Morris Minor Owners Club

Another thread on brake springs reminded me of more unfinished business. I have an immaculate set of Riley front brakes, with good drums and backplates, new cylinders adjusters etc, and with MGA flexible brake pipes to match up with the Minor setup. Unfortunately, the return springs - bought with other parts from Riley specialists in the Midlands - foul on the rotating hub. I then purchased MGA springs to see if they worked: no luck there either. I just wondered if anyone else had had (and preferably solved) this problem? Or whether, as usual, I am missing something obvious. In the meantime, the old drums are back on.

I might have missed something too - but can the springs go behind the shoes? I.e. on the backplate side

they go on the back not only as a return but to hold the shoes up against the back plate,on the front they would tend to pull the shoes away from the back plate onto the rotating drum.The Poster says they are fouling on the rotating hub,may be in wrong locating holes(Easy to mistake ) Can't see how else they would not be o k .Photo may help

They do go behind, but still foul

see amended post above

This is how the Riley front brake shoe return springs are correctly fitted.
The springs are hooked into the back plate and the other end hooks into the brake shoe hole from the outside.

The spring even though it is on the outside of the shoe does pull the shoe to the back plate. The spring cannot be fitted to the inside of the shoe otherwise the spring would not fit/hook into the back plate. There are adjuster bolts that push against the shoe to keep the shoe square to the drum.

If you look carefully at the picture below you can see the shoe springs hooked through the back plate and also the adjustable shoe back stop bolts.

Thank you Phil. I was, of course, trying to attach then like Morris, MG etc, ie both ends through the shoes. The 'Riley' springs I was sent were the yellow one here. The other is an MGA spring. Where does the 'loose' end go? Through the small hole in the backplate? It looks like it in your picture.
Shane

Whoops, only saw the top half of your post!
Shane

The non hook end of the spring fits through the back plate with the hook end hooked through the brake shoe hole.

The return spring does not go from shoe to shoe as per the Minor.

For information:- the Riley adjusters have a habit of coming loose in the back plate and have to renewed. When I had Riley 1.5 front brakes on my Minor I had to replace the adjusters several times. Repair kits are available from 'e' bay. If the adjusters are loose in the back plate the adjusters slacken off and the brake shoe travel is increased.

Thanks again Phil. That's two beers I owe you now. I am not a million miles away, so perhaps RV when 'Betty' is back on the road.
Shane