Hi all, It's been a while (I've had to switch gears to job hunting the last couple months) but I have fixed a lot of brake issues on my 53 Chevy since I was last on here. I'm not sure if my brake hose routing is legit for the calipers. I've seen other big brake calipers with the hose inlet up towards the bleeder screw which might pass the hose closer to the top passage on the upper inside of the mustang ii dropped spindle. Does anyone think my flexible brake hoses will give issues? I've carefully checked that when I turn the wheels both directions the braided hoses do not touch the spindle nor the spindle nut/cotter pin. I also checked with the car on the ground and no rubbing or interfering. Not sure if the shape of the hoses looks ok or not and if they will change much with time? See photos below (note it's hard to tell in the photos but the hoses do not rub anything) I also had a big brake kit with calipers that have the hose inlets on the top and the hoses pass closer to the spindle top and even rub a little on the sides there however the lines didn't make funny turns. That kit was returned for other reasons. I could hunt another set of calipers from Napa with the inlet on the top but not sure if I really need to? Driver side wheel turned right: Driver side wheel turned left: Passenger side wheel turned right: Passenger side wheel turned left:
As long as they aren't going to rub or get caught on anything should be ok. Also jack it up from the frame, let the suspension hang to check it and with it on the ground have someone bounce on it.
Thanks, I checked it with it on four jack stands. I checked it on the ground, I also took a jack and raised each side carefully from the a-arm (while it was on four jack stands) and it didn't rub when I turned the wheel to each side.
Not sure on the brake hoses, but I see a lot of crud and nasty stuff. I think some disassembly and cleaning-painting and maybe even replacing of parts is in order.
Brake lines look ok to me and I'm picky. I agree that those boots look kinda shot. But as long as there is no play in the joint you have a little time. Don't drive in the rain
Thanks I've been doing one thing at a time and the brake system has taken so much work to redo. 3 months of downtime. I'm going to drive the car for a bit before I do other stuff to it (and any major cleaning-painting) so I don't lose interest. I agree, there is so much grease and crud and crap and bushings, boots, etc that are shot. I bought this car not realizing it needed so much work. Every time I work on it I get so mad because there is so much grease, crud, falling on my face, etc.. The guy who owned it before me made it a daily driver for 15 years and I thought he was kidding but I found out slowly he was not. That's on top of the super shoddy work I keep coming across (pinched hoses and poor routing, crooked linkages, etc). I only drive the car about 5-10 miles every other Sunday and definitely not when it's raining. Maybe in a couple months I'll look for a shop that can put airbags or airshocks on the front (already have them on the rear) and service some of the bushings, boots, etc at the same time. I've worked out of a 1 car garage the last three months with about 10-12 inches on either side so I'm pretty much done with big projects for at least a short while if I get lucky and the car holds up.
Haha, the bottom of the car has freaked me out a little, lots of stuff was hit (not by me) but I replaced the transmission pan, all the exhaust, but some of the frame has hit stuff. I want air so I can raise the front (along with the back) and have more clearance when driving, but then when I park, definitely lower it
The Jalopy Journal
