Brake Drum Investigation

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The Model A has an early Ford juice brake setup rather than Henry’s original mechanical system. The car is exhibiting a bit of a brake pull under heavy braking and left front brake drum is a little scored.

I was given a drum a while back that is marked “cracked” so decided to investigate condition.

The drum has been stored in the shed for quite a while, so being cast it’s a bit rusty

Had a go at cleaning up and removing the majority of the rust

What seems to be the original wheel bearings seem to be still in place and in good shape.

Part numbers appear to be visible on the drum

Next step will be to run the drum up on a lathe to further clean the braking surface and check for cracks. But so far so good

3 thoughts on “Brake Drum Investigation”

  1. Bill McCoskey – I was born with a greasy wrench in my mouth instead of that silver spoon. My parents and their friends all said I could tell them make, model and even year of most cars by the time I was 5. I bought my first car [1948 Packard] at age 14, and by the time I had a driver's license, I had 2 more Packards. My education was electrical and electronics engineering, but also having ADHD, I realized it just wasn't going to be a good idea to sit behind a desk 5 days a week. After school, The US Army decided to draft me, sending me to mechanics school. On arrival in Central Germany, I discovered the attraction to rare and unusual European cars. Once back in the USA, I started my own antique car business, and I've owned, bought and sold over 1,500 vehicles to date. My interests tends to run towards the rare and unusual, 1930s thru 1970s. Auto Union SP1000 to Tatra V8, Studebaker Golden Hawk to Rolls-Royce Cloud I, 1938 Ford convertible sedan to 1959 Cadillac Eldorado convertible, my tastes are pretty eclectic and wide ranging. My profile photo is me behind the wheel of the 1956 Packard Predictor, at the National Studebaker Museum.
    Bill McCoskey says:

    Most automotive machine shops have a brushable dye that will show up a crack in cast iron, or they can use iron filings and a magnet to show a crack. Not every crack is visible to the naked eye, even when the drum’s friction area has been cleaned up.

    Reply
  3. Pingback: Follow up on the Brake Drum Investigation – Automotive American

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