<VV> Driver Error

[Arjay Morgan]

Confession is good for the soul.

Today was a beautiful, sunshiny, 74 degree winter day in Florida and the agenda item was a trip to a cruise in in Plant City, FL. The '64 Monza convert, top down, hummed like it should but with a bit of a high pitched whine which could have been a fan or idler bearing. During the trip I watched with some alarm as the gas gauge descended at much more than its usual rate. The route is basically 18 miles of straight, two lane, country road, posted @ 60 mph.

Upon arrival at Plant City I noticed the brake pedal went to the floor and had to be pumped to get any stopping done. This is a worrisome thing.

There were 15 Corvairs at the shindig (including a couple from Canada, but then, this is Florida in the winter). By the time I pulled into a parking space the odor of fried brakes was evident. The brake pedal now required two pumps to stop. The left rear wheel and wheel cover were too hot to touch.

The consensus was that I'd driven the car with the emergency brake about two clicks engaged. After things cooled off the brake pedal acted normally, thus confirming the diagnosis that I'd heated things up to the point I'd boiled the brake fluid in the line.

The trip home was uneventful even though the thought always occurs when traveling at 60 + that maybe this time the brakes will just fail. Then what? Didn't happen, but I did tap them a couple times miles from the nearest stoplight.

Next step will be to pull the rear drums and scuff the glaze off the brake shoes and maybe do a brake fluid transfusion, this time with silicone.

The lesson learned is that you not only have to do the hard, harder, hardest brake test when starting out but you need to do the pull trigger, release, really release drill with the emergency brake.

Arjay Morgan
64 Monza convert safe at home in beautiful downtown Zephyrhills.



 
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