Brake adjusters on backing plate

[TomsHenryJ]

Work continues on our '51 Henry J.  Cleaning up suspension/brake parts and have a question for the group - has anyone disassembled the brake adjusters from the backing plate?  Ours are stuck but good, i've gotten one backer so they move by sandblasting off the rust, soaking in penetrating oil on both sides, and wacking a 3/8" end wrench on the square portion.  But even they move very very hard.  I'd like to get them off the backing plate (if possible) so we can clean out the inside surfaces - and we'd powdercoat the backing plate while they were off.

And if they can't be removed, has anyone found the magic formula to get them functional and paint/powdercoat the backer while keeping them functional?

Thanks in advance
Dave

[AZ_HJ]

I do not know how to remove the brake adjusters. If you need new brake adjusters I have some. I too powdered my front end. When I still had my backing plates on my rust bucket I put a wrench on the adjust after soaking them well for several days with penetrating oil. Then with hammer in hand, pounded on them until they turned. Then I took off my backing plates and prep them for powder coating. I powdered right over the adjusters. I then took a razor blade and cut around the adjusters on both side. Hoping to make a weak spot in the powder so the adjusters would turn. Again with the backing plates on the car I put a wrench on and used quite a bit of force to turn them. Once turned about 30 degrees they started to turn more easily. That is where I left it. You can go here to see some pictures I took of my front end.

http://arizonahenryj.shutterfly.com/28

[Fid]

I would add that if you're going to rebuild the brakes from scratch, it might be worth spending the money to have the cylinders sleeved with brass.  Since the Henry J had cast iron cylinders with aluminum pistons, they can get very sticky in parts of the country where the temperature and humidity change drastically (much of the midwest) and the car sits for long periods.   Since I have been storing my cars in a shed with the dirt floor it seems I'm rebuilding my brake cylinders all the time.  I plan on having them sleeved starting this year.  The website of the place that does it is -

http://www.whitepost.com/brake.html

[TomsHenryJ]

thanks, AZ_HJ and Fid. 

Nice pics, you really were thorough with your powder coating!  Did you pull apart the king pins and powder the pieces seperately?  My pins and bushings are very tight, car was very low mileage when parked.  I'm amazed and impressed that you even coated the brake shoes and cylinders...

Good point on the cylinders, Fid.  I had a heck of a time getting the pistons out of a couple of the cylinders, had honed them up and cleaned up the pistons but hadn't thought about sleeving the cylinders...

[AZ_HJ]

Tom,

I did not powder the Brake Cylinders nor the Brake Shoes. I painted them with Dupli-Color Engine Enamel Semi-Gloss DE1635. This is a very good match to the Stain Black Powder used. The powder is 60% gloss.

Note: I replaced the Brake Cylinders and Kind Pins. I actually kept the old ones* attached when I powdered. These were used as masking for the powder process. After the powder was cured I just removed the old brake cylinder and king pins and they were ready to have the new Brake cylinders attached. I then had my items line bored to accept the new king pins.

*Used only the metal Brake Cylinder Housings and King Pin Bushings themselves. Remember to remove anything that will not take the 350-400 degree temps used in powder coat curing.

***WARNING** It is not recommended to powder coat leaf springs or coil springs. The 400 deg can affect the tensile of these parts and can cause a mushy ride. I powdered my coil springs, but had them check on a tester afterwards and they tested good.

Best,

Mark