Grabby Drum Brakes on a 64

[UberXY]

My drum brakes on my 64 coupe are really grabby - any more than a little pedal and they really start to bite. It's not bad when you are used to it, but anyone other than me driving the car would probably come to a halt fifty feet before a stop sign and have a sore nose from hitting it on the steering wheel. Could this be a problem with the vacuum power assist? They do not pull to either side.

So I am going to adjust the brake shoes next week and was wondering what the procedure is. When I raced drum braked vintage sports cars, we would adjust the shoes towards the drums until they just barely started to drag, and then would back off just a hair. Will that work?

Thanks!

 

[Toms007]

Back when I had my 64 (30+ years ago), as I recall my brakes were pretty grabby. In my case the wheel cylinders were seeping a bit. Once I rebuilt the cylinders and replaced and adjusted the shoes, everything was good.

As I recall, that procedure for adjustment is correct. But I would probably pull the drums and check things out in there.

BTW, sweet looking 64 you have. Mine was silver with red interior.

 

[Tom Bryant]

I agree with Tom. If they are that grabby they probably have some oil/grease or brake fluid on the linings. Could be wheel cylinders leaking or a wheel bearing seal.

Tom

 

[Hib Halverson]

63-65s with drums had self-adjusting brakes so any adjustment required as service will be because either the self-adjustment mechanism 1) is faulty or 2) has been removed and the brakes converted to manual adjustment.

In the case of #1, I'd do a brake job and in the process replace the problematic self adjuster parts. In the case of #2, I'd convert back to self-adjusters.

That said, if the brakes are seriously "grabby", it is unlikely you have an adjustment issue. It's more likely you have leaking wheel cylinders and brake shoes into which brake fluid has soaked.

I'm going to guess it's been a while since the car has had brake work so now's a good time to do a complete brake job...disassemble, clean parts, replace or overhaul wheel cylinders, replace brake springs, replace shoes, machine drums, replace or overhaul master cylinder, replace brake hoses and, where necesary, replace brake pipes.