Brake parts came in,, for 63,, questions?

[Kim K Kaiser]

Well,, i got in my front brake parts,, shoes,, spring kit, wheel cylinder, adjustment part at the bottom, 

first, i got the raybestos shoes.. they seem very rough,, is that normal, ida thought they would be baby ass smooth. but they aren't,, is that normal??

got the drums smoothed out for 30 bucks.. thought that was a deal.. maybe not, but it seemed that way to me.

the spring kit was not what i had hoped, but am going ahead,   the orig parts have the springs that are locked by the caps,,,the long screw type piece,, there are two short ones, and two long ones.. the new kit has two long ones....should i just use the new long ones and go back to the stock short ones..

also, in re the spring kit,  they gave me a yellow spring and a green spring,, the green spring, seems to be just a frog hair long, when compressed,  and wont lok the the little cap on top.  so I'm gonna go back with the orig spring on the long pin, new spring on the orig short pin,,,, they seem to be ok,, visually, any problem in that theory.

changing the cylinder was a real bitch,, the nuts holding the cylinder to the backing plate were locked time.. it actually cracked the original cylinder screw hole.. but i finally prevailed,  and got the cylinder in,, with a new hose,, that leads me to the next question

i thought when i undid the hose connection from the metal hose at the top of the new rubber hose, fluid would just run freely out.. but just he opposite,, NONE came out,, would that be an indication of something further up the line to the MC..??

i have to say, just changing brake shoes would have been no problem, but hat cylinder,, jeez, they couldnt put it the bots and nuts in a harder place to access,, 

anyway,  , please advise on parts, re use and new,, it will be the same on each side as i got parts for both sides, and the advise on the lack of brake fluid,, 

keep in mind, the car was pulling hard right, and i am changing, at this point, the right brake shoe..

[0poexkdugnuh7]

One of the problems with replacement brake parts and springs, is that many times they don't match what you took out.  For this reason, I almost always try to use as much of the original hardware as possible, and when not, I closely examine the replacement part to make sure that it is exactly the same as the original.  Close enough isn't in my vocabulary.  It has to be either correct, or it doesn't get used.  Brakes are too important an item to gamble if they will work as intended. 

I suggest that you do one side at a time, so you have the other side as a reference for putting the side you are working on back together correctly.  Another important reason is so you don't mix parts from one side of the car with parts from the other side of the car.  From your questions, I am going to assume that you have limited or no experience rebuilding brakes.  For this reason, I suggest that you purchase all new wheel cylinders, and hoses.  Carefully clean all the old parts, using dishwashing liquid and water, and then dry the parts with compressed air, or even putting them out in the sun on a hot afternoon to dry.  The part that you referred to as being too long is the anchor pin, and are the pieces that go in from the back side of the backing plate, and held in place with a small spring, and concave disk that you turn to lock it in place.  There is a special tool to accomplish just this one task, and other specially designed tools for other brake part installation.  Having these special tools makes the job a lot easier.  This pin and spring assembly hold the brake shoe to the backing plate, and also some of the self adjuster parts.  Generally speaking these hold down springs don't go bad, however, the pins do rust and deteriorate, and should be replaced.  Replacements of the correct length are available at auto parts stores that service the professional mechanic.  Next, check the springs for signs of rust, stretching, or other visible imperfections.  If they appear to be good, then you can test them by dropping them one at a time onto a concrete floor.  If they land with a dull thud, that indicates that they are still serviceable.  If they land with a "boing", or what most people would refer to a "spring" type sound, they are trash.  The two springs at the top, that hook to the anchor pin at the wheel cylinder, are the return springs, and they are the most important that they are correctly fitted, since they pull the brake shoes back when you let off of the brake pedal.  There was at one time an industry spring paint color standard that all brake spring manufacturers adhered to.  The color would determine the length, number of coils, and pulling strength for a particular spring design.  I have no idea if this still exists.

Another important item to consider is the placement of the brake shoes themselves.  The primary shoe, the one with the smaller lining goes facing forward (front of the car), and the secondary shoe, the one with the longer lining goes on facing the rear of the car.  If you reverse the shoes, you will have erratic braking.

