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Hi Guys,
The wheel cylinders and master cylinder are off to a local brake specialist for SS machining and re-kitting.
They are also relining all brake shoes, and machining the drums.
Will have new hoses made as well. Hope then that's everything done!
I hope I don't have trouble with the sleeves, Riverside Autos has been highly recommended.

Should be back next week. Will let you all know how it goes.

Cheers
Bri

Thanks Patrick, and I sure was grinning!



Yep was a fantastic result and I am so grateful for the help from this forum!

Cheers
Brian

Cheers Vern,
Yea of the 8x slots there was 3x of the original dusttcovers remaining, the rest were open 😂. I seen rare spares has the rubber dust plugs so I will get some ordered, since we have a rare spares outlet in Christchurch.

Cheers 😀😀

Awesome Info, Thanks Rob!

I wonder if anyone has ever made their own SS Pistons, and if it worked? SS on SS wont corrode, but binding may become an issue? Wouldnt be a big deal for me to get some made up!

ill use old camping gear to boil the brake shoes  :D

I was wondering about getting some made up. My company uses a lot of Stainless, I can acquire some bar, and I know a fitter/Turner....
Would it work to have SS sleeve and SS pistons?
Does anyone know where to find the specs for the pistons? there is nothing listed in my FC workshop manual for the dimensions etc for the wheel cyl pistons...

Thanks!
Bri

Thanks so much guys, im making progress, hope you are ready for a new round of questions! :D

So the answers seem much as everyone here suspected, if not a little worse.... ;D

-Both Front Wheel Cylinders are completely stuffed, refer pictures 02-06. Both are heavily leaking fluid and the cylinders are full of old rusty crap on the inside.

-Both Rear drums seemed to be dry. BUT as per short video 00 the pistons are NOT fully returning into the slave cylinders. This caused all sorts of confusion as I was trying to do the wheel cyl adjustment before I knew of this issue!
So every time I would stand on the brake after adjustment the wheels would start dragging again!
It doesn't take much to move the piston back, or with the wheel on you can kick the wheel, or tap it with a hammer and eventually the dragging decreases as the piston retreats into the cyl fully.

The big question is:
Is the pistons not fully retracting a possible sign of a faulty master cylinder also? Or is it likely just buggered wheel cylinders? The master cylinder is not original, but is likely still over 20 years old. It looks like the new ones you buy from rare spares with a plastic reservoir.

I would prefer to get the Stainless sleeved version of wheel cyl for better life, I think there is a place here in Invercargill NZ that can do this so I dont have to order from AU (Saves much time is all). Will ask around on Monday.

Questions questions questions:
1. I will go for 4x new wheel cylinders (or at minimum reco. SS sleeved existing). Should I go right away with also reco and SS sleeve master Cyl? Then all is new?

2. Is the SS sleeve really the best way? I seen on the net, that the dissimilar metals can cause electrolysis? Given that it looks like my wheel cyls have aluminium pistons would adding in SS sleeves make things worse?

3. Can I get new (SS?) pistons? The old ones look very corroded and dirty anyway, if reused can they be cleaned up?

4. The front shoes have plenty of meat on them, but are covered in slimy shit and brake fluid. Can these be scrubbed with brake cleaner and re-used, or should I get them relined?

5. The inside of the drums looks in OK condition, with no ridges or grooves. But the outside of the drums is very rusty and dirty. Is it possible to clean these up with a wire brush and paint? What sort of paint? High temp? See photo 07

6. Jacking points, photo 08 & 09 show where I normally lift the car. Rear on the diff head, front in the ctr of the front cross beam. Is this suitable/safe jacking locations?

lastly pic 10 shows the grand old lady im working on! Just so you know the car!  :D

Thanks so much guys. I am really learning heaps here. While mechanically minded, im not the sort of guy whp likes to just charge in and "give things a go" without any knowledge. So this is helping very much!



Link to pictures:
https://1drv.ms/u/s!Ak-4nGayLAm-jfk1N_fIdKg0c0iFGg?e=aV11Jx

Hi guys,
Well not much time to investigate today. But I did get this far.
I jacked the front up,

LF is quite sticky and hard to rotate.
RF is free rotating
Both rears are semi locked on, I can rotate them by hand but it's an effort.

I checked the handbrake cable under the car, and it does seem sort of tight (yes handbrake was off! 😂😂...)

I did have an issue when I backed up a while ago that I forgot to release the hand brake. Will that tighten the cable up?

That's as far as I got, anyone got any advice on where to start? I figure the handbrake?
Should I, and how should I adjust the cable to slacken it off a bit?

