<VV> Brakes pulling

[R]

Reminds me of the brake check they used to do at New Jersey State inspection. They would drive the car over 4 metal plates and hit the brakes hard and you would then see the brake force for each wheel indicated by how far a red fluid ascended inside 4 glass tubes in a tower next to the device.


RCS

> On Nov 6, 2015, at 11:29 AM, John O'Shea via VirtualVairs <virtualvairs at corvair.org> wrote:
> 
> In Washington, D.C., the city was using a machine like that for yearly inspections back in the early 1950s.  As I recall no adjustments were allowed though.  It was a pass or fail.  If the car failed a red sticker was glued on the windshield and the car had to be towed away from the inspection station.  Back then I think there were only three or four inspection stations in the city.  Perhaps they're gone now or Jim in Group Corvair would probably know about it.
> 
> Jack
> Vegas Vairs
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jim Simpson via VirtualVairs" <virtualvairs at corvair.org>
> To: "Virtual Vairs" <virtualvairs at corvair.org>
> Sent: Friday, November 06, 2015 8:05 AM
> Subject: Re: <VV> Brakes pulling
> 
> 
>> 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
> 
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