Morris Minor Owners Club

Hi again!

I'm now underway with my 51 MM restoration. The first situation at hand is to free a seized front brake drum so it's more mobile. I've tried to free it by sheer pushing, but appears to be rock solid. Secondly, I can't loosen up the brake shoes via brake adjuster due to the position of the holes not lining up on the drum and heat is not working as well, any suggestions?

Thanks for everyone's help.

Steve

Steve, is the car mobile enough to be towed? If so you may be able to drag it with something which might help. If not, the only other way i have ever shifted a siezed drum is to beat hell out of it with a large hammer until either the rust broke free enough to turn the drum or else I smashed the drum to pieces

The problem is that you probably have one or both brake wheel cylinders siezed. The only solution is brute force and ignorance.
I assume that you have removed the split pin and hub nut.
Try hammering around the outside of the brake drum, that might free it.
You could try fitting a tow rope and dragging the car which may be enough to free the brakes.

Wow you guys are quick!

I've tried the tow method with no progress it just leaves a nice burn out down the road (boy the neighbors love me) and the split pin with hub nut removed. I will try the beating it to a pulp method now. I will post some more pictures when I can get to it as there will be plenty questions down the road.
Thanks again for the quick response with advise.

Steve

A couple of other methods have been suggested to me.
Squirt releasing fluid (plus gas etc) through the brake adjuster hole around the inside of the drum and allow to soak in. You can try the towing method again.
Remove the flexible hose and the connecting pipe from the back of the brake cylinders and undo the cylinder nuts from the back plate. With a bit of luck that will allow the cylinders to move about a bit. You can always help by hammering on the backs of the cylinders.
How are you off for spares?

Mike,

I will try what you suggested as I think we're starting to narrow things down towards success. As for spares, I'm just in the first stage of dismantling and will be trying to start with the body to try and stabilize the rust. So far, I've just taken off the finisher and kick plate on the offside and found that the box plate has little surface rust but it's a different story further down towards the "c" post, but still not too bad! But will definitely need floors and possibly outer cross member sections replaced.
I will post pictures soon.

Steve

Use a copper, rubber or hide hammer these will not destroy your drum.
Try using 3 pry bars to lever off the drum (might take 2 people) whilst hammering the drum ,don't just hammer in one place move around.

Do not hammer too hard on the flange at the back of the drum or you will break it.
Remember that the threads changed from BSF to UNF around SMM 131000
so check any spare brake parts you may acquire, ie drums and wheel bolts.
If you are not too bothered about originality you can fit 948 back plates and braking system on the front and still keep the MM brake drums. The advantage is cylinders are a lot cheaper and easier to find.
You can also modify the front suspension to take M1000 swivel pins (when they are available). See instructions in Tech. Info.

Would unbolting the cylinders from the backplate help?

Steve,
Have you tried applying heat to the drum?
Being carful that you have not applied any flamable oils to it previously.

Secondly you may be able to get more leverage by bolting the road wheel back on. And pulling it slowly but strongly around the diametre, Or what about making up a gear puller? This can be done with flat bar and bolts etc. Or as last resort, if you have spare wheel bolts, just incase you damage the threads, partly bolt the wheel back on and use the wheel like a slide hammer and this may loosen the hold.

Or maybe a combination of all of the above plus what everbody else has suggested.

GOOD LUCK!

Hello everyone!

The saga continues! I have tried every possible above mentioned method of trying to remove this darn thing and I'm ready to give up. What makes things worse is we just got dumped on with snow and today was the day I was going to drag it back out of the garage to have another go pulling it behind my truck, again. This is the most stubborn brake drum I've ever encountered!!!
Anymore suggestions?

Knackered and frustrated...

Did you manage to undo the brake pipes and cylinders and bash them inwards, hopefully taking the tension off the springs.
I assume that if you put 2 wheel bolts in and put a long bar between them and tried turning the wheel with the bar then you would probably end in a heap on the floor with the bar on top of you!
Alternatively, if you tried putting a jack under the bolt nearest to horizontal to the hub and tried jacking up you would probably just lift the car. May be worth a try but stand clear when the jack collapses.
If you have any bolts of the correct thread but longer, these would be safer.

Mike,
After coming home from work today I decided to give your suggestion a try. Before I did, I grabbed the drum to turn it one more time and yahooooo it gave up and turned!!!!!!
There's going to be a lot more questions down the road, but thanks for all your help.

Steve

Congratulations. I wonder what the inside of the drum looks like.
Any more problems just ask.
Brake shoes are the same as Series II / 948 front and rears are the same as all Minors.

Mike,

There was quite a bit of gummy sludge inside but the thing that I thought may have caused the seize up was the brakes were run all the way down to the metal and bits of the shoe seemed to be all over the place in pieces.
Did you say that the later 948 shoes are compatible or do I have to change the backplates in order to use the later bits?

Steve