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+--- Thread: BRAKES WHAT'S NORMAL (/showthread.php?tid=2267)
RE: BRAKES WHAT'S NORMAL - Hedd_Jones - 01-03-2019
Thats exactly whats wrong. Swap the cams side for side.
I seem to remember the Bearded Wizzard modifies his hubs by making them a curly sort of triangle shape like on some of the later bigger cowled Austins (the three stud ones). Or at least lops one side off.
Does this allow the cams to be removed with the hubs still in place? I suspect it might. Its a modification that could be accomplished in situ using an angle grinder working to a scribed line. I suspect about 20mins work a corner for an animal like me
RE: BRAKES WHAT'S NORMAL - JonE - 01-03-2019
Both - ok, well thats positive news that there is something wrong! I've looked in Woodrow and green book and it seems woefully poor for the beginner. So Hedd, are you suggesting R's mod might be possible for wiggling cams out backwards past slackened shoes, without either of the hubs removed?
Saying that, I presume I cant change shoes without both inner and outer off?
RE: BRAKES WHAT'S NORMAL - Bob Culver - 01-03-2019
Hi Hedd (in the main)
The Girling brakes with same length levers have much greater effective leverage so the same movement has less effect. Mixed uncompensated sytems are a therefore a puzzle, even when the front axle is well located.
My RP in the 1960s with linings sold for Sevens years earlier had poor brakes. My father had changed linings not due to wear but to counter grabbing. In mountainous Wellington city several side roads feed very steeply into main routes. The Seven would slow from a reckless 30 mph but would not completely stop irrespective of pressure!
Heavy main road Sunday afternoon traffic used to maintain 50 mph and I could keep up on the flat but I had to constantly fall back to allow space.
With all semi Girling the pressure was still high so decel not so obvious to the driver. But passengers would place their hands on the dashboard for support. The early radius rods would cause the front axle to shudder until substituted. Never locked a wheel in the dry!
With high chassis cars cable alignment for Girlings is improved (but not ideal) if rear levers are upside down with cams sorted to suit. The arrangement I adopted.
RE: BRAKES WHAT'S NORMAL - Hedd_Jones - 01-03-2019
Its easy to take the shoes off with the hubs on and unmodified in anycase. The cams might come out passed an unmodified hub. Ive never tried. Youll know once the drum is off
RE: BRAKES WHAT'S NORMAL - Ruairidh Dunford - 01-03-2019
You will need to remove or modify the wheel carrier to replace the brake cams.
RE: BRAKES WHAT'S NORMAL - Timothy P - 01-03-2019
As Jim and Hedd have said, looks like that one is the wrong cam for that side. Make sure the other side is pointing forwards too before swapping them side for side though, it may be you have ended up with 2 right hand cams.
RE: BRAKES WHAT'S NORMAL - JonE - 02-03-2019
(01-03-2019, 10:45 PM)Ruairidh Dunford Wrote: You will need to remove or modify the wheel carrier to replace the brake cams.
Thanks all. R - would you suggest this as a worthy mod for Sevenners, or does it introduce imbalance/only warrant doing in times of road emergency on a partially wrecked wheel carrier? Will follow innovation if it has pro backing!
RE: BRAKES WHAT'S NORMAL - Reckless Rat - 02-03-2019
As a point of note, my RP has a later semi-Girlinf font axle and brakes but still retains its original back axle with Austin brakes. For years I couldn't get the brake balance sorted and it wasn't until I changed the girling levers for a pair of shorter ones was the braking effort equalised front/rear. As Bob says the longer levers make for less effort but you need more travel to get the same effect. It doesn't work unless all 4 wheel levers are the same length.
RE: BRAKES WHAT'S NORMAL - "Slack Alice" Simon - 02-03-2019
Am I right in thinking all four cams are different from each other?
If so, you cannot assume that the cams you have are correct for the rear axle - just swapping them over won't solve the problem, if one or both are from a front axle originally.
Simon
RE: BRAKES WHAT'S NORMAL - Timothy P - 02-03-2019
Simon as far as I understand, everything before semi girling had the same pair of cams for front and rear. Semi girling are definitely a different cam at each wheel.
That said, I have read that there have been replacement cams in the past with their cotter flat machined at the wrong angle, so there are probably more variations on the early cam out there than the original intended one mirrored pair.