Glad I checked them

[Steve McDonald Formally known as Mcdonas]

I drive my car a lot and recently I noticed the brakes were a little "grabby", especially when cold. While backing into a parking sport last Saturday I noticed that the left rear brake had a grabbing rubbing noise. Well today I decided to do a little maintenance in the driveway on the car. I don't have a garage so most work is done either in the driveway or sometimes in the trailer where it is stored.  I had thought perhaps the rear shoe had become loose or even debonded even though they are riveted, or perhaps one of the hold down pins had broken. Imagine my surprise when I saw that the left rear wheel cylinder was leaking and had begun to saturate the lining. I had ordered earlier in the week replacement shoes and hardware but had neglected to get wheel cylinders. Luckily in my supply of parts I buy to keep on hand I had a set of rebuilt original small bleeder rear wheel cylinder . A few hours later after a lot of clean up I took the car for a test drive and I guess I hadn't noticed how bad the braking had become. They are now smooth and progressive and no groaning and moaning when cold. I also switch ed the tires and wheels from the original Goodyear Blue Streaks to the tried-and-true BF Goodrich T/A radials.  The weather is turning colder and I want to get a few more rides in before the weather gets crappy but I guess the lesson is to be more aware of things and check them a lot more.

[FL SAAC]

Happy you checked and avoided possibly more damage
Enjoy the ride!

[Side-Oilers]

Steve, that's a great lesson for everyone. And good thing you had the right parts to correctly repair it.

If you've been driving on Blue Streaks, switching to the T/As must make it feel like riding in a Lincoln by comparison.  Amazing what everyone drove on, back in the day. Tires have definitely improved in the past 60-years. Even something as archaic as a Radial T/A is better than a bias ply.

I immediately put radials on every classic car I buy. I'll spend the extra bucks to get the sidewalls trimmed-out to look like the original bias ply tires, but I want radial rubber touching the pavement.  Better ride, handling, mpg and safety. Just my $0.02.

[JD]

Steve, glad all was caught in time!!

Keep that classic rolling!

(+1 on radials over bias-ply's for cars that really get driven)

[deathsled]

Good save. Your car talks to you if you are willing to listen.

[Steve McDonald Formally known as Mcdonas]

Steve, that's a great lesson for everyone. And good thing you had the right parts to correctly repair it.

If you've been driving on Blue Streaks, switching to the T/As must make it feel like riding in a Lincoln by comparison.  Amazing what everyone drove on, back in the day. Tires have definitely improved in the past 60-years. Even something as archaic as a Radial T/A is better than a bias ply.

I immediately put radials on every classic car I buy. I'll spend the extra bucks to get the sidewalls trimmed-out to look like the original bias ply tires, but I want radial rubber touching the pavement.  Better ride, handling, mpg and safety. Just my $0.02.

A two-mile test drive on the Blue Streaks convinced me that they best to use for a static display. They are amazingly horrible but look fantastic. I am thinking of replacing the BF Goodrich tires with the Coker Goodyear Polyglas Radial RWL FR70-14 but would like to get an opinion of someone who has used them before. At $445 a tire it could be an expensive mistake.

[CSX4781]

Hey Steve,
  Sent you a PM


Dave

[Steve McDonald Formally known as Mcdonas]

Got it
Thanks

[Brant]

Steve,

Just replaced the 205/70 x 14 size BFG Radial TAs with the 215/70 x 14 size on my green '66. No problems at all with clearance.

While the 205s are closer to the height of the original 6.95s, I prefer the 215s. In my opinion, the original Blue Streaks were a bit too "short".

The Kelsey Goodyears that you mention are nice looking, but I don't see the advantage over the BFG Radial TAs, particularly considering the price.

[Bigfoot]

^^^^^

That's a good idea Brant.
I like to go staggered, and I think I've got 235s in the back, but I'm not even sure we can buy that size anymore.

[shelbymann1970]

^^^^^

That's a good idea Brant.
I like to go staggered, and I think I've got 235s in the back, but I'm not even sure we can buy that size anymore.

Yeah, a 14" doesn't come up in a 235. Tire sizes just keep getting more limited over time. I run 255-60-15s in the rear of my 69 Mach and 235-60-15s in the front while I prefer 215-65-15s in the front but I couldn't pass up the deal on the full set.