I'm having a problem with the brakes on my 60 Olds and wanted to see if anyone else has experienced this and can offer some remedies.

Since I bought the car last summer, I've had two instances where the brake pedal has gotten as hard as a rock, it becomes difficult to stop the car and I can smell burning break linings coming from the back wheels.

In both cases, I've stopped the car and shut it down. When I start it back up everything is fine -- as if it had never happened -- and it's months before I it happens again.

Any thoughts?

Mark

 

Welcome aboard

I'm not the 60's expert. But hang in there someone will chime in soon and you'll be stoppping on a dime,

What have you examined so far on the brakes?

 

I haven't pulled anything apart yet since it's been several months since it happened. Am having it looked at next week but figured I'd do some legwork in case it requires some hard to find parts. My complements by the way on your collection. I remember all of the 69s well -- have a couple of promo models of the Cutlass in my collection. My father had a 67 Vista Cruiser too.

Regards,
Mark

 

Seems to me that the brakes are sticking....thats why the hard pedal because the shoes are already in contact with the drum so there is no travel left in the pedal. Possibly brakes are not adjusted properly, wheel cylinders sticky or a master cylinder problem. Could also be a problem with rubber lines restricting and acting like a check valve not allowing fluid return.

 

Yeah Vistas are my favorite. I mean how many cars have 4 [count them] sun visors?

Where are you from?

 

Appreciate the quick counsel and will bring it all with me when we start looking at the system.

Mark

 

Sweet

Now those are real whitewalls.

 

It's either a frozen wheel cylinder or since more than one wheel is doing it, the master cylinder. Possibly a plugged brake line. On a 49 year old car, I'd go thru the whole system and not look back.

My bud's 66 Starfire did this same thng. We replaced the whole system including lines except for (you guessed) master cylinder and the front wheels would seize and heat up the brake lining. Found the return port in M/C was plugged and not allowing residual pressure to bleed back into the chamber, keeping the brakes applied all the time.

New M/C corrected the problem.

Very nice Sixty, BTW.

 

Thanks ... got it from Florida. It's similar to the car my father had as a kid and I'm having a lot of fun with it, when the brakes aren't locking up!

Mark

 

X2....worth every penny spent.

 

Not Glen, it's Mark.

 

I agree redo the whole brake system not that much money for the piece of mind you'll have after the work is done. Not that hard to do either

 

Glen who?

Dayam, I can't hide anywhere...