I would also check, and probably replace the master cylinder, and do a complete examination of the rear brakes.   If you still want to do your own brake work, I strongly suggest that you purchase a factory shop manual, and follow the instructions in it to the tee.  If you are not familiar with the service history of the brakes, consider all new front and rear hoses, wheel cylinders, and master cylinder.  The steel brake lines should also be checked for rust, damage, etc.. Brake line integrity is important since your braking system is only as good as the weakest link.

This is a broad overview of what will be necessary to properly restore your braking system, but it is not an all encompassing detailed explanation.  Ask questions before you start, if there is something that you don't understand, and ask questions as you proceed, should you encounter an issue that you are not sure of.   

[Jason Edge]

Tony, your description of tightening until it feels snug, etc. is a bit vague and would instead encourage Kim to follow the shop manual procedure. "Snug" is subjective from person to person (when I was 18 it meant about as tight as I could get it... LOL), and would instead point to the procedure on page 4-13 in the 1963 Cadillac Shop Manual:

[Kim K Kaiser]

well, i use the old pins where the new ones were to long, i used th new ones where appropriate. i used the yellow springs were there existed, because they fit properly, the blueish green ones wouldn't compress right, so i went back with the orig blueish springs.  ,, i replaced the wheel cylinders, that went ok except getting the old ones off, so i just ended up cutting the brake line hoses and was able to get the nut off with a great bit more ease.  replaced the rubber brake lines ,eventually, i got it all together,  my friend that lives around here that owned a shop, was helping me along.  checking on highness and stuff.. bled the brakes, refilled MC, took for short ride ro two,, NO PULLING  !! YEAH!!!!  brakes a hair soft, but sounds like they will do better when they get set.. i will go back in and check that spindle nut,, he has suggested go to pretty hard and then back off,, and not to re use cotter pins.. but since i just read that note from the book above, i can easily go back and reset that at 30lbs and re do pins.  but initial run, had no smell of hot or burnig and its stopping strait, so if it doesnt rain here in about 45 minutes, will make the adjustment.

thanks for all the additional updated info..

[0poexkdugnuh7]

For those that are reading this sometime in the future, I forgot to mention that old brake shoes contain asbestos, and the safest method to remove this contaminant, is to properly clean the brake assembly after you remove the drum, with a soapy solution of dishwashing liquid and water, or any spray soap, such as Simple Green.  Then using a hose, wash it down.  Then spray again with the soap, and using a cheap bristle paint brush, scrub down as much of the assembly that you can reach without taking anything apart.  Spray off again with water.  Disassemble everything, and give it one final cleaning with soap, brush, and rinse.  Let it dry, or blow it off with compressed air.  Don't have a compressor, a leaf blower also works well.  If your backing plate has high spots that the brake shoes rest on, you can lubricate those with a very light smear of white lithium grease.  Just make sure that it is very thin, because you don't want to contaminate your new brake shoes.

[Kim K Kaiser]

What is a  "radio static collector" mentioned in the instructions above,, 

[24ro8f5mbs2jc]

Radio Static Collectors

[24ro8f5mbs2jc]

Static electricity is created by something moving through air. An example, if steam or water is moving through air you will have a build up of static electricity and that could be released creating a hazard.

However in this case I guess this is a device fitted to reduce/remove AM radio interference. Don't know if it works or not, but its fitted on my car and I won't remove them.

[Kim K Kaiser]

I didnt hv one on mine, guess it got removed in past

[2o93f8rdftyzj]

I think over time, lots of these would've got tossed in the bin. When I did ours a few months ago, i thought..... what the hell is this and had to go to the trusty good book for an answer.

Yes, it was refitted too.

[Jason Edge]

The radio static collector is in the front hub dust caps as seen in Anders Illustration. The description of the function is covered in the 1963 Cadillac Shop Manual on Page 12.63, section 82 Radio Noise Suppressors, Note a. Static Collectors. See below.

Not really needed with resistor plugs, suppression wires, etc. and was more for am as I recall. They are pretty little things:

[24ro8f5mbs2jc]

In the 1964 Shop Manual I found it on page 12-66.