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 General Application
1967-1972 F-100 Specific
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PARTS
With classic vehicles,
you have another element to deal with. The availability of parts for your
application. In some cases the parts are no longer available from local sources and
mail order may be your only option. In some cases, the parts may not be available at
all. There is hope though.
Discontinued brake shoes can be relined if in
good condition. There also may be a "New-Old Stock" source for hard to
find applications. Last, you may find that used parts are your only option if
you stay with the original braking system. You maybe able to find drums or wheel
cylinders that are still in rebuildable condition through local wrecking yards. I
would caution heavily against the uses of used brake hardware such as springs, clips,
cables and wheel cylinder seals, as these parts cannot be reconditioned.
When faced with limited parts options, you
may want to look into upgrading your brake system through the
use of aftermarket brake kits. These kits provide the
user with modern components and the added safety of advanced design. Many aftermarket kits
are offered with a power option not originally available on many older vehicles.
TEAR DOWN &
RECONDITIONING
 After safely jacking and
supporting your vehicle, remove the wheels and drums. Before you start the teardown
you need to clean the brake dust from the backing plate and hardware. On older model
vehicles which have been in storage a long time this is most important. Older brakes
linings were made of asbestos-containing compounds and this dust needs to be safely
removed before work begins.
 There are several ways to clean the brakes before
starting work. One, is to pressure wash them with detergent soap and blow dry with
compressed air. The method I prefer, is to chemically clean the brakes with
Berryman's Brake Cleaner which is
available through your local parts store. The cleaning process is done by placing a
shop towel or catch pan below the brake and washing the brake down from the top
down. The final results leave you with very clean used parts, ideal for tear down.
You should always wear a dust mask during the
cleaning phase, whether asbestos is present or not. If you suspect that asbestos is
present, you can duct tape a plastic bag to the location, leaving an entry large enough
for one hand to run the spray can. Avoid breathing the dust or getting it on you. An old
tooth brush can help immensely in the cleaning. Surgical Latex or Rubber gloves should be
used if asbestos is suspected while cleaning and handling of the linings.
 After the hardware was
removed, we sprayed down the backing plate and wiped clean any residue. The above
photo shows the cleaned backing plate. Next, we tanked the hardware in our
parts cleaner. Now, not every home shop has the room for a full size parts washer. For
years I used Berryman's Chem-Dip in a 1 gallon container. Their 1 and 3/4 gallon containers come with a parts
basket like the one shown in the photo. The product works very well on stubborn crud found
on brake parts. There isn't much to preparing parts for re-installation other than
cleaning and inspecting the parts. This part of the job is still very important and should
not be over looked.
Here, you can see we have lubricated the star
adjuster with an anti-seize compound to make adjustment easy. This anti-seize
lubricate is water resistant and helps prevent the adjuster from rusting as well.
Originally a white grease such as Berrymans
White Lithium (Part No. 2016) was used to lubricate these parts and is still a good
choice for metal to metal applications.  [more]
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