<VV> Need Help with Replacing Rear Brake Shoes

[J R Read_HML]

Later, JR

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jeffrey B. Aronson" <jrh at foxislands.net>
To: <virtualvairs at corvair.org>
Sent: Monday, September 07, 2009 6:16 PM
Subject: <VV> Need Help with Replacing Rear Brake Shoes


>I need some expert advice on replacing the rear brake shoes on my '66
> Monza 110/4.
>
> When the brakes became even poorer in action recently, I pulled the
> drums off and found that on the passenger's side rear, a piece of the
> rear shoe lining had fallen off and wedged itself between the shoe and
> the drum. So I went online to Clarks and bought their shoe and spring
> kit. I chose the bonded brakes, but not out of knowledge, just habit. I
> made certain I had plenty of brake cleaning spray and two spring removal
> tools - the one that takes off those wretched pins/springs/caps and the
> combination brake spring remover pliers.
>
> Starting around 11:30 today, I began with the passsenger side wheel. I
> read the manual and began disassembly. That was the easy part. The
> adjuster also worked smoothly. Then I tried to reassemble the new parts
> according the manual. That's where I found things really complicated for
> me. The reassembly took hours - I could not figure out the right order
> of assembly - the springs first or the pin/spring/cap first? What was I
> to do with the parking brake assembly? It took me /hours [/!] to
> complete that one wheel - kneeling like a troll outdoors on what was
> admittedly a nice day. Part of the time spent was in discovering that
> the new Clark's pins are slightly shorter than the original pins -
> making it impossible for the cap to hold while moving the shoes around.
> Also, the bonded linings were thicker, making it impossible to get the
> drum on over them - even with the adjuster all the way in and the
> parking brake adjustment counted for. I had to break down and sand the
> new linings a bit in order to get the drum on over the shoes.
>
> Now I get to the left side and it seems to be different at the bottom of
> the shoes. And then the cap popped off in its futile effort to hold the
> new spring in place, and darkness rolled in, and I called it a day.
>
> One thing that would help me greatly is a high quality photo set of a
> brake job, or a terrific set of line drawings. Does anyone have these,
> or a link to a site with them?
>
> Thanks in advance,
>
> Jeff Aronson
> Vinalhaven, ME
> www.landroverwriter.com
>
> '66 Corvair Monza Coupe 110/4
> '66 Land Rover Series II-A
> '80 Triumph TR-7 Spider
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