<VV> 3-wheel brakes

[Clark Hartzel]

I had an interesting brake problem when I drove my Rampside down from
Fraser, MI to the Canton, OH area for a Friends of Corvair tour a few years
ago.  I made it 250 miles just fine and as I was backing into a parking
space the brake pedal went to the floor!  It seems a previous owner had put
a RH wheel cylinder on the left side which made the hose do an "S" curve.
At full wheel drop the hose was stretched too tight and it finally broke
off, and there I was with no brakes.  The tour was starting in a few minutes
so I followed slowly to the first stop just using my emergency brake and
engine compression in first gear (4-speed) to stop.  At the first stop on
the tour we had a few minutes to spare so I clamped a Vise Grip on the steel
line just ahead of the broken hose and stopped the leak.  I refilled the
master cylinder (you guys always carry a can of brake fluid with you,
right?) and the brakes pumped up OK.  I finished the tour and drove 250
miles home with 3-wheel brakes.  Yes, I replaced the steel line, wheel
cylinder and rubber hose before the next trip.
Clark Hartzel