Brake Modification

SuperDave
SuperDave Senior Contributor
in HUDSON

Theoretical question..  What if ?

A short wheelbase (Pacemaker), with Hornet front brake shoes and drums with the 1 1/16" wheel cylinders instead of the 1 1/8 Hornet .. What would be the result? I think it would work, but maybe take a little more pedal pressure.  What say the experts?


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  • Frankvintagefullflowcom
    Frankvintagefullflowcom Senior Contributor
    edited January 2016

    Can't say that I'm an "expert" but the lesser Dia, wheel Cyl. would result in a slightly higher pedal effort, but I'll bet it would be undetectable. Assuming that all else is interchangeable, it should work fine, however it may also result in a slight change in balance between front and rear braking effort. The combination of smaller wheel cyl. dia. and the larger contact area of the Hornet shoes/drums might tend to offset one another, but again, I doubt that the result would be very significant. 

    Frank

  • RL Chilton
    RL Chilton Administrator, Member
    edited January 2016
    I agree with Frank.  The biggest differernce or area of concern would be front to rear braking ratio.  Only one way to find out w/o an engineer, is to try it.  You could always add a proportioning valve if necessary, but probably not a big factor.  
  • SuperDave
    SuperDave Senior Contributor

    To shed a little more light on the project:

    It's a 51 Pacemaker that someone put the Hornet brakes on the front. Then installed an inline 6 cyl. Chevy with a HydraMatic  . (has headers and sounds great!) The rear end was swapped out from an S-10 Pickup (3.0? something). Very narrow,that has 3/4" wheel cyl and 8" drums.. Was driven this way, but. It's been sitting for years. Must have worked ?.. Very rusty. I had a pair of new 1 1/16" wheel cylinders in my cabinet, so put them on the front, replaced the rear cylinders with new Chevy ones. New front hoses and a new MC. All that is left to do is find a rear brake hose that matches. It is plugged BIG TIME as was the front hoses. I'll report back next week after a road test. If I don't get kilt!! LOL

  • Frankvintagefullflowcom
    Frankvintagefullflowcom Senior Contributor

    Had I known about the vast differences betwixt Frt & Rr, I'd have suggested a proportioning valve. I assumed (you know what that means) that the rear was original.

    "The proof of the puddin' is in the eatin' " so drive it and see what it does......on a deserted country road with appropriately wide shoulders.

    F 

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