I just had my shop do a 4 speed conversion on my '67 bird. I brought them all correct and/or original parts. After I picked the car up, the brakes seized after 45 mintues of driving. I brought the car back to them after the brakes cooled off. I told them they probably had to back off on the brake pedal push rod adjustment a bit, since they replaced the brake pedal. They did that and cut the drums and sanded the linings. Now the problem is a very severe pedal. A slight touch of the pedal and you feel like you're going through the windshield. I have power all drum brakes. Will the linings seat properly after use? Should they be replaced? Anyone have experience adjusting the brake pedal push rod? Thanks.

http://thefirstgensite.com/library/68sm/pwrbrk/pwrbrk3.jpg

It takes several miles and proper procedure to burnish in brake shoes.

This may be what you experienced. It is necessary to have a competent brake mechanic go through your brake system.

http://thefirstgensite.com/library/68sm/stdbrk/stdbrk4.jpg

It sounds like they need to back off that push rod some more. You may be able to adjust it down near where it hooks to the pedal. There's an adjustable clevis there. The master cylinder acts like that when the rod doesn't move back far enough when you release the pedal. There may be too much residual pressure left in the system. Of course, this is just a guess....

Funny, that's what my links gave instructions for.

Thanks guys. I think I'll probably end up taking the car home and adjusting the rod myself. These are good mechanics, but now their egos have kicked in; they didnt even want to look at the '67 service manual!

Go ahead and adjust the rod yourself, but be aware that if your brakes have overheated that severely, the linings are probably shot. Sanding them would have taken off the glaze, but the material is probably no longer performing as designed. I'd suggest changing the shoes after you've satisfactorily adjusted the pushrod.

And the most ironic thing is that I was the first to shed light on this problem a couple of days after registration.

The rod needs zero tension + slop. The 'slop setting requires common sense, the point just before it rattles around in its seat. A quick and good test for positive verification: loosen it enough so that it rattles around (it cannot fall out)test drive the car. If the problem is solved, play with the rod adjustment. If the problem isn't solved, start barking up another tree.

Thanks again for all the valuable info. I'm probably gonna get the car home and follow everyone's advice. I'll let you all know what happens.

Is the clevis in the lower pedal hole where it should be for power brakes? If it is in the upper hole, you will have too much leverage with the power.