Updates!

I have now gone through all the brakes and bled them and adjusted them per the shop manual and found no hydraulic or mechanical problems.  After a nice little test drive, I found once again that I could touch the front drums as long as I wanted to but the rears were too hot to be touched for more than a second or two.  I did find (or rather, rediscover) that the front drums are both pretty deeply scored from where the brake shoe rivets dragged on the drum who knows how long ago.  The grooves are deep enough that the linings have not worn into the grooves yet.  What that means is that the actual lining-to-drum contact area up front is something like 25-30% less than it should be.  My theory is that this reduced lining area reduces the effectiveness of the front brakes and so I have to push the pedal harder which makes the rears carry more of the stopping work than they are designed to.  Does this sound like a plausible theory?  If not, I will try replacing the rear brake hose.  I replaced it just a couple thousand miles ago but I know that doesn't guarantee it isn't defective.

In more exciting news, I thought the car felt a little lighter on the test drive and noticed two tangible indicators of improvement:  RPMS at 70 mph were 2900 and the temp gauge never reached the halfway mark.  Normally, 70 comes in at 3100 RPM and the temp at 70 is a little over halfway.  True, it is a very cold day, but assuming both of these changes prove to be consistent, I will expect my fuel economy to improve.  Dropping 200 rpm at 70 means there is considerably less rolling resistance!  Now I just need to drive it more and see if this wasn't a fluke.




1954 Crestline Victoria 312 4-bbl, 3-speed overdrive

You really should have the drums turned or replace them. The grooves will cause premature wear on the shoes and reduce braking efficiency. 

Y's guys rule!
Looking for McCullouch VS57 brackets and parts. Also looking for 28 Chrysler series 72 parts. And early Hemi parts.

MoonShadow, 292 w/McCulloch, 28 Chrysler Roadster, 354 Hemi)
Manchester, New Hampshire

Besides the fronts being grooved they may be worn or have been turned to far oversize. Next time you have the drums off take a brake shoe off and place it inside the drum and compare the arc, you may be getting a very small contact area. I miss they days when they would arc the shoes to the drums so you didn't have to wear them in..

I haven't read the whole post here but for what it's worth, my 57 Fairlane 500 had similar problems. Brakes would heat up and drag, pedal would come rock hard. Talked to the guys on 57fordsforever and come to figure the master cylinder wouldn't retract all the way allowing the fluid to bleed back. As the brakes generated heat the "trapped" fluid would expand to the point where I had to bleed fluid just to keep going.

There is an eccentric adjustment on the brake pedal,  you need to set this up so it has at least 1/16" or so of play. Hope this helps. My stock brakes have no proportioning valve, did someone throw one into your car? That could also be an issue (if it's stuck just tap that pin back in).

" If you always do what you always done, you'll always get what you always got" - Henry Ford

I worked in a brake shop for a few years and the raised spots on the backing plates must be smooth. We would flat file them as necessary. No high spots. We always replaced the springs no matter what and always put lubriplate on every raised place where the shoes rode. I could tell when doing a brake job if the last shop knew what they were doing by the chamfering of the shoes and the evidence of lubriplate on the backing plates and the adjusting screw... Good luck.

56 Vic, B'Ville 200 MPH Club Member, So Cal.

I was watching the Andy Griffith show when aunt Bea's sister and family came to visit in a 55 Ford and her husband was saying he got 15 miles to the gallon on the trip so I do not think they are gas misers.


Butchering up everything I can get my hands on in Dayton Ohio

seems you have not checked a verry critical part of the power train. trans throttle pressure adjustement. Torque stall,must have a acurate tack. if torque stall is high,check trans presures,and torque charging presure. a poorly set up trans will acount for 5 or so mpg. torqe stall will tell you the health of the engine as well

You're right, I still have not checked the trans throttle pressure.  I got sidelined on this issue by some fuel delivery problems that made the car unreliable for a few days, but it's back in action now.  The trans throttle pressure & stall check are next on the list of things to look into.

Meanwhile, I can report that something (I wish I knew what) has definitely changed.  Throttle response has always been very linear and a bit soggy--I remembered my 292 '59 Galaxie feeling more punchy than this 312 car and figured it was a consequence of the CI FOM as opposed to the later aluminum one the Galaxie had.  Well, now, the 312 is awake!  If I am very gentle with the throttle, the first little bit of pedal travel gives light acceleration, but if I push it just a little farther (we're talking 1/4 throttle at most, by the feel), there is a surge of power stronger than what I have grown accustomed to with this car.  The long shot of it is that I don't have to give it as much throttle as I used to to get the same rate of acceleration.  I don't believe this to be caused by removing rolling resistance, though I can't say for sure.  It just seems that when the throttle plates open enough to pull in the main fuel circuit, it does so with new strength.  No carb settings have changed and I have been through this carb checking for blocked passages and the like many times with no trouble indicated.  This is a new development so I haven't been able to tell whether it has helped or hurt economy.  I will be driving the car a lot now so I'll post back when I know.

1954 Crestline Victoria 312 4-bbl, 3-speed overdrive

What were the fuel delivery problems you dealt with?

Y's guys rule!
Looking for McCullouch VS57 brackets and parts. Also looking for 28 Chrysler series 72 parts. And early Hemi parts.

MoonShadow, 292 w/McCulloch, 28 Chrysler Roadster, 354 Hemi)
Manchester, New Hampshire

I was driving along and the fuel tank was low but I thought I had enough to get to a gas station.  Car quit and I figured it was lower than expected so I added the gallon of gas I carry around "just in case" which has been enough to get it to a gas station in the past but this time I got about 200 ft.  Got another gallon and another 200 ft, uphill.  Repositioned so car was pointing downhill and got it running, made it to a gas station, put 3/4 tank in, thought I was good, got about a mile before more of the same.

First thing I did when I got it back home was change the fuel filter, which seemed to fix it but got me about 5-10 miles before it started to act up again, but not as badly.  Took fuel pump apart, took carb apart, found a little sediment in carb bowls but pump was clean.  Put it back together and no trouble since then.  I'm not sure whether there was a problem with the fuel pump check valves or maybe it was sucking a bit of air at the hose junction to the fuel hardline.  

Just to be clear, it was not an ignition problem.  I disconnected the fuel line at the carb and verified that it was pumping intermittently.

1954 Crestline Victoria 312 4-bbl, 3-speed overdrive