My shudder stop solution.

Bruce

Bruce

Senior Member
Rather than tag on to recent thread titled "Where to Start," I thought I'd share recent experience on drive to and from Niagara Falls in our "new" Station Wagon.
First, car has new riveted/bonded brake linings arc'd to fit turned, cast iron drums. It also has Ted's Floaters. I like them because they are easy to "center." Initial set up with the notched board so that the fronts locked up first.
Near the end of the first 200 mile test ride (in May) the Wagon pulled to the left, hard, on any stop. I checked drum temps with a laser temp gauge and found the rear drums were only 10 degrees over ambient ... and the left front was about 40 degrees hotter than the right. I "adjusted" the front wedges (guess and bygolly) and backed off the front brake rod clevissss to allow the rear brakes to work sooner. Little success after many tries to even things up. (I hate cotter pins).
I managed to get the right brake to grab, then the left, etc. If I applied a firm pedal, things worked great. Just a partial application caused the violent and dreaded "shudder." My first officer wanted me to take her to the nearest airport or AmTrack station. Instead, I applied the firm, hard pedal whenever braking or slowing was required.
Cut to the chase and the "fix."
The third time I had the front drums off I took the Ted's Centering plate to the grinder and ground "away lower edge if necessary to allow brake shoe to slip under plate edge." That's a quote from instructions in Winter '07 Model A Times. Made the bottom, pointy edges that hug the inside roller match Henry's roller track.
Reassembled the brakes (can do this in my sleep, blindfolded by now) and did the notched board thing once more.
Took it for one more test ride.
Whooa! This Model A stops smooth and straight.
PLEASE DO NOT FOLLOW KINGSFORD TOO CLOSELY. WE STOP QUICK AND HAVE NO BACK BUMPER!
Hope my experience (reading the fine print last) will help you avoid brake adjustment woes.
 
"(I hate cotter pins)."

Me too. I replaced the cotter pins on my brake rods with hairpin clips.

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Use the hairpin clips on lots of parts until the car is all done, then go around and replace them with cotter pins.

My receiver hitch uses a hairpin to hold the main rod in place for the hitch bar. I was driving through some tall grass in a field and the hairpin got pulled out. I was 250 miles from home when this happened, and I was pulling a trailer. About 90 miles from home I felt the hitch move when I came to a stop sign. When I pulled over to check I found the pin was gone, but luckily the safety chains were short enough to keep the ball from sliding all the way out of the hitch.
 
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When I build a car I use hairpins just as Tom mentioned to easily finalize the adjustments..then after completion replace them with all the proper cotters. Leaving the hair pins in place of the cotters full time is suicide...
 
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Tom Wesenberg said:
Use the hairpin clips on lots of parts until the car is all done, then go around and replace them with cotter pins.

That's what I do also. IF the hairpin is going to stay then I wrap safety wire around the 'legs' so it can't be accidentally pulled out. I certainly wounldn't leave them in my brake rods without the safety wire.

My receiver hitch uses a hairpin to hold the main rod in place for the hitch bar. I was driving through some tall grass in a field and the hairpin got pulled out. I was 250 miles from home when this happened, and I was pulling a trailer. About 90 miles from home I felt the hitch move when I came to a stop sign. When I pulled over to check I found the pin was gone, but luckily the safety chains were short enough to keep the ball from sliding all the way our of the hitch.
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HOLY COW :eek::eek: Somebody was on your side that day.

Reminds me of a guy at work that was towing a trailer on the Freeway. His receiver ball was too small for the hitch and the trailer came off. Cast your on conclusion.
 
I was at a restoration shop this past weekend and noticed they were using hairpins in the clevis pins, I didn't ask if they were to be left permanent, I did notice that there were cotter pins in the main rod from the pedal to the cross shaft is the one rod you do no need to lose a connection.
A modern car I have been around for many years used hairpins to hold the brake pads in the calipers with no problem, knowing the quality I would not have a problem using them.
 
Mitch//pa said:
Leaving the hair pins in place of the cotters full time is suicide...
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If one falls out, I post it on the forum. No wait, I'll be dead:(

Just funnin' ya. Thanks for pointing out my error. Some times my bra size is bigger than my IQ.
I'll put the cotter pins back in when I get through adjusting the brake rods.
 
Brian T said:
I was at a restoration shop this past weekend and noticed they were using hairpins in the clevis pins, I didn't ask if they were to be left permanent, I did notice that there were cotter pins in the main rod from the pedal to the cross shaft is the one rod you do no need to lose a connection.
A modern car I have been around for many years used hairpins to hold the brake pads in the calipers with no problem, knowing the quality I would not have a problem using them.
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If my memory serves me correctly the older Nissan or Toyota disc pads used tiny hairpins.
I have seen many fall out and the pin actually backed out and rubbed the rim. The only thing holding them in at that point was the rim
 
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2rosella said:
I have replaced all my cotter pins with hairpins( In Australia we call them R Clips) & none of them have fallen out. I guess the important question with people that have problems with hairpins is have they used the correct ones for the application. I have seen in the past of someone using a hairpin that was "Too Small" & yes this will cause the pin to work it's way out.
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Funny how we down under have to yank speak.

And funny how a brake shudder topic has turned into this.

A cotter pin is a split pin to us which is a sensible word as it is a SPLIT pin.

I wonder what the yanks call a real cotter pin, the thick pin with a machined taper and a thread and a nut , as holds a motorcycle kick starter on the shaft.

Over the years, I too, have tended more to use yank speak, as what we read is mostly yank and the A being a yank car, as saying gas tanks, and fenders and hood shelves etc in everyday speak , I cringe sometimes when it comes out, but we are being americanized and chinezed by the second .

After all, we are a mongrel race from all over the world.

Think about it... when we are asked 'what is our culture', and how you epitomise a typical anglo-saxon Aussie, we go ummm, a beer belly, a T shirt, shorts, thongs and a fosters in hand.
 
Bill,

We could possibly make you an honorary Aussie ...

But you have to wear shorts and promise never, ever to drink Fosters.
That stuff just ain't right.
 
lol Pooch and Updraught would do fine here in the States; for reasons no one can precisely pinpoint, Australians are very popular here.
 
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