Parking Brake Assembly

The parking brake assembly was a quick and easy restoration. It was simply washed, blasted and painted.


Even with three coats of lacquer you can see how rusty it was. It now has three coats of black lacquer to protect it. The shaft and ratchet pieces were finished in clear from Eastwood.

As always, there are larger versions of these photos at my Flickr site in the "Econoline Brakes" Set. Just make sure you use your browser's "Back" button to return to this page. We don't want you to get lost in cyberspace!

Rear Brake Assembly

The rear brakes are now completely reassembled. I purchased new drums for all four corners and these are photos of the rear brakes.

I purchased Raybestos PG Plus brakes for two reasons. They are made in Canada and not China for one thing. The second reason is that the PG Plus (Professional Grade Plus) has a lifetime warranty vs. ninety days for the Chinese-made PG version.

I cleaned the drums with brake cleaner and media-blasted the drums with silicon carbide. The photo below is of the inside of one of the drums after cleaning and blasting.


I used Rust-Oleum High Heat Enamel on the drums. This product can withstand 1,200 degrees so it should be OK on the drums.

I have read that brake drums will radiate more heat when painted black than any other color and that black-painted drums will radiate more heat than those that are left unpainted or rusty.

Cooler brakes work better than hot brakes....no fade!

This photo shows the left rear brakes reassembled with all new Raybestos shoes and Dorman hardware. The new Monroe Gas-Magnum shock absorbers and painted parking brake cable are visible.

The painted axle, painted U-bolts, new brake tubing and refinished hydraulic brake "Y" connector are visible in addition to a close-up view of some of the new brake components.

The parking brake cable was degreased, media blasted and painted with three coats of lacquer. It was then lubed with white lithium grease from both ends and installed with refinished mounting components and parking brake components. The components at the far end of the cable are a bit out of focus due to the large iris opening of the camera which limits the depth of field.


As always, there are larger versions of these photos at my Flickr site in the "Econoline Brakes" Set. Just make sure you use your browser's "Back" button to return to this page. We don't want you to get lost in cyberspace!