maybe the OD transmission.
might be able to adapt some later model brakes that are more of a modern style drum with just the adjuster at the bottom. id say about 56 or 57 car or truck with the same diameter drums.
I agree that the best is to switch to disks, however if you're pinched for cash there is a way to adjust them by feel. I did it on my '52 and it stopped perfectly straight for the short time i drove it before pulling the engine. It will take some monkeying around but it can be done. Its been a little while but if i remember right all 4 adjustments can be made with the drum in place. I just adjusted each adjuster until i felt drag when turning the drum then backed it off a bit, then went on to the next adjuster. If you do them in the right order it does work. It worked for me anyway. Just a thought.
Unless money is real tight, go for the disc brake conversion. It's money well spent. I have discs on my '39 and '46 coupes so stopping is never an issue. I feel safer knowing I can stop quickly and safely.
I used the stock 15" rims and you can use the stock master cylinder but they won't work as good as with the double. I just went down to the junk yard and took everything off of an S10. The hardest part was getting the top bolt off of the peddle. It must have been put in before the dash. I just went home and got a big hammer and chisel and cut it. The beauty of the swing peddle is the master cylinder is up high on the firewall where you can get to it.
The 57 mopar brakes are the "total contact" style and still have 2 adjusters and require periodic adjustment. They also have the funky dual wheel cyl setup with a hard line running inside the drum. Chrysler didn't switch to the bendix style single wheel cyl self adjusting drums until 62 or 63 iirc. Those are the "simple ones". to the OP, i vote you get the ones you have setup properly and then start saving for that disc conversion. It will be worth the effort to convert.
I have been in a 50 plymouth when the brakes went out in the 60's and about ten years ago in my 52 plymouth the brakes went out,(bad master cyclinder), so I don't want to crash and hurt anyone so I got a disk kit from plydo with disk, and replaced the rearend with a more modern one, the plydo master with booster fits under the floor. Now I feel a lot safer.
Upgrade the brakes. The Old Daddy's kit works great for the front and will make a huge difference. Also, upgrade your master cylinder to a dual circuit MC. Check out ECI for a kit. Brakes are the most important part of your car. Going is not nearly as important as stopping!
well i know that they had two different setups one with dual wheel cylinders and one with single on some cars. and thats what makes them a real pain in the *** to fix if you dont know exactly what youre doin. but my friends fathers truck had some "total contact" style brakes on the front and it was a 46, so im not sure what year they were but i remember they were 50s.
Could be the 55-56's, im not familar with those however. That said my 57 dodge and 58 Chrysler and 58 plymouth had/have the total contacts. They used them till at least 61 in the larger p***enger cars. The Valiants may have had bendix's from the start in 60 but Im not totally sure on that.
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