Thanks!
Bri

 :)
Ahhhh Thanks Errol, makes sense. I will remove and inspect at the next opportunity. On a side note, I see Rare Spares has new (reco?) wheel Cylinders for these cars, but not the shoes? Does anyone know where the shoes might be found?

If its as expected, is it generally best to do both sides with new shoes and wheel cylinders at the same time? Heck maybe do the brake lines as well while its apart I guess?

Thanks!
Bri

Hi Team,
Well after all the excitement of everyone's help I was able to get my wipers fixed. Next up, Sticky brakes!
The brakes on the car have always been acceptable, but just barely. My dad has an FE and the brakes on that seem better....

The car didn't get used for about 10 months while I was moving house and getting settled in a new town etc. I try to remember to not park her in the garage with the handbrake on, as I have heard that can cause issues after long periods.

When she came out for a WOF before Xmas (started like a champion as always, after a few winds to get petrol into the carb) I noticed as I went out the driveway brakeing, that one brake was sticking "on" partially, I think it was the LH front. It was dragging a bit but after moving a couple of hundred meters and working the pedal a few times it seemed to come right.
I have now noticed the same thing a few more times, only after she has been sitting for a while.

So.... Time to take the LH Front wheel off and have a look. Question is.... what the hell am I looking for  ;D ;D

I have the original Holden Workshop manual, and a new aftermarket one which seems to give a good breakdown of the system. But before this beginner goes poking around to much, I thought someone here might give me some pointers once again. I see according to the manual there is just one main "Return" spring. Could that be failing?

Should I start with drum removal, inspection, disassemble and clean the crap outa everything? Is Brakcleen safe to use on ALL components inside the braking system? Im a bit fan of cleaning everything up as I go as a starting point.

Thanks Team!
Bri

Hi Guys,
Sorry for the delay, finally got back into this and was able to purchase the bits!!

Well that was awesome, I am very pleased to report that my vacumm wipers now run like bloody rockets!  ;D  ;D

I even have something I have never had before, Speed Adjustment! The further I turn the knob the faster they go! Still slow down or pause under acceleration etc, but all in all 1000% better. Even run like a bloddy ripper at idle! I bloody proud of working through it myself, with the  awesome help of this board. Thanks so much guys, I intend to keep this car forever, so things like this help me to get to know her!

Next stop, sticky front brakes, but I feel a new post for that coming on!  ;D

Cheers
Bri

Oh i forgot to mention, the main big gasket on top is "mostly" ok but has a few rough bits here and there.

The front cover gasket wasnt installed properly and had a big break in it, which may have been sucking air? Is it ok to put a smear of grease on these when then go back in, or a smear on some kind of silicone sealant? This will hold them in place, and maybe bridge the "tears"?

Oh and the bushes seemed to be totally fine  ;D

Thanks!
Bri

Rob, I am so grateful! Still learning  ;)

OK so all apart, not sure how much grease is supposed to be in there, but looks kind of OK? (new photos attached). Side note, it the grease looks like a graphite paste kind of grease, which may not be OK for rubber? Should I renew it, or just leave it alone?


I no suspect the switch mechanism on the motor, which is totally dry of grease and gritty, or the cable running to the switch, or the switch on the dash (Or a mixture of all).

I dont have any rubber grease here now, but do have some mineral (normal?) car grease. If you think inside the body is OK I will seal it all back up and lube the plastic switch body. I think I can use normal grease on the plastic switch slide right?
I will try operating the slide manually with the motor running (without the cable) and see if the switch is/was an issue.

What do you think?

https://1drv.ms/u/s!Ak-4nGayLAm-jfg8aNH9sPqXkGitHQ?e=1AxgBl

OK guys,
With the awesome help here I think we are getting somewhere, and I am learning lots! Thanks so much for the help!

So with the new lvl3 rules as of this morning I was able to click and collect a cheap Vac Gauge. Prob not spot on, but near enough!


I think everyone's advice here may have been spot on!

Vac from manifold only is running at 16-18 in-Mg at Engine Idle (550-650 RPM) - image 01.
Vac from Vac pump only is running at 5-7 at engine RPM 1000-1100 and around 7-8 at 1700-1800 RPM - image 02.

So I suspect the fuel/vac pump is fine. One odd thing to note, that you can see in image 03, the diaphragm/gasket in red you can see in the picture is in multiple "layers"? Is this normal?

So it may be just old, dried out grease in the Wiper Motor? Does anyone have any hints or steps to remove and repair the wiper motor? Just pull it apart, clean out the old grease and regrease with rubber grease as per Kens Instructions? There isnt a lot of info in that manual I have. Is the Slot head screw in the picture each side of the wiper motor the de-mounting screws?

