squirebill

That'll work too. I'm working with a B1B on jack stands and quite frankly it is a pain in the butt to get up and in it. For the left front wheel I can reach in and apply the brake pedal by pulling / pushing it away from the floor board from under the hood. Of course to be able to hold the cylinder so the bleed fitting faces up, I find kneeling and waiting just seems to be easier. The big deal here would be to get all the air out so holding the cylinder in your hand and tipping it from end to end as the fluid is filling it is what's important. You guys are working with cars. Is the master cylinder lower than the wheel cylinders?

1949 Goat, I'm with you. I don't understand how you can get a complete air bleed from the wheel cylinder with only one hole at the 3 o'clock position of the wheel cylinder. My brake cylinders have two holes in them at 6 & 12 o'clock. If I had cylinders like yours I would bleed them as follows: Remove drum and shoes. Place "C" clamp across the wheel cylinder to prevent the internal spring from pushing the pistons out of the bore. The large rubber end caps on the cylinder usually prevent this but I use the c clamp as insurance. With the brake hose still attached to the cylinder unbolt the cylinder from the backing plate. Pull the slack out of the brake hose and orient the cylinder so the brake bleed fitting is facing up. I attach a clear poly hose to the bleed fitting arching it up then down into a container. Crack the bleed fitting open and wait for the fluid to start filling the poly tube. It may take a minute or two but the head pressure from the fluid in the reservoir will slowly fill the cylinder pushing the air out. You may see air bubbles coming into the poly hose. When the bubbles stop and it is just fluid filling the poly tube, close the bleed fitting. Reassemble everything. Turn all adjustments back so drum spins freely then adjust each adjustment out so it just locks drum then back it off a bit to a free spin. Go to next adjustment and do the same. Oh, while the drum and shoes are off, check the fit of the shoe to the drum. Sand the shoe for a fit you are happy with. Personally, I have never done this shoe fitting but it seems highly recommended by others on this forum. Regards.

Wow.....help me understand this: If there is only one hole going from the wheel cylinder bore (at the 3 o'clock position in the photo of post #1 of this topic) to the hose port and the bleed port on the back of the wheel cylinder, as 1949 Goat infers, how do you get the air out of the part of the cylinder that is above the inlet port once the fluid level comes up above the port?

Hi.....I am in the process of rebuilding my complete brake system on a '49 B1B. I purchased new wheel cylinders from AB. I just checked the old double ended wheel cylinder I took off and there are two holes, one that goes straight in from the hose port and one that goes in straight in from the bleed port. So there are clearly two holes, the one from the hose port intersects the cylinder bore at the bottom and the one from the bleed fitting intersects the cylinder bore at the top. If you are certain you have only one hole intersecting the cylinder at the cylinder I would say you have the wrong one for this application. I would be tempted to run a thin wire through the hole of the bleed port to determine how it intersects the cylinder bore or the single hole of the hose port. Maybe the bleed port hole was missed and not drilled during manufacture.

I'm trying to wrap my head around this problem but can't seem to get there from here. I do have a few questions: at some point you step on the brake pedal and the brake/brakes begin to lock up or do lock up. You release pressure on the brake pedal. Then after a period of time the brakes release. Is this correct? After the brakes/brakes lock up does the brake pedal return normally or does it come back slowly as the brakes release? OK, so after the brakes lockup and release, how does the pedal feel the next time you apply the brakes? Is it mushy/spongey like there is air in the lines or is it solid? How "new" are the brake hoses? Very recent or were they replaced awhile ago and just don't have many miles on them? Is there any rust forming on the end fittings of the hoses where the hose goes into the fitting and is crimped?

To answer your question about fuel line size: if the outlet port size of the pump and the inlet port size at the carb remain the same there should be no difference in operation. The only difference might be if you were to completely drain the fuel line it may take longer for the line to refill if you had a larger size line. As an extreme example lets assume the ports are 3/8 inch diameter. If you were to increase the size of the tube to say 1 inch pipe and the output from the pump was 1 cubic inch per stroke then it would take more pump strokes to initially fill the pipe but once it was filled (since liquids are not compressible) one pump stroke input would result in one pump stroke output.

Do you have source information on "6 volt one wire" alternator?

