Good news bad news situation.

Good news is my 97 year old grandmother sold me her one-owner 69' 442 coupe (auto, bench seat, column shift). Car has 69,000 and a time capsule that hasn't left her garage in 28 years.
Bad news: The car apparently doesn't want to come out of hibernation....the dern thing won't roll backward.

Anyone have a theory ???

Dad (who's 80 himself) says the last time it was driven, he recalled it was reluctant to move when placed into gear (with motor running), but then a subtle "pop" was heard and then the car seemed operable and driven 20-30 miles.

Yesterday, removed the boxes and blankets off the car, aired up flat tires, slipped her into N and tried to roll her backward in preparation for flat bed wrecker.

Dad/I tried to rock it back/forth...no luck. Next tried raising rear to spin wheels using breaker bar and socket on the lug nuts...no luck. Tried fiddling with the gear selector to make sure tranny in N....still no luck.

Theories anyone ? Based on Dad's recollection of the "pop" he heard, I'm suspicious of the rear diff, axle bearings or something in that general neighborhood. I'm not familiar with GM rear ends so I'm reaching out to this forum.

I'm contemplating next move. Could be one of the following:
1. Disconnect driveshaft to determine if problem is fore/aft of driveshaft.
2. Hook car to tow strap and try to force another "pop" to free up movement.
3. Use non-flat bed wrecker to tow car 80 miles home (then 1 or 2 above)

 

Brake shoes stuck to the drums. My guess.

 

Brakes aren't frozen right? emergency brake is fully off? a little more drastic action would be to first jack up a wheel pull off the tire and see if you can get a drum off,then do a little more inspecting. you can also disconnect the drive shaft to rule out its not stuck in park, just loosen the two sets of U bolts, leave it attached so you dont leak tranny fluid everywhere. if you want to just get her home you can get two wheel dollies from harbor freight ( if the front wheels roll) otherwise get 4 and he can winch it onto the flatbed ( if he has tow dollies skip this LOL) well the experts will chime in but thats where I would start .

 

great minds LOL.....

 

BRAKES...that makes 3 lol.

You will need to remove each wheel and drum...Get a BIG hammer 4 pounder smack the drum a few time see if it brakes loose.

DO NOT ATTEMPT to drive this car until you check drum liners brake lines master cylinder etc. !!!!!! PLEASE....
I am sure the car will need NEW brakes all the way around.
Jim
JD Race

 

I part out a lot of rear that have the drums welded to the pads etc. I have had to literally cut the drum with a cut off wheel to get them removed. Slice them in half.

REMEMBER though I am parting out these rears. You are trying to restore this car Be careful use jack stands...CAR is not worth your life.

 

Every thing I would do would depend on your help avail ,tools and working conditions on site. You and your
Dads safety is paramount . Two older gents dragging a non rolling car that might brake loose and start rolling could be bad . If you can drag it without, bending or breaking, you or the car I would . Was the parking brake on? If so, hose the cables with wd40 or equivalent. Cables will rust in housings. Brake drums will rust to the shoes. Remove rear wheels . See if brake drums come off. Jack up the front see if the wheels turn. Bear in mind atf, mess if you remove the drive shaft. Where are you? If your close I will assist. Good luck

 

I see that other folks type faster than meLOL

 

The brakes are the most likely cause, but a very easy thing to do is simply remove the driveshaft. If the wheels turn, the problem is the trans. If not, the problem is the brakes or diff.

 

My theory, the pop was probably a delaminating brake shoe and now its wedged in the drum.

 

This is exactly what I was thinking.

 

Ya’ll nailed it. Brake shoe stuck to drum. Ended up busting the drum beatin on it for 3 hours but finally conquered it. happy it was only brakes. Also happy to find a source of knowledge here.

next week I’ll transport it to my shop and dig into brakes and fuel system.

No doubt I’ll be askin for more advice soon.

Thanks All for steering me right direction.

Adrian
Weatherford TX

 

Glad you got it and welcome to the site. I moved away from Granbury just over a year ago. Introduce yourself in the Newbie section with some pictures of your project.

 

Yes, pictures!

 

i have been working on my 66 for 3 yrs.when i parked it in the shop it moved fine.last week i went to roll it forward about 3 ft and stuck like i had blocks behind every tire.sure enough drivers side brake locked up.took me half hour to pry the drum off.and i was actually surprised the drum wasn't rusted to the axle.usually i have to heat the drum to get it to pop loose.looks like beings i have to replace all the brake parts it might be time for a 4 wheel disc set up.

 

Cool Beans, Glad you had a win!!!

 

Been there, done that. Have the T-shirt. I always say when folks are amazed when NHRA teams tear down and rebuild an engine in 15 mins, "They ain't fighting with RUST!"