I lost my brakes last night on the '34 Ford, scary!!!!

I was over at Draglink's (Mike's) shop last night working on the '34 and his T-Bucket. We made a lot of progress, got his new windshield installed and I squared up my rear suspension.
I said my goodbyes and drove down the quiet back street which dead ends onto another quiet street. I don't think I was hauling ass but I might have been.
Anyway, I hit the brakes and the pedal went to the floor, absulutely nothing was happening. The '34 was just barreling along. The end of the street is a stop and you can't see if any cars are coming in either direction, at this point I was on the verge of shitting my pants whilst formulating a plan on how to stop this car.
As I approached the stop sign I was praying that nobody was going to be in my path, but before that happened I did a sharp left turn, it seemed like the best course of action.
I lost control of the car and the ass end went flying around into the sprinklered wet grass. I could see a fire hydrant on the other side of the road and I was thinking if I hit this, I'm fucked.
Amazingly I didn't hit hit anything. The car stalled out and my battery had tipped over. I had spun 180 degrees around.

I got out and called Mike in a shaky voice and he was right there.

I crawled the car back to his shop and got underneath to see what happened. It turns out a tee fitting in the back where the rear brake hose goes had broken off. The fitting that goes on the breather for the rear end was bent too.
As best as I can tell, when I was working on the passenger side of the car and had the rear hairpin off it forced the axle up against the shock crossmember because there was nothing stopping it to go that far.

My neck is really sore this morning, the car is covered in grass and dirt, but I think it's okay. I'm going over to Mike's tonight to fix it, I hope I didn't bend a wheel or break anything else.

I'm very, very lucky.

The moral of the story?

An emergency brake is absolutely neccessary.

And it's good to have a friend like Mike.

 

Dude...I'm glad you're ok...That is scary...I'm using a cinder block for an e-brake on my T...I know not traditional...glad Mike was there for the rescue!
Tim
MBL

 

damn you lucky knock on some wood quick

do you have a dual master cylinder you can put on that thing?

 

Yeah, you really ought to look into putting in a dual master cylinder.They are cheap and it's fairly easy.Oh, AND an E brake.
Scary moments are wake up calls.

 

No I don't Tudor, but it might be the time to do it.
I am going to drive her to Daytona this weekend, if nothing else is busted, but I'll be scared the whole time.
BTW, this car's been on the road almost 3 years with no brake problems at all.
I've got what I believe is a '40 Ford M/C, the kind with a triangular back, is there a straight dual M/C replacement for it?

 

I use to worry about my brakes failing or like my steering or suspension falling apart. With each trip I got a little bit more numb to it, and now I don't even think about it.
Thank you, Nads, for the reminder... glad to hear it wasn't as bad as it could have been.

 

Probably not a straight replacement, but I'd get a manual master cylinder for a 63 vette if you have all drums- napa or autozone will have an equal.

go to a mid 70's chevy pick up if you have disc drum

then a little fab work to hold it on place and you're a lot safer

it will be a good project.
I lost my brakes onces and had just happened to get of the interstate and slow down right before it happened. I shutter to think what would have happened If I had decided to punch it and keep going - spooky shot

I did the fred flinstone accross a two lane highway with cars coming from both directinos.

 

It just makes me wonder about the shit we do. I consider my car to be a well built and safe car, but some of the ones I've seen at VLV etc, make me cringe, bird shit welds, no front brakes, fucked up geometry. And some of these cars were DRIVEN 4-8 hours from California.
I've got no room to talk, I've no front brakes on my chopper.
Badge of courage? Stupidity more like.

I think it's time to become over cautious about things.
I shudder to think what would have happened if a car was in my path.

Boy, my neck hurts.

 

Glad to hear you are OK...

And the PackFord too.

Can the tee be relocated?

What time do you want to be at the warehouse Sunday? I have to meet Stevie G back in Largo in the afternoon.

 

i put my 4 yeare old in everything i biuld..before it even has a motor it gets duel res brakes,and a seat belt at least for the baby seat...after 2 near misses with single res master cylinders, i wont even drive with one.thats putting mine ,my familys, and my cars life in the hands of a 60 year old rebiult wheel cylinder or brake line.nah glad everything turned out ok nads!!! is that chevy painted yet??? wheres the pics you were gonna send me huh huh

 

I guess morning time Mike, I've got your number, I'll call you.

glassguy, the car should be painted next weeked, thanks for the advice on safety, it's well taken.

 

Even though it's not a very fun part to add to your car, I am probably going to put in a dual master cylinder myself, and redo the brake lines.

I have an e-brake, but braking power is something you never think about until it's not there. Was driving my sister's shitbox chev celebrity back in like '95 and was coming down off the interstate exit ramp, and the pedal went to the floor. So at 70 mph, i blew across the highway at the bottom of the ramp, and back up onto the interstate. It had the goofy foot e-brake that GM has.

