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Sold this '68 wagon some years ago. Buyer never came to get it. Now he wants it, and I say to the car good riddance. It's a parts car with a wasted body wasted engine, automatic... gah. I didn't realize how awful it was until I got it.
Issue is, it's in our back yard, behind a chain link fence, and there's about 3" to spare on either side of the gate, so it's very touchy getting it out of where it is. Secondly, I think they guy wants to tow it on a dolly.
Well, I went out to prepare the car today, make it easy to push out of it's living quarters. Aired up the tires, emptied out the parts I want to keep.
Damn rear wheels are locked. I can barely move one of them with a lug wrench, the other, not even that. My first thought was handbrake, but it was, and always has been off. Even so, I disconnected the cable, and both cables seem to move freely in their sleeves.
I do not have a puller to pull the drums even if I wanted to (and I don't), and even if I did have a puller.. if it is the brakes, getting the drum off stuck shoes would be an even bigger problem than the tapered axle issue.
Last time the car was moved was about 8 years ago, by means of pushing by hand. Car ain't run in probably 20 years. I doubt it's had working hydraulics in 18 years.
Is there something I could be missing here? something unique about a '68 with the dual circuit? I sure can't think of anything. It's a dry climate in Colorado and I've dealt with cars that sat in fields way longer than this (on a concrete slab) and never had a problem.
Driveshaft is disconnected at the axle.
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-Matt I ♥ my ♂
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Well, I took a hammer to the wheel that I could barely turn first, and did manage to get it freed up. I tried to adjust too, but adjusters totally frozen.
The buyer showed up yesterday morning, and he worked on the hard side with a bigger hammer while I cleared a path through the cluttered carport. For a while, still no budge. I found a longer pry bar and managed to turn it a little. More beating on it, we got 'er good enough to go. He was totally cool with the knowledge that he might shatter the drums.
And, being the nice guy that he is, he paid an extra $100 for my help and storage, and additional cash for a whole bunch of old rusty parts (and a few good parts) that he pulled out of the yard.
So, a fine day. Got some serious spring cleaning done, got rid of a car that I didn't want, and got a wad of cash. And teh buyer was happy with the car and his piles of rusty parts. Win-win.
Thanks all for your suggestions!
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-Matt I ♥ my ♂
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Sort of reminds me of when I got my PV. It had sat for a good 17 years (more or less) in a carport. Moisture had risen up from the gravel floor and into the drums, and stuck the shows to the drums.
I had to have a tow truck fetch the thing to my house, since I didn't have a trailer, or a truck. They used a flat bed trailer and just dragged the car out from the carport and up onto the bed. Then at my place they hammered a large iron rod into the ground, chained the car to it, and drove the flatbed out from under it.
I used the same technique though - tap tap tap with a hammer to break the adhesion.
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'63 PV544 rat rod, '93 Classic #1141 245 (now w/16V turbo)
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Matt b; glad you're rid of that albatross and you've handed over that vehicle to a new and hopefully talented, well-heeled, and enthusiastic owner.
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Heck, at this stage of the game, if nothing else works, come-along the thing out across your yard to where you've got some room, and if all else fails, take a really big sledge and break the brake drums. Wince..
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The guy left the car with you for years and now you're stuck putting time and effort into making it rollable? Drag it out far enough to work on as Benski suggested but don't break the drums. Put a couple of Harbor Freight dollies under the back wheels and roll it to the street. Then the new owner has choices--either tow dolly it backwards, bring a real trailer or have it flatbedded. This should not be your problem (unless you happened to have gotten an obscene amount of money for it). -- Dave
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For what its worth-----the'68 had Wagner brakes (the only year I think) but I had the same problem a few years back. A large dead-blow mallet worked for me.
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Hi Matt, kind of sounds like you might have a "rare" Swedish lawn ornament!!
It here is lube in the rear end, I really doubt that it's locked up, I,m guessing that rust crude and corruption has attacked the brake drums and shoes.
Good luck with it!!
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Loosen the adjusters if you can, they seize up too, If they do loosen up it'll give the shoes a bit more room to move away from the drums. Don't hammer the drums too hard, they are pretty fragile on the outer edges.
If you can get a long pipe as a lever on the wheel nuts it will probably break it free. You'll need the nut on the opposite side to the lever, i.e. the pipe goes across the axle nut as if to tighten the wheel nut. You know what I mean......
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I just bought a '68 wagon, same trouble with the rear brakes. I took a heavy hammer to the drums, tapping all around and on the front of each one. That took care of the problem and the car rolls freely now. You may not be successful but it's worth a try.
Roy
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Excellent thought! Thank you, I'll give that a shot.
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-Matt I ♥ my ♂
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PB Blaster & heat are your friends.
I'd try some PB around the back side of the drums...but with the design of the drums, I doubt any would get in there...it can't hurt.
Heat around the outside of the drum. Same deal, it can't hurt.
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"Differences of opinions should be tolerated, but not if they're too different' - Sharon Craig
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