JoeMarsh

Hi I am rebuilding Gabriel rotary shocks from a 1931 Hupmobile or at least trying to. Does anyone know how these come apart or have a drawing for them. Gabriel has no information at all. I have the lever removed and the oil plug. I have spun off the large out side ring but the top doesn't seem to separate from the body. I believe they are single acting shocks. That is resistance in one direction only. The number on the back of the casting is L40000. Thanks, Joe

Hi Otahuhu , I have a 1930 Model S Hupmobile with steel plate drums. The car is heavy, about 3800 pound and the brakes small Brake diameter 10.75", Brake Width 1.5". Yeah , any long hills are a problem unless you go in second at 20 MPH. I was thinking of venting the brake surface as recommended by http://www.chtopping.com/CustomRod4/ . It sounded like they have had good success with that method. However, I really like your suggestion of adding a steel band around the OD. Where can I get such a band ? What size is the band ? Could I roll my own and weld it in place ? Your comment about "Machine with under cut rings" are you saying to produce a cooling fin from the existing brake drum active area ? Have you considered welding 1/2" fins about 2" apart all the way around the brake drum active area for cooling ? Dura-Brake will cast custom brake drums with an 8 piece minimum @ about $350 a drum.

I see this is an old post but has anyone solved the problem of brake fade with pressed steel drums. I found a shop the vents the drum surface by drilling and they claim it is very effective in reducing brake fade. My 1930 Model S Hupmobile has scary brake fade on long hills at speed. In fact I don't think you get more than 3 pumps on the pedal before they start to fade. It is a heavy car with small brakes, bad recipe. I plan to have the shop do the drilling and change the brake lining to a woven Semi-Metallic of the highest friction coefficient I can find. Does anybody have a better approach ? Dura-Brake will cast custom drums with an eight piece minimum at about $350 a drum but the coefficient of expansion for cast iron isn't that much better than steel. I was thinking of welding a ring around the outer edge and some cooling fins on the outside of the active brake area. Any comments on that idea ?