Jon, it was probably modified when Joel installed the overdrive. Are you driving to Chattanooga ?. If you are, maybe we can look at it then.

Interesting thought, Doug; thanks! But I myself installed the overdrive, back in '78. And I didn't replace the safety brake linkage.

Actually, I guess I could simply remove the lock nut, and rotate the tubular link toward the back, until it bottoms out. That would establish the point from which I measure the 1-1/2" clearance. Then rotate in the other direction, move the rod 1-1/2" back, and then fix its location with the lock nut.

I had hoped someone had encountered this sort of set-up before, and could tell me what the "bottom-out" point was, without my having to go through all of that!

Jon, so it was adjusted correctly and then that went away?. If so, this means the rear brakes are probably worn and need adjustment?. Just a guess,but if everything was good, or it has taken a gradual period of time to go out of adjustment , look towards the rear brake adjustment. Looking forward to Chattanooga ! D

It is common to find that someone has adjusted, or over adjusted the emergency brake trying to compensate for lack of e-brake holding power. I'm not saying that is what you have done, but we find it quite often.

I actually don't recall ever having adjusted this. Probably sometime in the last 45 years, someone did, but I paid no never-minds.

I've been having braking problems, wherein I have to practically stand on the pedal to make the car come to a full stop.

It occurred to me that one reason (among many) would be that the safety brake was over-adjusted. If one had [b][b] less[/b][/b] than the recommended 1-1/2" clearance, then the safety brake would begin to engage [b]before[/b] the pedal got down far enough to send brake fluid to all four wheels. So now the only thing stopping the car is the two[b] rear [/b]wheels (courtesy of the mechanical backup brake). This might explain why so much pedal pressure yields such pitiful results.

So to answer your question, it may have been adjusted correctly. Or not. Its mis-adjustment (if any) may have nothing to do with my current braking problem.

That's why I was checking the free play. If my car had the "factory" setup this dimension would be a snap to measure because you measure between the nut and the sliding tube.. But since it's a different setup, the distance of movement is hard to measure because it's not clear where the rod bottoms out!

Jon, I would say if you have to stand on the brakes that hard and have very little results in stopping, you should not drive the car anymore until you have someone check the wheel cylinders, master cylinder and the rest of the hydraulic system. It really sounds like it is time to restore that system.

I concur with the honorable Doctor! Jon, how long since you adjusted the brake shoes?

Probably been a couple days, Geoff.

When I had the shoes off the other day I noticed that the anchor pin was very slightly loose. I'll try to adjust that as soon as I can, but I don't know if it would have any bearing on my problems.

The setting of the anchor pin is crucial to the operation of the brake. It must be set in the correct position and 100% tight.

Also keep in mind that the reason it's called an "anchor pin" is that all of the rotational force, increased by the ratio of drum diameter to tire diameter, is transmitted [i]through that pin[/i] to the backing plate. That's a tremendous amount of torque so the pin must be, as Geoff says, tightened to spec without fail. It also gets shoved back and forth with vehicle braking direction, tending to loosen it over time.
F