Took the beast out today as weather was great. My riding buddies enjoyed it more than I did. I had put the emergency brake on when I was in driveway then released it. All seemed fine until 20 minutes into the ride and I noticed the brake pedal getting harder and harder to push. It also felt as if rear brakes were dragging. Took it home but didn't have time to check it out as work work needed to be done for a customer that called. Any ideas as to what might be wrong are appreciated. Emergency brake cable didn't release? Wheel cyclinder? Master cyclinder (hopefully not) ? Or ????

 

I would SWAG the cable is binding internally somewhere, Dave, as they can be problematic on old iron. They become more of a problem when they are seldom used.

 

The E brake may not have released fully heating up the brakes. Sounds like you are going to get your hands dirty to troubleshoot the problem. I remember seeing a post last year that mentioned the brake line was too close to exhaust and the fluid was overheating causing expansion. Good luck, hope it is simple fix.

 

Thanks guys. I'm thinking it's the E brake also. Jim/Austin good memory. The brakes on this beast were totally redone. After we moved the one line the heating of the fluid stopped and all was ok. I did find out at that time the hill holder was disconnected. Studebaker had a neat holder that would engage the rear brakes on a hill with the clutch engaged by using a small cyclinder with a ball bearing that would block the return until the clutch was let out. They had a tendency to clog up from dirty fluid.