I have a 51 F1 & i just put new shoes
on the front & rear.When i pulled the rear drums off i
did not like what i saw.by the wheel cylinder there was
some(just a little) nasty looking brake fluid (brown)
so i bought new wheel cylinders & put them on.When we
went to bleed them we got a lot of crap out of the lines.
the thing of it is as no matter how many times that i pumped the brakes
i never got any pedal.i would pump it about 20 times & stop never getting
any pedal & my buddy would bleed it,he got a lot of air out of the lines
but still no pedal.Finally we pulled the drums off & when we did only the
front part of the shoe moved a little(this happened on both sides).
the back part of the shoes did not move at all.i have gone through
over a pint of brake fluid so far & i cant find any leaks either. I am lost.
If anyone can help me out i sure would be grateful. Thanks Bob

 

Does it have all the stock stuff like master cylinder and front/rear drums? Are you bleeding starting with the right rear which is the furthest away from the master cylinder? If the brake shoes are not adjusted close to the drums you will never get a firm pedal even if they have no air in the lines.

 

I agree with Gearhead, you need to adjust your brakes all the way up then back them off a little. The wheel cyl. only has a short stroke.

RICH

 

Before you start to adust the brakes make sure the shoes are sitting with the wheel cylinder completely collapsed so the shoes are against the post at the top. You don't want to see a gap there. When you adjust the brakes each wheel should just barely drag enough for you to hear the shoes rubbing on the drums. Not a lot but, a little bit of noise.

After getting all 4 to drag then start bleeding the furthest wheel and move to the next closest in order of distance from the Master Cylinder until you have bled all 4.