Hello, I'm trying to get my 52 Hornet back on the road after sitting in a garage for about 25 years. After quite a bit of work I took it for a short drive around the block only to hear loud noise coming from underneath and trouble moving. It appears that the the rear wheel on the drivers side is locked up. With the rear up on stands the passenger side turns freely but the drivers side does not turn at all going forward. I can turn it by hand reverse although I didn't actually try it in reverse gear (will do that tonight). Can this be the brake shoes locked on the drum or am I looking at more serious rear end trouble? Has anyone experienced this before?
Walt, please note that I have moved your discussion down to the "Hudson" forum, where it will find a wider audience. You had posted it under the forum dedicated to improving the HET Club or the forum.
Walt,
It's very common for a car that has sat for 25 years. It does sound like you have a brake shoe that has locked up. You may be able to back off the adjuster in order to get the brake drum to turn freely, but you probably have bigger problems than that. After 25 years of sitting your brake system needs to be gone through completely and updated. If you are a member of the Garden State Chapter (which would be a good idea if you are not), invite a couple of good mechanics over to help you diagnose the problem.
John Forkner
Walt,
Definitely agree with John and your own self diagnosis, it's most likely locked up brake shoes. You've probably had old brake fluid oozing all over the shoes after sitting for 25 years (I'm amazed you had any pedal left on the brakes) and it's amazing how well they cement themselves to the drums. Or, possibly a leaky axle seal gummed up the works as well (less likely I think). In any case, be careful how you remove the drums; get some help if you're not experienced working with those. You'll need a proper wheel puller to get them off.
I would suggest once everything is gone through on the brakes that you use DOT 5 brake fluid. Works best for cars that aren't driven on a regular basis. Keeps moisture out of your brake fluid, hence pitting and leakage of cylinders is highly unlikely.
Please post some pictures of your 52 Hornet, or better, post them in the galley if you can. Good luck!
Tim
Tim and John, Thank You for your reply. I did back off the adjuster last night and pulled the brake drum and the shoes sticking was the problem. I did put all new brake lines and brake shoes on about two years ago so they should be fine. I recently bought new wheel cylinders and master cylinder so now is a good time to get those on. I've been a memeber of the HET and GSHC since the 70's. My father was the second owner of the Hornet as a co-worker bought the car new and my father bought it from him in 1960. Last meet I had the car to was the 1976 National in Reading, PA. I need to look at this site a little more to see if it's appropriate to post some of those pictures (yesteday was my first day on this site). I will post some current pictures. Thank You again, I'm sure I'll have a lot more questions in the future.
Hi, Walt, I was a GSHC member (and editor of the newsletter) from its start right up to 1981, and recall you and the car. (I'm down in Virginia nowadays.) Glad to hear you're getting it back on the road. This is a great place to get technical advice quickly. This forum is part of the H-E-T Club's fairly new website.
There is also a Hudson forum run by the Classiccar website, at http://classiccar.com/forum/categories/hudson which is worth following. To post there, you'll have to register separately with Classiccar, though. This forum here is "all our own" though, and good to have, since it's totally under "Hudson control" and not run by another entity.
You can also find and read sales and technical literature at this H-E-T website, if you misplace a shop manual. Just click on "Library" / "Manuals (old site)" at the top of the page for a list of what we've got. You can also start a photo album under "Gallery", with pictures of your car.
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