07-03-2019, 02:29 PM
I have 1-1/4" brakes all round with Tony's CI drums, they fit straight on. Fronts have John Barlow shoes, rears Austin shoes with woven linings.
Brakes are uncoupled.
On the front I have longer levers and I've made modifications to the handbrake to increase the travel. Often the handbrake is limited by lack of travel and the lever hits the end of the slot before maximum effort is reached.
For the rears I've added a bracket/bearing on the nearside connecting the cross shaft to the cross member To prevent the shaft flexing back under load. Also a stop on the O/S to prevent it flexing forward. This improves the brake balance which is normally biased towards the O/S. With the standard set-up the N/S rear brake needs to start to work before the O/S to get reasonably straight braking. That wastes travel.
It is very instructive to watch from below while someone presses the brake pedal. The amount of flex on the cross shaft is surprising!
Brakes are uncoupled.
On the front I have longer levers and I've made modifications to the handbrake to increase the travel. Often the handbrake is limited by lack of travel and the lever hits the end of the slot before maximum effort is reached.
For the rears I've added a bracket/bearing on the nearside connecting the cross shaft to the cross member To prevent the shaft flexing back under load. Also a stop on the O/S to prevent it flexing forward. This improves the brake balance which is normally biased towards the O/S. With the standard set-up the N/S rear brake needs to start to work before the O/S to get reasonably straight braking. That wastes travel.
It is very instructive to watch from below while someone presses the brake pedal. The amount of flex on the cross shaft is surprising!
Jim