Re: Brake Mystery Solved

[Posti@aol.com]

As noted in a previous email to the group, TC5624 had an amazing improvement in braking performance following the installation of a set of Bob Grunau's Alfin drums. This was quite a relief, as my initial thought AFTER buying them was that I had wasted money on appearance instead of addressing something that would really make a difference in the car's appalling brakes.

I am sure many of you out there have already figured out what happened, but for those as blissfully ignorant as I, here is the explanation. My original drums had been turned to the point that they no longer matched the arc of the shoes. As is usually the case, the shop that did the mechanical restoration simply installed new shoes without fitting them. As a result, I only had a couple of points of contact. Bob's drums restored the original matched arch of drum to shoe.

Could I have had the shoes re-arced to fit the old drums? Most likely. Do I regret buying the Alfins? Not at all. They look wonderful, and allow me to get full use of brake shoes instead of having to grind half the surface away to get the right arc.

Bob Stein
TC308/TC5624
Norfolk, VA

[joecurto@aol.com]

Last season we fitted a set of Bobs drums as well as a set of his special rear axles & hubs and the car was transformed Same car also got a Bud silver steering conversion and it was even better

Joe Curto