Yes....intend to go to my local machine shop to have the work done....large shop doing hundreds of engines a month. Just asking the question on the forum to get some unbiased information/ opinions so I will be able to bounce it against what my local machine shop tells me to make sure they are not blowing smoke.

How are the old sleeves removed? Do they have to be machined to be removed or can they be removed by a more manual process, using some sort of puller for example. In my case, I need one sleeve removed. If it has to be machined to be removed and the bore in the block is enlarged do the sleeves come like bearing shells with various oversized outside diameters, .010 over,.020 over, etc

I had pretty good luck finding brass 1/4 inch inverted flare fittings for brake lines I was making from Summit Racing. They came in poly bags marked "Edelmann". So maybe Summit racing or Edelmann might be worth a look for the fittings you need.

dpollo.....Pistons flush with deck at TDC....Thanks

OK let me go farther. The block I have came with a 1949 Plymouth Suburban I purchased. A few years ago the engine had been removed and sent out for mag particle/magnafux inspection. No cracks found and six new sleeves were installed in the cylinders, so no ridges now. Engine was not rebuilt, that is what I am going to do. So the block sat for a few years and has some slight surface rust. As stated, one cylinder sleeve has a chip at the very top that runs about 3/8 in. around the circumference of the cylinder and about 3/16 to 1/4 in. down the cylinder from the top of the block. Certainly, I can measure the piston from the top of piston down to the top of the upper compression ring. The dimension I am trying to determine is how far the upper compression ring is from the top of the block when the piston is at TDC. If it is below the depth of the chip then I can use the block as is. If it is above the bottom edge of the chip I will have to consider alternatives. Or, if some one can advise how far the top of piston is from the top of the block when at TDC. Is it flush or some distance below the top of the block? So I was looking for someone who had recently used a ridge reamer who might be able to give me a guesstimate of how far down the bore the ridge was located.

I should have explained, the block is completely stripped of all components and has cylinder sleeves installed and therefore no ridges in the block but one cylinder sleeve does have a chip at the top. Have the pistons and all the parts that go into the block including the crankshaft but no main bearing or connecting rod bearing shells.

My question is as follow: how far below the top of the block do the piston ring ridges form? Or put another way: when the piston is at "Top Dead Center", how far is the top of the piston from the top of the block. Knowing this I can measure from the top of the piston down to the top of the upper compression ring. My situation is this: I have a block that has been sleeved and there is a small chip in one of the sleeves at the top of the cylinder. I'm trying to determine if the upper ring comes up high enough to hit the area of the chip or will the ring be below the chip area. Best regards

1949 B1B. Looking for the best source for brake system components. Bought complete set of wheel cylinder from Andy Bernbaum two years ago and just installed them now. All went fine as far as fit goes but having trouble with large bore of left front wheel cylinder leaking past the piston cup. Any ideas how to remedy this situation? Looked at Vintage Power Wagon site and they have piston cups they sell individually. I'm torn on whether to buy the piston cups or buy a complete wheel cylinder from them. They list a wheel cylinder for the 1/2 ton Power wagon that has the proper size piston bores but for 11" brakes (B1B has 10" brakes on the front) and I'm wondering if it might be interchangeable for the B1B wheel cylinder. Any thoughts? Best regards

