I quickly learned that what appeared to be simple was not when dealing
with a 63-year-old machine. The adjusting nut was of course absolutely solid;
immovable; a right pig; and my sigh of relief when eventually there was movement
turned to a cry of horror as I realised that I was shearing off the bolt
rather than moving the adjusting nut. Having dried my tears and given thanks
for there not being a swear box in the vicinity I found that fortunately
a reasonable length of threaded bolt remained, and after a feverish search,
a nut of the right size and thread was found to restore the adjusting mechanism
to its former glory - and it worked.
What did I learn from this first project (apart from how silly it was
to buy an ancient vehicle in a cloud of nostalgia) - that might help with
future "mechanick-ing" :-
 Old nuts/bolts
can become fatigued, just like the old 'Nuts' working on them, and
a spanner with a normal length handle should be tried first before bringing
in great big wrenches to force the issue.
Since you're going to get covered with oil anyway you might as
well also apply 'dismantling oil' liberally to parts which may be seized
or rusty before attempting to shift them.
If there is no
alternative to the big wrench then take it slowly bearing in mind that if
damage occurs it is almost bound to be to parts which are difficult to replace
- or is that being a teeny bit too cynical?
Ever since the first car, designers have been feverishly altering components
with the stated aim of improving the motorists lot, but we D.I.Y. freaks
know that this has really been a devilish plan to prevent us from finding
the right bit - assuming that any bits are still in existence. But if they
can alter designs then so can we if the need arises, and one must always
be ready to improvise to solve a problem, if parts can't be found or
re-manufactured at reasonable expense. Thankfully on this occasion it was
not 'call an expert' time, but it very easily could have been, and of course
must be if there is any possibility of safety
being compromised.
Oh dear, this should probably have come first - work out
possible causes of a problem and map out a logical course of action before
getting stuck in. If you don't, be warned that some armchair critic will
feel it their duty to get right up your nose by pronouncing 'You should
have worked out the possible causes of your problem etc. etc.
.....'
The really annoying thing is that your armchair
critic will be right!
In this instance the inefficient handbrake had a second cause, although
I would of course have argued fiercely with 'the armchair critic' that
adjustment of the handbrake cables was as good a starting point as any, as
the job did need doing. The increase in efficiency was not however
sufficient to hold the car on a steepish slope and removal of the brake drums
revealed:-
1. Both sets of rear brake shoes were contaminated
with oil.
2. Brake drums scored and grooved - presumably
when some previous set of shoes wore down to the rivets.
The short term answer to No.1 was to instruct
my wife to get busy with lots of detergent and a scrubbing brush but she
was somewhat unco-operative (to put it very mildly) so I had to risk damaging
my own soft and tender hands to get the shoes cleaned.
(The only real cure, when there is bad oiling,
is of course the replacement of the affected shoes).
I was luckier with regard to No.2 as my brother
was able to skim both the drums baby-bottom-smooth on his lathe.
And so finally the 'simple' job was
done. |
