Hi Don, well you are looking at another finned Chrysler nut or rather
hearing from one. My son and I have a 1961 300G and a 61 New Yorker Town
and Country wagon. We have several other MOPARS. We just joined the
forwardlook on Friday. My wife is from Cranston R.I. My sister and
brother in law still live there. His name is C.R. Martin. We have been
back there many many times. I have heard of the salvage yard that you are
talking about. We are coming to R.I.for a week on the 20th of July. Go
U.R.I..
We will talk to you later.
Larry Menges
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> From: Donald Verity <d.verity@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: L-FORWARDLOOK@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: New Member and Brake Fixes
> Date: Saturday, March 21, 1998 3:47 PM
>
> Hello all,
>
> I just signed up this week so introductions are in order! My name is
Don
> Verity and I am from Smithfield, R.I.. I seem to be the first person who
> has written who has later finned Chryslers. I own a 59 300-E, 60-F, and
> 61-G. I also have a 66 Imperial Crown Coupe, 69 T&C wagon, 70 New Yorker
> 4dr. ht., 70 Challenger R/T, and 85 Laser turbo. I have owned my G
longest
> of all my finned cars. I bought it in November, 91 with 51,000 original
> miles and have put about 25,000 on it since. It is a very rust free car
and
> is the best driving car I own. It is almost completely free of any wind
> noise and rattles and the power is awesome! I bought my F in 93. It has a
> non-stock 69 440 and 62 aluminum torqueflite. It has the rams on it and
> looks like stock until you check the number pad. It has done a best of
> 14.33 at 93.68 at the drags and is currently being restored (mostly by
me).
> The 59 E has not run since 66 and has a dealer installed Paxton
> supercharger on it. It had an engine compartment fire in 66 and hasn't
run
> since. I was in the right place at the right time to get this one! It
needs
> a full restoration. My basic philosophy on the cars is to drive and enjoy
> them because that's what they were made for. The best way to really
> appreciate a letter car (or any old car) is to drive it!
>
> On to the brake problems! When I brought my G home I had to use dish
soap
> and a hose so it would slide off the ramp truck. All four wheels were
> frozen! It had been in the original owners home which was vacant after
his
> death. The pipes had frozen and burst at one point and when they thawed,
> no-one noticed that they were leaking for quite a while! The G did not
> suffer any damage except the moisture from the water froze the drums to
the
> fresh shoes. Even though all the parts were fairly new, the wheel
cylinders
> were no good. On cars as old as ours I don't believe in taking chances
with
> the brakes. I completely rebuilt the system with new cylinders, hoses,
and
> master cylinder. I cleaned up the shoes and drums figuring they were OK
to
> use as is since the shoes were new. I also used silicone fluid. After
this
> the hydraulic part was OK, the brakes still pulled quite badly. To make
an
> already to long story shorter, the problem was the shoes and their fit to
> the drums. What I did was to have the drums turned and ground, and I had
> the new shoes contour ground to fit the drums. It made all the difference
> in the world! The car stops straight and true and I have had no problems
in
> over 20,000 miles! There are not to many shops around that can grind
drums
> and shoes but it is worth the effort to find one. Brake noises are
usually
> because of shoe fit also. Keep in mind also that if your brake pedal
pumps
> up, or is spongy, there could be air in the system. I have bled my brakes
> myself using a glass jar party filled with fresh fluid and a hose running
> from the bleeder valve to the jar. All you have to do is loosen the
bleeder
> and pump the brakes until there are no bubbles. Another cause of a low
> pedal could be the adjustment of the pedal rod from the brake pedal to
the
> master cylinder. It should be adjusted so there is minimal play in the
rod
> (not the pedal). If it is to tight, the brakes will drag and quickly
> overheat. The adjustment at the wheels is important too. They should be
> adjusted according to the shop manual. I have done the same treatment to
my
> F with the same results. It also has metallic linings that I got from
NAPA
> a few years ago. I have made back to back runs at the drag strip with no
> problems stopping. All the things I have written pertain to center plane
> brakes of the power variety. Most of the tips should work on the earlier
> design. I also agree that putting a dual system on a car not designed for
> it will not help braking performance, and if your brake system and
> emergency brake is in top shape, you should enjoy miles and miles of safe
> and trouble free driving. The old brakes don't compare to modern disc
> brakes, but our Chrysler brakes were actually better than average when
they
> were new, so you are safer driving a Chrysler product anyway!
>
> Both of my Cross-Ram cars also Idle like they have a two barrel, but
Ram
> tuning is another story, and I have rambled on long enough! Long live the
> fins!!
>
> PS. I live near a Mopar junk yard that has a number of 56-62 Mopars,
> mostly Chryslers, but if anyone needs something, let me know.
>
> 300ly,
> Don
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