Girling, Semi-Girling and Brakes

[Ian Williams]

Jamie, the much maligned Austin seven brake's need not be as bad as their reputation suggests, the important thing is to remove all wear from the mechanism, all bushes and bearings should be unworn, lubricated and free to move as intended. The shoes should be set so that they are the correct distance from the drums and all cables adjusted equally, most sevens have extensive wear and are not set up particularly well, in this condition they are generally poor. Your car, unless it has been altered, will be fitted with the last of the Austin brakes, the fulcrum is moved out closer to the drum improving contact and they have heavy drums which distort less than the early thin steel drums, in all fairness if you are able to set them up correctly the difference in braking efficiency over semi girling's is negligible. The chief advantage of the semi grilling brakes is that they are more user friendly, they have an adjuster so the shoes can be easily set to compensate for wear, and they have a cam which acts on plungers which open in much the same way as a hydraulic cylinder does thus transmitting an equal force to each shoe. Austin brakes have a direct acting cam, the chief disadvantage is that this causes the two shoes move slightly different amounts and therefor apply one shoe with slightly greater force. To fit semi girling's at the front you would need to replace the whole stub axle assembly complete with the brake set up, at the rear it becomes more complicated as you either have to machine the axle to accept Semi grilling back plates or swap the axle for a later type. One last thing, make sure you fit soft linings, they wear quicker but have greater stopping power.