Early Ford V-8 Club Forum

EFV-8 Club Forum / General Ford Discussion / '48 Super Deluxe Convertible Two Questions

Reply to Discussion | New Discussion << previous || next >>

Posted By Discussion Topic: '48 Super Deluxe Convertible Two Questions     croftonfoxes 10-11-2018 @ 1:31 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 18 Joined: Oct 2018 Hello Everyone, I am new to owning a restored '48 Super Deluxe Convertible and new to the club. I have two quick (I hope) questions: 1) The knob on my gear selector is kind of beat up and I purchased a replacement from Dennis Carpenter, but for the life of me, I cannot figure out how to get the old one off! Any ideas? 2) The brakes on the car are relatively (within the last year or two) new and work surprising well for 4 drums and no power assist. However, I have noticed a rather pronounced pull to the left when I apply the brakes initially. The faster I am going and the harder I apply, the worst the pull. Is this something that I can adjust with the two brake shoe cam bolts on the backing plate of the brake, and if so, what do I do? Thanks! cliftford 10-11-2018 @ 3:56 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 845 Joined: Jan 2014 Brakes: could be adjustment,[most likely] leaky wheel cylinder , or grease on shoes. Try adjustment first. Look for previous posts on this subject. I believe the shift knob is pressed on and will have to be cut off. Drbrown 10-11-2018 @ 9:37 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 563 Joined: Nov 2013 Adjustment: See factory manual; there is a procedure. Clifford offers good advice re checking for brake fluid or grease on shoes/drum. On the far side, it could be possible that the left drum surface is out-of-round or the new shoes were not "arched" to match drums. This could be checked (for instance) by applying carpenters blue line chalk to the shoe surfaces, installing the drum, rotating it by hand, removing the drum and looking at how the shoes contact the drum. Knob: I agree probably must cut old off (a Dremel hobby saw comes in handy). "J-B Weld" two-part epoxy works great on these situations. Widely available. This message was edited by Drbrown on 10-11-18 @ 9:48 PM TomO 10-12-2018 @ 6:53 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 7244 Joined: Oct 2009 In addition to the items that could cause pulling is a bad flex hose going to the right front wheel or a wheel cylinder that has corrosion causing the wheel cylinder piston to stick. I would check the brake fluid in the reservoir by using a turkey baster to remove some fluid and check the color. Good DOT 3 or 4 brake fluid should be a clear fluid with a tan cast. DOT 5 fluid should have a purple cast. If the fluid is dark, it is dirty and the system should be flushed. Get in touch with the previous owner and ask him if he used conventional or silicone brake fluid and flush the system with fluid from a new can of fluid of the same type. If the PO is not available, you can do a test on the brake fluid by putting a few drops of the brake fluid on a piece of painted metal (I like to spray some paint from a rattle can and let it dry for at least a week and use that sample for the test) and letting it set overnight. The DOT 3 or 4 fluids should lift the paint and the DOT 5 fluid should have no effect. DOT 5 fluid is slippery and the other fluids become sticky after being in the air for a while. You might consider replacing all of the rubber parts in the brake system, if you do not know when they were replaced last. These parts last about 10 years on a collector car with conventional brake fluid. They last somewhat longer on systems with silicone brake fluid. Tom supereal 10-14-2018 @ 1:21 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 6819 Joined: Oct 2009 As my friend TomO said, replace all the rubber brake hoses, including the one on the torque tube feeding the rear brakes. These hoses have a problem of the inner lining coming loose from the sheath and partially or fully blocking the hose. Just last week at our shop we found the same problem on an older Chevy pickup truck. Brake fluid is alcohol based and will attack old rubber. The aluminum pistons in the wheel cylinders will also corrode and prevent movement. bigvince 10-19-2018 @ 10:39 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 60 Joined: Oct 2009 Had the same problem on my 48 wagon only the right side. Bled the brakes and now work fine. croftonfoxes 01-31-2019 @ 2:46 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 18 Joined: Oct 2018 Thank you very much everyone! Very helpful advice! Would help though if I would check back more often! Sorry... Oddly enough, the brakes sorted themselves out and work very well... No idea why, but I will take it! Regarding the shift knob... Yup, cut it off and JB weld the new one... Right as rain now! Thanks so much again! Drbrown 01-31-2019 @ 9:39 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 563 Joined: Nov 2013 Glad things worked-out for you. Since you recently purchased the car, maybe it had been sitting and just needed some exercise to get the bugs out. I work on a fleet of five family cars. They all have disc brakes but two of them have brake calipers that like to bind when inactive. So first thing I do is several semi-panic stops in the first few hundred yards. After that they loosen-up and quiet down. supereal 02-06-2019 @ 11:25 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 6819 Joined: Oct 2009 Pull the drum from the side that is pulling to be sure that the shoes are correct. The front shoe is the short one, the primary shoe. The rear shoe is fully lined. We often find them reversed. I agree with the others regarding replacement of all rubber hoses in the brake system. Old hoses commonly separate the outer part from the liner. As these old vehicles have only a single system, instead of today's double type, it is very important that there be no leaks or clogs anywhere. As to the shift knob, once you break or cut it off, a dab of JB Weld in the hole will keep it in place.

<< previous || next >>

NOTE: YOU MUST BE A REGISTERED USER AND BE LOGGED IN TO POST (and reply to) messages in this forum. If you are a first time user, please click the CREATE A NEW ACCOUNT in the masthead above to register and Log In. After that, all you do is LOG IN to enjoy using this site.

DISCLAIMER: The V-8 Club does no independent testing of any of the opinions, thoughts or suggestions presented in the website on the Forum, in the Tech Tips section, or any section. A reader should consider the website to be a forum wherein differing solutions to a particular set of circumstances may be discussed. Ultimately, the selection of an item for an individual's vehicle must be based upon the independent study of the vehicle owner in consultation with people in the hobby and restoration experts.

EFV-8 Club Forum Home | Back to Home Page | Contact the Webmaster

Copyright © 2009 - EFV-8.org
Powered by < CF FORUM > v.2.1