Frozen Jet Brakes

ratlee2
ratlee2 Expert Adviser
in HUDSON

I have officially started the restoration on my mom's old 54 Jet 2 door sedan that has been sitting since 1980. The car is very solid, but it needs everything.


When I towed it out of the garage, I loosened the eccentric adjusters on all 4 corners, pulled the drive shaft, verified the parking brake was not on, and started to pull the car out. The front tires broke loose, but the rears remained locked up. Now that I have the car at my house, my initial thought was to remove the wheel cylinder bolts, brake line, grind down the hold down pins and pull the drum assembly. After looking at the shop manual, it looks like the brakes are very different that the brakes on my Hornet and Wasp.

It looks like the shoes are held down by clips (#50 in the diagram below) similar to those used on CJ2A Jeeps. Are these clips the same or are replacement clip available? Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get the drums to break loose from the shoes?


Thanks Rich

brakes4.jpg


Comments

  • Geoff
    Geoff Senior Contributor

    Get a hard rubber hammer, and whack around the periphery of the drum many times and it should break loose eventually. As you note, these are entirely different brakes from the senior cars, and yes, the same as Willys.

  • cheyenne7271
    cheyenne7271 Member

    You should still need the hub puller, like the Hornets, to pull the drums after loosening the axle nut a few turns. Since it’s all getting renewed use plenty of WD-40 or penetrant.

  • ratlee2
    ratlee2 Expert Adviser

    Thanks for the suggestions. I was able to get the drums off without damaging the hold down clips. I pulled the drums out about a 1/4" from the backing plate and sprayed the shoes down with pentrating oil and let it sit. Now just looking for current shoe part numbers. Can't find the RS-51 anywhere but they also appear to be used on 51 Henry J cars too.

  • onerare39
    onerare39 Expert Adviser, Member

    There are still places that reline you brake shoes. Here's one in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

    https://www.brakematerialsandparts.com/relined-brake-shoes-photo-gallery

  • ratlee2
    ratlee2 Expert Adviser

    Thanks for the link Onerare39. I did reach out to them already for a quote on relining the shoes and sleeving the front cylinders, but I have not heard back from them.

    -Rich

  • 49S636T
    49S636T Member

    Rochester Clutch and Brake 585 924 3717 had RS-51 shoes in stock a few years ago when I bought them for my Jet. Jet rear brake parts cross with early Willys CJ Jeeps.

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