Another brake question

[John Spragg]

I am going to replace the worn adjustment wedges on the rear and the brake adjusting shafts are showing some wear - some rounding, can I redress these on a grinder or file them to the original angle some how or not worth trying or just purchase new ones ? Thanks , John Spragg Australia.

 

[Tom Wesenberg]

I think you are asking about the angled ends on the shafts that engage the slots of the adjustment cones. I've never seen them worn enough to worry about, but just make sure you use equal length shafts for each of the 4 drums. In other words, each pair for one wheel should match, but could be a little different from another pair.

 

[Marshall V. Daut]

A friend's father was an excellent machinist, but an amateur restorer. The first car he "restored" with his sons in the 1960's presented many challenges, mostly due to the dearth of restoration information then that we take for granted today. One of these issues relates directly to your question. He figured that the brake shaft tips were rounded from wear, so he took them to his machine shop and sharpened them to a point. Once installed, the brakes could not be adjusted! He couldn't turn the adjustment wedges because those sharp points dug into the wedges' grooves. Lesson learned. As you suggest, I'd replace the wedges instead of sharpening the tips of the brake shoe adjuster shafts. The wedges themselves is where I have seen the most wear. Of course, if your budget can afford it, simply replace the adjustment shafts, too, and you can rest easy at night.
Marshall