Lambo Brat

Ummm......Yeah.  LamboBrat

Tech Archives - Bleeding & Adjusting 4 Wheel Drum Brakes

So I finally finished installing new brakes on my 1964 Barracuda. It just has the standard 9" drums all around. When I first got the car, it essentially had no brakes. I replaced the drums, pads , and wheel cylinders. I also flushed the brake lines with clean fluid. The old front cylinders were leaking so I figured that was the main brake problem. I bled the brakes the old fashion way. Pump, Pump, Push. I seemed to get all the air out. I got the car on the road and the pedal seems way too soft. The car stopped but the pedal was close to floor. I applied the brakes in reverse to let the self-adjusters do their thing but that did not make much difference. Hard to believe but I have never driven a car without power brakes. Consequently, I am not sure how the manual brakes are supposed to "feel." Any hints on brake adjustments? Victor Carre

The pedal should be firm and fairly high up. I would check and adjust each wheel separately and make sure that the adjusters have not been switched around since they are right and left side oriented. Have you replaced the master cylinder also?

If you are self bleeding, you can use a hose that is immersed in brake fluid and fits tightly around the bleeder screw. Start at rt rear and loosen bleeder; SLOWLY pump pedal about five to fifteen times, using about half a cylinder of fluid thru ea wheel. Keep an eye on fluid. Start at rt rear then lft rear, rt front lft frt. Brion Traill

One other thing to check that can sometimes make a difference is the flex hoses. Sometimes they can clog(especially old ones) and this can cause some problems). I did both the front ones on my 66 and my brakes are great. Steve Charlton

We did a 63 300C and the brakes were all new, and the pedal still went to the floor after bleeding. We went back in and manually adjusted the star wheel on each drum and found them to be 3-4 turns out. After that, the brake pedal was rock hard and stopped us as well as drums could in a 4000 lb car. Should only have about 1" before you feel resistance. Make sure when you adjust the star wheels, you pump the brake to reseat the shoes. We had to do this twice on the old 300. Steve Wander

A loose star wheel adjustment would explain your symptoms perfectly... when rolling, the shoes are actually supposed to touch the drums slightly, not enough to drag the vehicle but enough that you can just barely hear them scrape when you spin the wheel in mid-air. If they don't touch the drums, then the first thing the hydraulic fluid has to accomplish is moving them into position, which takes a fair percentage of pedal travel. A properly adjusted brake system gives the feeling of stepping on a rock. I've found it to be tremendously more satisfying than any power brake feel.

The comment about reseating the shoes... yes, I've always found that if I adjust the star wheel while rotating the drum until the drag feels just a little too tight, then go step on the brake pedal once to "seat" the shoes, I come back to the drum and discover it rotates slightly more freely. Must be something to do with the geometry of the mechanism. I like doing it this way because I know that the final adjustment will be accurate under normal driving conditions... and because it's easier to get left and right to feel the same, so the car won't pull in either direction. Erik Ievins

Mopar Of The Week - November 25, 2012

Mopar Of The Week - November 18, 2012

Par-Tea

Political statement or really likes Earl Grey.

Fuel Injection for your Mopar

Many of you know me and my approach to fixing, upgrading or simply making your car unique as being a "Built it, not Bought it" kind of style.

Just look through the tech articles and the various upgrades I have shared with you in the Tech Center on the Clubs website. I'm always looking for ways to upgrade my 1966 Barracuda and its 1966 automotive technology.

The changes I've made from stock are not too far off what was available in 1966. Front Disc brakes and anti sway bar to name a few. Electronic Ignition was a great upgrade toward modern technology, but what about Fuel Delivery? I mean we have mostly have had a single choice, Carburetors. But what if we could have Fuel Injection? What if we could have a tune able system with off the shelf components available at any parts store? What if we could do it ourselves without purchasing a mega dollar kit? Well, I'm here to tell you that we can!

Mopar Of The Week - November 11, 2012

Storm Sandy

Hey all. I just wanted to take a moment to wish everyone affected by Storm Sandy well. I hope that you all came through it with little or no damage and that everyone stayed safe.

I myself am part of the Emergency Operations for the town I work for and I can tell you that although on the Eastern Connecticut shore we got hit bad, it is nothing compared to what was felt in Western CT, NY and NJ.  Add insult to injury by dumping 6 + inches of snow on top of it.

If you feel the need to help, find a good charity and give them some cash, or donate blood, or just go help a neighbor clean up their yard or bring them some bottled water. I'm sure they will appreciate the gesture as these storms will no doubt take an emotional toll on those effected the most and a little help will go a long way just to restore a persons sense of sanity right now.

Remember, we are all in this together, this thing called life.

Tech Archives - Engine Revival Procedure

I have as many answers to this question as the number of times I asked it.

65 Cuda, 273 Commando. 2nd owner. Has 39,000 original miles. 90% original (Yes it's true.) It was running great till fuel pump started leaking fuel. I parked it in garage with almost an empty tank of gas and due to medical problems I have not started it in a little over a year. The guilt has gotten to me and it's time to give her the attention she needs.
The main question is how to safely start the car. Here is my plan . Replace the fuel pump (I have one). Drain and change the oil. Pull the plugs and pour an oz. or so of Marvel Mystery Oil down the holes (this was recommended MANY times to me) Let it sit a night or to then put a wrench on the crank and turn it by hand . This all makes sense to me but from reading the stuff coming from you folks out there, ,I would welcome your opinions. Charley Barranco

Sounds like a pretty good plan to me. I would probably change the oil after I put something in the cylinders. I also might use something like WD-40 instead of the MMO. That way you get a good fog of stuff in the bore, and lube more of each cylinder. Wayne W.

Mopar Of The Week - November 4, 2012

True Tales - The Skinny, Flame-Spittin' Car Before This One!

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"The Skinny, Flame-Spittin' Car Before This One!" Copyright 2007-2012 by: E.C. "Stan" Field

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The golden days of drag racing, spawned many legends.  Like most sports heroes these people were only human and depended a lot on their underpaid, overworked and incredibly loyal crews to help them over the tight spots.  The following story has been told at many get-togethers over the years.  I have heard it with minor variations from at least a dozen people.  It's absolutely true of course.

During the early 60's, the corn fields of the Midwest were often buffeted by the sounds of huge V-8 engines.  Gentlemen farmers during the week, the weekends they reserved for visits to the famous US-30 Dragstrip.  Nearby, one crazy farmer of greek descent had about a mile of ruler-straight blacktop in front of his place.  Almost exactly a quarter-mile away through the rows of corn and millet, was a railroad overpass with a blind cross-street on the opposite side.  Very late at night, after working many hours on their rail, the crew would fire up a "junker" '57 Chevy with a split railroad tie for a front bumper and push the racer out to the road.  You know, just for a quick test run.  They also had an old pickup with a wrecker hook on the back that could lift the race car and haul it back to the barn in just a few minutes.  This seemed perfectly reasonable to them since it wasn't uncommon for several hours to go by without traffic on this piece of backwoods.