And finally, the old girl hasnt been out of the garage for a run in about 4 months. She started and run really well, with a bit of choke. Image-5 shows a bit of black mess coming out of the exhaust all over the nice new concrete. Is this "normal"?
Its not the end of the world, but this new garage and concrete is only 5 weeks old, so im crying a bit over the mess, but if thats just how the old girl rolls, ill live with it... ;D

Link to Photos:
https://1drv.ms/u/s!Ak-4nGayLAm-jfg16ktvDoz-LKs5_g?e=jd6YbY

Thanks Guys!

Thanks Clay,

Safe to assume Im not across much at all. I didnt know that, and its very helpful!!

So I dont have a vacuum gauge, and we are not allowed out the front gate in NZ, and all the shops are closed anyway... Ha!

Am I right in thinking of running some simple tests tomorrow:

1. The Pipe running from the manifold to the vacuum pump, should be "sucking" at an idle. Check that.
2. The pipe from the vac pump to the wipers, should be "sucking" at Revs (2000RPM?) With the other pipe blocked.

I can at least check things like that tomorrow and see if there is anything "obvious" wrong.

Yeah, but I kinda need working wipers to pass a WOF so I can drive it...  :D

Thanks for that guys.

I will get the kits ordered. I have an manual as per attached, but to be fair its very high level and not nearly as detailed as I would like. Can anyone recommend a more detailed manual and where i might get one?

I have also attached a pic of the fuel pump, looks like someone before me has not used the gasket and has used a sealant of some type.

Cheers
Brian

https://1drv.ms/u/s!Ak-4nGayLAm-jfgqBI8prDAZ7iSYww
https://1drv.ms/u/s!Ak-4nGayLAm-jfgrHMGFNEyMgxMgKg

Hi Guys,

Im In Invercargill NZ and have a 1959 FC Holden. Since we are so bloody tightly locked down here I figure it would be a good time to do some things on the old FC I have. One of the main jobs I have been thinking of doing for a while is put a new kit in both the fuel pump and vacuum pump.

Reasons for this are:

Vac Wipers work,  but are not great.
There seems to be Oil leaking from the Vacuum pump
Might as well do the fuel pump while im there?

Does anyone have any info where I might be able to get the kits? Happy to buy from NZ or AU if seller will send. Looking for a kit that will work well with new fuels etc.

Can anyone help with details or instructions to remove pump and install the Kits? I dont know a heck of a lot about the pump.
I am mech minded, but no mechanic. I assume I should drain the oil before removing the pump from the block etc? Is this whole process a reasonably easy thing to to for a newbie?

Thanks for any help some of you more knowledgeable blokes can give me. I have a few other little jobs that I would like to tackle myself if this goes well  :D

Thanks
Brian

Thanks Guys,
I found the problem. Its faulty parts from Rare Spares in NZ. Seems like even though you pay top dollar at Rares you dont always get top parts   ???

See attached image. The "Slots" for the clip which is a secondary operation after casting in China have been cut in the wrong place in some handles. I had a brand new in the box from the previous owner handle which was faulty. I explained the fault to Rares in CHCH and they checked their stock in-house. They had 5 in stock 3 were faulty 2 were OK   ::)
Also, one handle had the slot OK, but the internal "splines inside were to shallow, not allowing the handle to attach properly!

Would replace the new faulty one I had (I didnt purchase it) so I ordered 2x more.

When they arrived one was good, one was faulty....   ;D

They then posted me another which was also good. So I now have working rear interior door handles!

Pays to check the parts though aye!

Thanks for everyones help.

Bri

NB: Not sure how to post an image here??

Hi Guys,
I am in NZ and just failed a WOF in my 1959 FC as the rear doors do not open from the inside. Had the car 2 years, this is the forth WOF and the rear doors have never work, and the first time its failed  :lol:

I took off the old handles and the spline inside the handle was looking a bit worse for wear, but the spline on the shaft looks OK. so I got 2 new rear inside handles from rare spares and have installed them.

Trouble is they still just spin round and round, even with the new handles!

If I "Push" the handle into towards the door panel I can feel the splines "Click n mate" and the handle operates fine. But when I let go again the panel springs back towards the centre of the car and the handle just spins around and around?

I haven't tried taking the inner door panel skin off to have a look, not sure how to do that..? But the panel does seem to be very "spring loaded" forcing it out. The panel will push-spring towards the outside of the car quite a lot....
Is there a spring or something behind here?
Is there a known fix or likely culprit here before I try to take it to bits and guess?

If the new handle is pushed hard into the spline the door operates fine. Also the doors open and close from the outside perfect.

Many Thanks from Nelson NZ

Bri :)