Hi, I have a series II that I purchased that had some very stiff brakes. Upon pulling of the rear drums I noticed that not only did the shoes not look like the Alpine shoes but the drum was smaller too. Turns out that someone had swapped the backing plate and everything else that belonged to a ‘57-‘58 Saab. I know it is a rather sad Saab story but now I need a set of decent drums to complete the setup back to original.
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husky drvr
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funtohave,
Welcome to the forum. Your brakes seem to be a bit unusual, to say the least.
Some pics might help identify what you've got under your car. It might also help if you can check the rear diff ratio. It's possible that you might find a single letter stamped into the outer axle shaft ends. The letters could be the same or different, if still present. It's not unusual for the stamping to be damaged during hub removal.
I've not heard of anyone swapping to Saab brakes but it might have happened. On the other hand, I wouldn't be surprised to find a PO (previous owner) switched to a Hillman rear axle complete with smaller Lockheed drum brakes. The rear axle housings are essentially the same, the brakes are different, and the gearing could be very different.
Link to article on Modern Driveline site for how to perform a "driveshaft turn count" to check ratio.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjqoMjx9-HyAhUmMVkFHYlEBo8QFnoECAQQAQ&url=https://www.moderndriveline.com/how-to-determine-your-rear-axle-ratio/&usg=AOvVaw2cpov2T50BR-d-71INjvD0
Hope this helps,
Welcome to the forum. Your brakes seem to be a bit unusual, to say the least.
Some pics might help identify what you've got under your car. It might also help if you can check the rear diff ratio. It's possible that you might find a single letter stamped into the outer axle shaft ends. The letters could be the same or different, if still present. It's not unusual for the stamping to be damaged during hub removal.
I've not heard of anyone swapping to Saab brakes but it might have happened. On the other hand, I wouldn't be surprised to find a PO (previous owner) switched to a Hillman rear axle complete with smaller Lockheed drum brakes. The rear axle housings are essentially the same, the brakes are different, and the gearing could be very different.
Link to article on Modern Driveline site for how to perform a "driveshaft turn count" to check ratio.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjqoMjx9-HyAhUmMVkFHYlEBo8QFnoECAQQAQ&url=https://www.moderndriveline.com/how-to-determine-your-rear-axle-ratio/&usg=AOvVaw2cpov2T50BR-d-71INjvD0
Hope this helps,
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Before buying new drums check the rear axle. It is possible someone swapped a whole rear end, not just the brakes. Also, the #1 cause of "stiff" brakes is a too large bore master cylinder. Yours should be about 11/16".
Do not under estimate what 60 years of backyard mechanics working their wonders can do to a Little British Car.
Bill
When I purchased the car I was blessed with an extra engine, a hill man I was told with the stamping date of 1967. God knows what displacement it is. Also there was a rear end that has the proper sunbeam backing plates on it. It is identical to the one that is on the car. It seems that the old man that had owned the. At for forty some odd years was quite the tinkerer so I have many odd things going on with this car. Anyway back to the Saab backing plates that are currently on my car, it seems like he drilled the mounting hole to match the sunbeam hubs and that there was some epoxy work done to fill the unused holes. The drums had the same stud spread so there wasn’t any monkey business done there.
All in all, I'm thinking you are looking at the wrong end of the car. As W A G, the front brakes on an Alpine do about 75% of the braking. You could block off the line to the rear brakes and not see a big change. The problem most likely is either in the front brakes or master cylinder. What is the size of the master cylinder and condition of the rotors? Also look for glazing and contaminated pads.
Bill
Bill
I think your right about the master cylinder. I did take off the front calipers today and they seemed to be in good shape and the rotors were barely worn. I probably will still kit them out since I’m try to get the old girl roadworthy again. The old gent that owned it before me was an Amsoil salesman and I imagine that he used it in the motor cause it is honey gold and runs like a top even though the rest of the car is worn out.
Scott
Scott