'47 Lockheed Brake Cylinder Success

[Bingster]

 

I finally got one of the brake cylinders from my '47 DeSoto cleaned up, and managed to get the piston, rubber cup and spring out after a lot of WD40 Rust Penetrant, a heat gun, and tapping.  In the photo you can see that the piston is a two-piece affair. The bottom section serves as the spring seat for the rubber cup.

 

I have no idea where I could get a replacement piston of this type, and I have spent a lot of time online looking.  I think that these cylinders had recently been rebuilt before I bought the car ten years ago because the rubber boot is in excellent condition.

 

The front of the red piston has some . . . what? Electrolysis? Not too bad. Can be cleaned up. And as I understand it, the front part of the piston where it makes contact with the brake shoe pin doesn't need to prevent oil front seeping out of the cylinder. The rubber cup behind it does that job. And so, if the front of the piston isn't perfect it doesn't matter because all it has to do is move freely in the cylinder. Right? So there is only air space between the piston and the rubber cup.

 

I had a close-up of the piston front but the image size would not load. Too big.

 

At any rate, if anybody knows where I can get pistons like this other than another used cylinder please let me know.  Cylinder rebuild kits don't come with a piston. I have to wonder if White Post and such have new pistons available when they re-sleeve these old cylinders.

 

If anybody out there who has a Desoto S-11 and has tossed their old cylinders or they're sitting somewhere in the shop gathering dust I'd be interested in getting them just for the pistons in them.

 

 

[D35 Torpedo]

Just hone it and toss it back together. It will be fine.

[Bingster]

That's what I was thinking!