<VV> Brake Job Status

[Jeffrey B. Aronson]

Hi Everyone,

I want to thank all of you who sent advice and photos for the rear shoe 
replacement job, and report on the status at the end of the day.

First off, I called a friend on the island whose interested in cars and 
while currently unemployed, is a fine machinist. He can see pieces of 
metal and understand how they must fit together. He was also another set 
of hands, which proved very helpful with the mounting pins and caps.

Thanks to some clear photos, we realized that I had set the adjuster 
against its plate wrong on the right side rear, and that made it easier 
to complete the other side, too. I found the left drum slid over those 
shoes without any problem, unlike the opposite side that required gentle 
sanding of the shoes.

We went out for a test drive. I certainly had more pedal travel but 
after lots of pumps, I feared that I still had air in the lines. The 
rear bleeders would not budge so I could only bleed the fronts again. 
Sure enough, I found more air in them. We used a MightyVac and cleared 
out the lines. Certainly the fluid in the master cylinder looks a lot 
better now than the stuff that was in there.

The brakes do feel like they're working - there's more pedal travel - 
and they stop the car without pulling, grabbing or locking up as before. 
Now I should probably do the front shoes, too. They have looked good but 
I know they're old, also.

BTW, the job went much quicker, thanks to all your help. I had so much 
extra time that I was able to tune up a neighbor's '62 Monza convertible 
PG. It was running very rich and rumbling at idle, but new points, cap, 
condenser and rotor got the ignition right, and some carb spray cleaner 
really smoothed out the overall running. Now I need to encourage the 
couple who own it to drive it more often. The plugs are quite blackened 
from short trips and mild driving behavior :).

Jeff Aronson
Vinalhaven, ME
www.landroverwriter.com

'66 Corvair Monza Coupe 110/4
'66 Land Rover Series II-A 88"
'80 Triumph TR-7 Spider