C1 brake shoe springs
I have a old Chiltons manual which is basically a ST12 copy that states that drum brake shoe springs are color coded black for the primary and grey for the secondary. Further research has led me to believe that the primary shoe spring should be a little weaker that the secondary, probably a thinner gauge wire. Is this that important? Many of the brake kits online have springs that look the same. Hard to tell without actually calling the vender. Any thoughts?
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Re: C1 brake shoe springs
That Chilton’s reference is correct in terms of what was available aftermarket then (and probably now). The springs are not thinner than the other, but they are built to different tension specs. The proper JG for your car likely spells out original colors, depending on brake option. They were not black and gray from GM. From memory, I can tell you that there were light blue, yellow, dark green, etc. -
Re: C1 brake shoe springs
My '59 standard brake OE springs were the black and gray. (It is a one family car and I am the only one to ever work on the brakes.)
The gray wire diameter is 0.100 in. and the rate is about 112 lb/in
The black wire diameter is 0.106 in. and the rate is about 142 lb/in.
My guess is that the engineers wanted the secondary shoe to contact the drum first. Maybe for a smooth EVEN engagement at light brake applications?
The RPO 684 brake springs were both dark green and light brake application was not a factor...Comment
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