SO by the time I was back on the interstate, I had time to plan my attack at the next ramp.. slowed way down and then babied the car home. This was in rural Iowa, so no traffic to contend with really. It would have been messy crossing that highway in traffic at 70 mph though. I'm sure I threw sparks when we bottomed out. There was a funny part though.. my friend looked over and said what's wrong? " and I says "No brakes. Hold on."

his eyes were big around as two half dollars

 

Nads, been there,,,,done that,,,the car was totaled,,,

I will never build another car with a single reservoir master cylinder again,,,,,,your close call and my accident should make everbody think about an upgrade to a dual master cylinder!

Even if you loose the rear brakes you will still have the front to stop in an emergency!

The most important thing about your story is you didn't get hurt,,,,On the other hand I bet you screwed up somebodys lawn and shit your pants! HRP

 

I think it was a set up.............he just wanted a ride home in the bitchen van!!!

glad you are ok..
He was rather shook up when I found him

 

Mike, does the car look okay in the daylight? I hope nothing's wrecked.
I'll be there ASAP after work, I'll pick the part up at NAPA.
BTW, will a MC for a disc/drum bombo work with drum/drum?
Some brake company makes an adapter to mount a '67-'72 Mustang MC right to a '40 Ford mount.
I've got very little room under my floor because I also have a hydraulic clutch cylinder.
I'll survey the situation, I'm sure I can make something work.

 

its fine my friend...........well atleast when I pushed it to the rear of the shop this morning. Ill have uncle steve wash it for ya

 

Early Mustang dual masters are still cheap,install easily and you can get them either for drum/drum or disc/drum from NAPA.
The year I put one on my '40 coupe I had real need for it. I was driving to the Syracuse show and my rear steel brake line rubbed a hole in it on an air shock. I didn't know it until I tried to stop at the toll booth on the NYstate thruway.Even with the dual cylinder,I almost didn't get it stopped in time.

 

Just note that corvette or big GM car master cylinder will provide more pressure for more stopping power that mustang MCs.

 

hmmmmm...maybe we *all* ought to take a peek at our rear brake line routing? Seems to be a trouble spot...out of sight, out of mind.

I've never had to use the second half of any of the dual m/cs I've installed, but I have lost a front hose on an old truck, it's rather exciting. Fortunately it had a working hand brake.

One more thing...if you do install a dual m/c, make sure the pedal will push it in ALL THE WAY, or else it won't work when one side goes out. Duals usually have more travel than singles, and if you use the stock pedal setup, it could bottom out the pedal before the m/c bottoms out. If so, it was a waste of time installing the dual m/c, because they need a lot of pedal travel to engage only one side of the brake system.

To check a dual m/c system, try opening one bleeder valve and see if the brakes still work.

 

Nads,I got my adapter from Chassis Engineering,,,used early mustang dual master cylinder on my 39 ford,,,easy swap,,,HRP

 

Damn glad your OK, one of the first things I pointed out to my wife on the Corvair was the single master cylinder, I said it's got to go.... after the explaination she understood...
Yeah I've still only got the single in my truck but I have a bitchin emergency brake...

 

Yikes. Glad to hear you didn't wreck it! Having heard similar stories I would never run a single. And E-brakes are cool even when you have brakes.

 

the same thing happend to me on a `57 ranchero I had. it was my fault though. I lowered the rear with 4" blocks, but didnt cut the exhaust over the rear end and the first bump I him BAM! it sheared the rubber hose into the T-fitting and I had NO brakes. I was hauling ass and making right turns, slowing it down trying to pull the key out and finally got it to stop... into the side of a building.

luckily it was wood siding, no damage to the car and I crawled under there with a pair of visegrip, pinched it off and drove home with front brakes only

 

I have "The safety of steel, pedal to wheel" in the ELMOBILE. I'm in the process of installing Lincolns, though. I will be very careful and thoughtful while I'm doing it. Glad you're alright. Remember; "Every time you step on the brakes, your life's in your foots' hands." Wayno

 

Nads, Maybe you wanna look at the battery tipping over situation as well?

 

[ QUOTE ]
BTW, will a MC for a disc/drum bombo work with drum/drum?


[/ QUOTE ]

That is what I used, with my all drum system. I did put in the higher pressure residual valve on the line. That is the line going to the big chamber on the m/c (front brakes).

 

[ QUOTE ]

An emergency brake is absolutely neccessary.


[/ QUOTE ]

Abso-fuckin-lutely!!!!! I drove about 2 miles on a worn out emergency brake in the '60... Scariest fucking thing ever. After that I upgraded to the dual master cylnder, power disc brake setup.

 

GET OFF MY DAMN LAWN YOU HOODLUM!

Glad to hear you pulled it off. I've had that exact same experience in a 58 volkswagen on a steep hill with no e-brake. Your only hope at that point is to spin it, or aim for something that looks soft.

 

Hypothetical question I always wondered about, what if one turns off the ignition? Would the compression of the motor slow the car down? Or would there be no compression since the motor is not firing?

By the way, Nads, you and that car must have good karma, better keep that one. Didn't the side of that motor blow out once? And it still runs.

 

[ QUOTE ]
Nads, Maybe you wanna look at the battery tipping over situation as well?

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, no shit! At least bungy the damned thing!