29 Chandler Posted October 6, 2002 Share Posted October 6, 2002 Were there cars, other tham Chandler, that could come equipped with the Westinghouse Vaccum booster? What other systems were out there (1920's-1930's)? I've heard that RR also had a vaccum system, but if you had a vaccum leak you would also lose your brakes. There must be others out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest carlnut50 Posted October 7, 2002 Share Posted October 7, 2002 I have an old friend who says he had a 1935 ford with an aftermarket vac brake booster.He says it worked very well.I have no idea what brand it was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 8, 2002 Share Posted October 8, 2002 Interesting... my 1916 American Lafrance came with the remnants of a vacumn booster setup (vacumn tap on the intake manifold, valve on the foot brake rod, and some obviously-added-later levers near the backing plates). I had no idea they were used this early on.I would like to know more about early vacumn boosters, in the hopes of recreating the one on my ALF. It could sure use the help! In fairness though, these units were not always poor stoppers ? we have a '13 ALF at our local historic park and it has remarkably good brakes, both hand and foot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29 Chandler Posted October 9, 2002 Author Share Posted October 9, 2002 Wanted to share with the DF this E-mail I recived in response to my query on Brake Boosters.I tried twice to answer your query on the forum but I might not follow thecorrect procedure as I was not able to get my message through....French Voisins had a vacuum brakes system in the twenties and earlythirties, under the name of " servo frein Dewandre " which was actually aWestinghouse licensee. It worked beautifully after some practice to get usedto the soft and precise feeling of the pedal on which there was no steppingas with the current systems of the time ; there was no risk of losing thebrakes in case of vacuum leak, as the system was used to assist theoperation of the normal mechanical brakes ; in case of interruption of thevacuum, such as coasting with the engine stopped, the mechanical systemstill worked normally ( and in this case you had to step hard ! ) I have abooklet on servo frein Dewandre somewhere in my papers but I am afraid it isin French.There was a special care to be observed as for lubrication of the system,which was never to use mineral oil ; as the main seal was leather one shoulduse only " huile de pied de boeuf " my poor English does not allow me for aprecise translation but it was an animaloil obtained by boiling beefs' feet ; it was mainly used by watchmakers forwhat I think you call grand-father's clocks.People who developed at the time mechanical assistance to braking, such asRenault and Hispano-Suiza, criticized the vacuum system by saying thatbraking would change the fuel mixture from rich to lean, which would causeburning of the exhaust valves ; of course this could not happen with theVoisin engine, which was sleeve-valve. My personal experience is that thevacuum system was much more efficient and nicer to use that the mechanicalone working by a kind of friction clutch on the gearbox ; with this lastsystem, the faster you went the stronger the assistance ; when you wereabout to stop there was no assistance left and then you better had to usethe hand brake ; nothing of that precise and positive feeling of the vacuumbrake.In the late seventies I was just about to buy a huge Chandler torpedo, Ithink eight in line, which was still in daily use . But that was inMandalay, Burma, and there was no way of taking the car out of thecountry.....Best regards Henri FrémonGAR 1928Thanks Henri !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldcar Posted September 14, 2014 Share Posted September 14, 2014 By the mid to late 1920s Renault had their own mechanical brake "servo' driven off the rear of the gearbox.oldcar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty_OToole Posted September 14, 2014 Share Posted September 14, 2014 Westinghouse air brakes date back to 1869, but according to one reference the first car with vacuum power brakes was 1928 Pierce Arrow.The gearbox driven servo clutch booster predates this I think. " huile de pied de boeuf " is probably what we call in English, Neat's Foot Oil. This is a popular treatment for softening and preserving leather and keeping it flexible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JACK M Posted September 14, 2014 Share Posted September 14, 2014 I had a Bentley with servo brakes, worked well unless you were already stopped. Like if you parked on a hill, release the parking brake and the car would roll a couple of feet no matter how hard you held the brake pedal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhambulldog Posted September 14, 2014 Share Posted September 14, 2014 I had a Bentley with servo brakes, worked well unless you were already stopped. Like if you parked on a hill, release the parking brake and the car would roll a couple of feet no matter how hard you held the brake pedal.I have occasion to drive a '52 Bentley and a '39 Rolls Royce.What you speak of, is a maddening feature... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JACK M Posted September 15, 2014 Share Posted September 15, 2014 I have occasion to drive a '52 Bentley and a '39 Rolls Royce.What you speak of, is a maddening feature...True dat !!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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