Terrible brakes when raining

[John McEwan]

My 1923 Dodge brakes almost completely disappear when it rains. The handbrake is also of no use.

I can't believe all these brakes were this bad back in the day. When its dry there is no problem but in wet weather its terrifying.

Are there any upgrades out there short of fitting a rear disc brake setup?

[trimacar]

The brakes weren't that bad back then, nor or they now if they're of the proper materials and set up properly. I drove a '24 Dodge touring and a '25 Dodge coupe for years, and never had stopping issues...

You need to check the linings, they may be either oil soaked (from a bad seal) or of the incorrect material. Check drums for true round. Check all linkages for wear and play.

There's no need to go to disc or hydraulic brakes. I can tell you from experience that if mechanical brakes (even two wheel) are set up correctly, you can lock the wheels, and you can't do more than that even with a "modern" conversion.

Good luck finding the issue....

[MikeC5]

Right, the only thing that will really improve stopping is adding brakes to the front wheels which, on modern cars, do the vast majority of the braking.

[Pete K.]

I can't agree more with trimacar. I have noted that many of my old "barn finds" had wrong replacement brake linings put on the shoes. They were the hard, asbestos moulded linings. These would gloss over for one thing, and less forgiving on irregular worn drums. The only type lining that should be on these early cars are the woven material type, sometimes referred as Scandinavian linings with brass fibers interwoven in them. These ARE available today, along with the brass rivets for them.