Gents....the brake project continues. Since I was in the process of getting the brakes to work again, and having read the recommendation to switch over to a dual chamber master cylinder, decided to go that route. Took some measurements of the dual chamber master cylinder on my 2002 Chevy avalanche and thought I could befriend it to the '49 B1B. Purchased a scrapyard MC for the Chevy off of Ebay with reservoir. Measured it up, cut to fit and filed to suit and mounted it to the bell housing. Then ran new hydraulic hard lines. The port for the secondary chamber of the MC (the one farthest from the bell housing) has a line running along the frame to the hose that feeds the rear brakes. The primary port (closest to the bell housing) has a line going to a "TEE" fitting, then a line off the T to the right front and another line off the T to the left front brakes. Installed the front wheel cylinders. Mounted the plastic reservoir to the fire wall above the MC and ran hoses from the reservoir to the MC. Filled the reservoir with DOT 3 and began to bleed the brakes. Because of the way my truck is sitting started with the lowest wheel cylinder (happened to be left front, then right front, the left rear lower, right rear lower, left rear upper, right rear upper. I do what I call a "gravity bleed" . It works well, takes some time, but I can do it by myself. I slip a clear length of poly hose over the bleed fitting and arc the hose slightly upwards, crack the bleed fitting and wait for gravity to fill the line going from the MC to the wheel cylinder, fill the wheel cylinder, and start to fill the poly hose. You can easily see the bubbles come out the bleed fitting through the little bit of oil in the hose. When the bubbles stop, close the bleed fitting, remove the hose and go to the next bleed fitting. Like I said, takes some time, especially getting to the rear brakes, but you get a very good bleed, and can do it by yourself. So after all this, jump in the cab, press the brake pedal and it is very soft and went to the floor. Bummer, pump it a few times and would not pump up. Check brake drums and sure enough have a leak at the left front. Pull drum and wheel cylinder is leaking form the rear piston. Pulled wheel cylinder, disassemble and find a small piece (1/16 in. diameter) of something, looked like could have been a chip of paint/paper on the cup seal. Reinstalled cup and piston and poured a couple tablespoons of brake fluid on top of it from the other end of the wheel cylinder. Stood it up on it's end on a piece of cardboard. Waited 2 hours, checked for seepage on the cardboard and found none. Reinstalled wheel cylinder on truck. Re-bleed, push pedal and same result, complete with wheel cylinder leaking. Had brake adjusted just in from a slight drag so pretty sure leakage is not from piston/cup moving too far in the cylinder. Pulled wheel cylinder again and plugged the hose at the thread that would go into the wheel cylinder. Pressed brake pedal and had good pedal that went about half way to floor and was solid. So my problem is that I have a new wheel cylinder from Bernbaum (actually 2 years old but just installing them now) that is leaking at a piston cup when pressurized. Any recommendations on how I might remedy this situation? Any novel ideas of how I might pressure test the wheel cylinder on the bench?

O.K, happy to report that "patience" won out and my 1949 Plymouth Suburban station wagon was delivered to my residence Friday, 23 September. Just about 2 months since I started this post. I had the car towed from the seller's residence since the car carriers couldn't get back to the car to load it. The tow company had a secured yard where the car was stored until the car carrier could come and pick it up. Was picked up in southern California on Tuesday and delivered to me in eastern Pennsylvania on Friday. Happy, Happy. Thanks to everyone for your insight on towing but I'm glad a round trip to California and back could be avoided. Regards to all.

Ralph....your setup looks great and the trailer is something like what I was looking at, tandem axles and all. What size is your trailer? I asked about 6' x 16' that I thought would be big enough for the '49 Plymouth. They told me it would be special order and that they stocked 6' x 18' trailers. What size is yours? I thought about just keeping the trailer as you suggest but I am running short on storage area (currently have a '49 Dodge B1B pickup, will have the '49 Wagon, if it ever gets here, and the trailer). Suppose I could keep one of the vehicles on the trailer to conserve space. That will be a problem to work out once I get the car here. First things first. Regards to all.

So I contacted UShip.com and posted my add to have the car picked up in CA and delivered to PA. Got six quotes, reviewed them all and ended up going with the one that happened to be in the middle pricewise. Although this company could not guarantee a pickup date they were the only one that stated they could have the car picked up within 5 days of order placement. Today is day 6 with no arrangements for pickup. I intend to give them til the end of the week. Uship was quick for invoicing for their fee which I paid assuming the 5 day pickup would be honored. I called Uship and advised of the situation and they emailed the transporter to try to expedite the situation but no results yet. This is beginning to be a hassle. I will be away from home for a week in the middle of this month. If the car hasn't shipped by then may consider going out and getting it myself. So thanks for all your suggestions on towing, Will probably go the safe route and buy a trailer here, tow it out and bring the car back. Note my tow vehicle is a Chevy Avalanche which I am confident will handle it. Have talked to a trailer sales outfit here to buy a car hauler trailer and the could trade it in on a smaller utility trailer once I return. Naturally, hoping it doesn't come to this but trying to get my ducks in a row just in case.

