<VV> Brakes pulling

[Jim Simpson]

While this isn't a direct answer to the question, I recently watched an
episode of a British car show "Wheeler Dealers".  In this episode they
purchased a '64 Corvette in California, shipped it to the UK, did some
basic refurbishment and sold it off at a considerable profit.

Part of the refurbishment was attending to the brakes.  The '64 Corvette
had drum brakes all around and they'd been rebuilt by the previous owner.
But the braking in the show's words was "scary".  It turned out that there
wasn't any problem with parts, it was all in the adjustment.

The really interesting part was that they used the British MOT testing to
identify the problem.  (MOT is Ministry of Transportation -- they have a
periodic (annual?) inspection requirement for cars that seems considerably
more comprehensive than any I've seen in the US.)  Part of the testing is
using a brake force measurement machine.  It's basically a roller test of
the front or rear wheels where they can measure how much braking force each
wheel is producing.  The machine turns rollers under the wheels and
measures how much drag the wheel produces when you apply the brakes.  It
can do individual wheels or compare right and left pairs.

Initially the front wheels were something like 60 or 70% different in their
braking force.  (The British MOT spec is not more than 25% if I recall
correctly.)  After doing basic adjustment, they got the difference down to
about 10% and cured the problem.

I've never heard of a brake force testing machine before.  Has anyone out
there in VV land heard or seen one?  Sounds like a great machine, but way
too expensive for any individual.

Jim Simpson
Group Corvair