1951 Pontiac Chieftain

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PhilA
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Re: 1951 Pontiac Chieftain

Post by PhilA »

mercrocker wrote: Mon Feb 17, 2020 7:06 am Bugger. What's happening there, Phil - scored s/cylinder bores?
Left hand wheel would lock up and be very non-progressive- had thought it was just badly adjusted. Undid the bearing, got the shoe bias adjustment nut loose and pulled the drum off.
Some nimrod had overpacked the hub and it had forced grease part the seal and onto the shoes.
I took a look to see if both shoes were moving freely, and only the trailing shoe was shifting at all. Judicious use of levers saw the front piston move, which promptly started pissing brake fluid all over everything.

Being as there rear brakes don't do much when the pedal is depressed (handbrake mechanical cable linkage works well) I decided to just halt and replace all four cylinders and flexible lines for new, partly because they're unknown quantity and also because it's a single system.

It's a pain but I'm not looking at it as a setback; I'd much rather have catastrophic hydraulic failure of the service brakes in a controlled environment than on the road at 65mph when they're needed in an emergency.

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Re: 1951 Pontiac Chieftain

Post by mercrocker »

Totally agree....stress testing in the garage is always best. I ended up changing the entire brake components on my Cowley - lines, hoses, cylinders after similarly chasing leaks, lock-ups and on/off handbrake - the latter caused by a newly fitted, but incorrect, cable. Even then, one of the cylinders I bought had corroded in storage and wouldn't hold fluid. You can't take chances with a single-line drum system!
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Re: 1951 Pontiac Chieftain

Post by PhilA »

Thankfully the handbrake mechanism is designed in such a way it is wholly independent of the hydraulic system, so you do at least have some brakes if it falls.
Slowing that much vehicle with the rear wheels though? Not much fun. Particularly as the handbrake is on the dash, umbrella style.

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Re: 1951 Pontiac Chieftain

Post by MLOR »

Very wise to sort out the brakes properly.
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Re: 1951 Pontiac Chieftain

Post by PhilA »

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NOS distributor points plate arrived. This is the hotrod version, twin points. Hopefully it'll resolve the misfire.

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Re: 1951 Pontiac Chieftain

Post by Hooli »

I like points, they are a proper ignition system.
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Re: 1951 Pontiac Chieftain

Post by MLOR »

Will the dual points be firing dual coils?
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Re: 1951 Pontiac Chieftain

Post by PhilA »

MLOR wrote: Thu Feb 20, 2020 6:36 pm Will the dual points be firing dual coils?
No, they work as a single contact, however they allow for longer dwell meaning the coil can charge longer for a better spark. They also close and open in sequence so one takes the closing current, the other the break of opening. Half the load on each. Also means better current can flow if the points start to get dirty.

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Re: 1951 Pontiac Chieftain

Post by PhilA »

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Pulled the distributor out and stripped it down.
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Got a bit carried away.
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Painted it all nice looking.

Reassembly once it's dry

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Re: 1951 Pontiac Chieftain

Post by PhilA »

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Complicated nonsense to get set up but definitely worth it. No hesitation, no backfires, no misfires now.

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