Fwd: <VV> Brake frustration

[HallGrenn at aol.com]

In a message dated 2/20/2006 3:26:55 AM Eastern Standard Time, 
IntoCorvairs at aol.com writes:

> Any 
> helpful advice that would give me great drum brakes would greatly be 
> appreciated.  
> 

Stephen:

I'll add my two cents here.  And I'm sure others will follow.  One of the 
things that made the Corvairs so safe was the ability to stop well--without any 
front end dive to speak of.  Because of the low center of gravity of the 
engine/drive train and the way the suspension was engineered, a Corvair will almost 
seem to squat when braked hard.  The handling under braking (without lockup) 
is superior to many other cars for this reason.  If you are used to a front 
wheel drive car the rear on your Corvair will seem to squat more than you may be 
used to.

But there does seem to be something wrong with your car from your 
description.  If everything is working properly and you have new parts then I would 
suggest that you check the wheel cylinders to see if the correct ones are on the 
front and rear.  The rear cylinders are supposed to have a larger diameter than 
the front brake cylinders because they were designed to do more of the 
braking.  Likewise the rear shoes are wider for the same reason.

Please let VV know what the solution was to your problem when you sort it 
out.

Bob Hall
Group Corvair