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Old 02-02-2012, 12:20 PM   #5
Purdy Swoft
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Join Date: May 2010
Location: Alabama
Posts: 8,099
Default Re: old Brake Floaters

I have used the old style floaters on two of our cars and they are a good improvement over the original set up. Several parts are eliminated, such as brake rollers, roller pins, wedge assembly and the brake tracks are not used and don't have to be built up. It's all about leverage. Years ago these floaters were advertised to beat hydraulic and require 30% less pedal pressure. There have been reports that if used with worn drums and not properly adjusted, when the floaters pass the mid level , they lock up. I have never had a problem. Some use to place a bolt in place of the wedge stud and use a castle nut to make it look original, this is a bad practice. There is a snap in block of f plug that snaps in the hole where the wedge assy. was removed. If the lever goes past mid point and locks up, the snap in plug can be easily removed and a punch or screwdriver can be used to pry the levers back up and unlock the brakes. The operating pins will have to be shortened, I can't remember the exact length, but I'll look through my stuff and see if I can find this info and post it later. I always taper the lining on the leading and trailing ends of the shoes, almost all the way to the two rivets on each end. This setup self centers and self energizes. Before the purists start to hammer, No this setup is not necessary and it is not a bandaid. In my opinion this setup saves parts, work and money, they also give better brakes with less pedal pressure, because of the built in leverage factor.
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