OK....have the brake lines installed from the rear wheels up to the 3 way junction block on top of the rear axle. Need to install hose from the 3 way junction block up to the hose bracket that mounts to the frame just in front of the upper left rear shock mount bracket. There is then a hard line from the end of the hose up to a 4 way junction block that is located somewhere along the frame (drivers side). I have searched for a stock 4 way junction block with no success. I did find a used 4 way junction block with brake light switch for 1/4 inverted flare brake lines on Ebay. It is from a 1988 Polaris Sportsman 500 snow-mobile and cost me $11.25. My question is approximately how far forward should this block be from the hose bracket that is mounted to the frame by the shock mount ? An approximate dimension would be greatly appreciated. Is this 4 way junction block mounted to the frame or does it just float with the 4 hydraulic lines supporting it. Best regards to all and thanks in advance.

Anybody have any suggestions for long distance towing of '49 Plymouth Station Wagon (Suburban). Purchased the car and now have to get it home. It's currently in southern California and I'm in southeast Pennsylvania. Have contacted a car transporter and he has failed at three different scheduled pick-up dates. Am going to try another transporter next week but if that doesn't work out am thinking I may drive out and pick up the car and tow it home. Have seen vehicles towed with all wheels on the ground using a towbar and at highway speeds. Figure this would be least expensive. Have also seen vehicles towed on dollies, with two wheels on the dolly and two on the road. Have looked into dolly rental in California but seems cross country dolly rental with U-Haul can only be done if you rent the tow vehicle from them. Third option would be a car hauling trailer and winch car onto it. Probably safest but most expensive. So I'm looking for thoughts and recommendations especially from folks who have experience doing similar towing. If tow using a dolly, is it better to put the front axle or rear axle on the dolly.

Thanks guys for your quick responses. Different length piston push pins......who'd a thunk it. Guess my remedy of filing the brake shoe slot gives an equivalent remedy to grinding the piston push pins shorter. Right now the end of the brake shoe just "kisses" the rubber boot of the wheel cylinder. External snap ring pliers is a great idea for those horseshoe clips. Definitely will give it a try.

Dave72dt is correct, the poly bag the adapter fittings came in were stamped with Edelmann 265400. Have another couple of questions. Installed the wheel cylinders I purchased from Andy Bernbaum. Had to open the hole in the backing plate to allow clearance for the adapter fitting hex to come through. Bent the tube as necessary. All good. Cleaned the brake drum and tried to install with no luck. Brake was adjusted to smallest diameter but drum wouldn't load on the spindle shaft. Traced it down to the end of the shoe adjacent to the wheel cylinder. Both shoes stuck out a bit preventing the drum from going on. Only thing I could figure was to file the slot at the end of the shoe a little deeper. This is the slot that the piston pin fits into. It was about 1/8" deep and I took it to 1/4" deep. The drum now goes on but still have a slight drag on the brakes with them at their minimum adjustment. Anybody ever have a similar situation? All components used on this brake: drum, shoes, springs, etc. were the same as when I mothballed the vehicle. Only new parts were the wheel cylinders, adapter fitting and brake line. Go figure. Second question: does anybody know an easy way to remove the horseshoe shaped keepers that retain everything on the anchor pin? I usually chase it around with a screwdriver until I can force another small screw driver between it and the anchor pin and pry it out. Must be another way that is less hit and miss. Regards to all.

Guys...thanks so much to all for the photos of the brake lines. Very helpful. Did some research for the adapter fittings and purchased two from Summit Racing, their part number EDD-265400, Brass Fitting, Adapter, Hydraulic, 7/16-20 male to 1/4' inverted flare female. Have to order the copper crush washer to fit between the hex of the fitting and the body of the wheel cylinder as a separate item. I didn't so will be on the search for them locally. Also will have to open up the hole in the brake backing plate to allow for the hex of the fitting. Thanks again to all.

'49 B1B. Bending new brake lines for this truck. Old ones are not available as templates. Question is for the line from the left rear wheel to the distribution block on top of the rear axle. Does this line come out of the upper wheel cylinder of the left rear wheel and then in front of the leaf spring hanger bracket or does it go behind the spring hanger bracket? Also, I purchased all the wheel cylinders from Andy Bernbaum. They are all drilled and tapped to take a hydraulic hose thread. Anybody know a manufacturer and part number for an adaptor fitting to get me from a female hose port to a 1/4" female inverted flare port? The ones in my old wheel cylinders are seized and unusable.