After much thought, consideration, and a test drive, a name has been selected. She will be called Blaze! (Sorry I couldn’t change the car color in the cartoon image of us, but hey, at least it’s a convertible!)
But Blaze needed some TLC. I started with the critical safety stuff first, brakes. Gotta have them and they gotta work. The original drum brakes that came on these cars back in the 60s were adequate for the time and will continue to work for the time being. (I will upgrade to front disc in the future.) However, much of the hardware appeared to be original and needed to be replaced. The drums and shoes were new and in good shape. The wheel cylinders, hoses, master cylinder, etc were fairly new and in good shape.
Here’s the before and after.
All 4 were taken apart, cleaned and in some cased the backing plates need some repair. The reassembly took a little time but was completed in a day. Years ago, I worked for Sears as a brake mechanic doing three complete brakes jobs a day. Seems I have slowed down a bit!
I replaced the front bearings and seals, then scuffed up the drums and shoes to help seat them to each other. Might have to get the drums turned to get better contact with the shoe surface. Next I repaired the emergency brake, it was assembled incorrectly. Then I put the tires back on, adjusted each wheel and the emergency brake. Road tested and there’s an improvement. Not perfect but serviceable.
I also replaced the incorrect flasher for the directionals, added some new bulbs, and freshly cleaned the rear light covers.
Next repair…Gas Tank