Brake shoes

Hello all,  As the front shoes of my TA14 are getting very close to the rivets, I would like to solicite opinions regarding the options for brake shoe refurbishment.  Option 1: (My first thoughts were that I would) buy new linings, clean everything and re-rivet by hand.  Option 2: Purchase exchange reconditioned items from the UK (almost as much postage both ways as the shoes themselves!)  Option 3: This French company promise to do an amazingly good job of total refurbishment and baked/bonded linings.  The cost isn't significantly different to the exchange/refurb items but looks much more thorough.         <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.restauration-frein.fr/">http://www.restauration-frein.fr/</a><!-- m -->  Having considered the options I have decided to not elect for option 1 and try option 3.  However, Is there any reason that bonded shoes may not be a good idea?  All opinions gratefully received!  Tony Osborne Posted by TonyO 25/05/2012 07:56:24

Tony  I've done several thousand miles using bonded shoes with no problem.  Mine were done at Friction Services at Keynsham, Bristol who are used to dealing with brake shoes for old cars.  Cheers  Angus Posted by Angus D'Arcy-Drake 25/05/2012 09:00:06

Tony, With regard to &quot;Bonded Brake Linings&quot; I suppose everyone believes that they are as safe as riveted linings,until they fail,as mine did on the rear drums of my Peugeot 306 after 15,000miles,with nearly catastophic consequences,the lining detaching from the shoe and leaving me with a total brake failure do to the wheel cylinder not having sufficient travel to contact the drum! I think the biggest problem today is getting the correct lining material,the linings being made from non asbestos material which is more like &quot;Wheatabix&quot;. So I would hold out for riveted linings,especially if there is any danger of oil contamination,which is not unheard of in a car that stands for many months on end,(in a very hot French climate). Chris Buckingham, Lot.France. Posted by Buckingham 26/05/2012 17:24:21

Hello Angus and Chris,  Thank you for your replies.  I did have a suspicion that opinions would be very much divided into the two distinct camps.  Having had another look at the front shoes, I have a short time to make up my mind.  Now the weather has improved I hope to get a fair few miles under Alvira's tyres in the coming months, so the decidng factor may be timing the replacement and reducing time off the road.  As usual, I had many plans for various bits of running resto planned over the window which are now, for the most part, planned for next winter.  Again, thanks for your advice.  Tony Posted by TonyO 27/05/2012 09:02:00

Having run14's for many years, your main requirement is for a soft lining, most modern bonded linings are often too hard, the traditional woven lining material is the type I would recommend. I do in fact have some in my drawer here in France, However I am not trying to sell them to you, but if you care to cobtact me I will give you the details of where to get them at a @sensible price' Colin Posted by colinnewby 29/07/2012 18:33:37

My only cautionary note would be to ask the question: are the bonded linings the same grade as the old ones? If they propose to fit a lining for a vehicle with servo-assisted brakes, the lining may be too hard and you will have ridiculously highn pedal pressures. Otheerwise, I have had excellent service from bonded linings and they remove the risk of ham-fisted fitters from damaging the shoes. Posted by Nickalvis 12/08/2012 20:07:57

[quote=&quot;colinnewby&quot;:2ob4a22c]I do in fact have some in my drawer here in France, However I am not trying to sell them to you, but if you care to cobtact me I will give you the details of where to get them at a @sensible price' Colin[/quote:2ob4a22c]  Hi Colin,  Thank you very much for the offering the details of your supplier.  I have tried to PM you to contact you but the Board doesn't seem to be set-up to allow private messaging (or I have missed something somewhere).  Anyway, having spoke to the proprietere of SCIN today I'm fairly confident that they know what they're doing.   In response to the comments from Nick and yourself I specifically asked about the suitability of their lining materials for rod operated brakes.  Madame Nicaise was adamant that they are suitable for such an application as they specialise in 1930/40s vehicles.  They also do modern linings for industrial items such as clutches etc but take care to use the right material for the application.  So 'fingers crossed'!  I'm hoping to get Alvira onto my car-lift later this week to begin a thorough overhaul of maintenance related items.  The first task is to remove the shoes and get them in the post so I don't lose too much time off the road.  Madame Nicaise has advised that their turnaround is normally 3/5 days.  So if all goes well that should not be much of a delay.  At he latest I want everything sorted and Alvira back on the road by the end of September as we have visitors from Australia arriving.  A lot to do in a short time but there's nothing like a deadline!  I'll let you know what the shoes are like once they return.  All the best,  Tony Posted by TonyO 27/08/2012 17:39:41

hi,  Just to wrap-up this thread, I opted to have by brake shoes refurbished by SCIN, as mentioned above.  SCIN provided pretty amazing service; I posted them on Thursday afternoon and Madame Nicaise dispatched the refurbished items back to me the following Wednesday.  Total cost to me €110 for eight shoes (SCIN also do clutch linings and brake pads for any who might need these items).  The issue now is are they any good?  Well clearly I won't know until I've had the opportunity to refit them and get Alvira back on the road.  However, they look very good:  [url=http&#58;//s1261&#46;photobucket&#46;com/albums/ii600/sandandlime/?action=view&amp;current=c9ff21fe2b9c0abba3b14fefe252b5c5_zps7c7e21bf&#46;jpg:38zcjy5h][img:38zcjy5h]http&#58;//i1261&#46;photobucket&#46;com/albums/ii600/sandandlime/th_c9ff21fe2b9c0abba3b14fefe252b5c5_zps7c7e21bf&#46;jpg[/img:38zcjy5h][/url:38zcjy5h]  [url=http&#58;//s1261&#46;photobucket&#46;com/albums/ii600/sandandlime/?action=view&amp;current=2a505a90d94136fd7786b5eb8d499c08_zps178d5345&#46;jpg:38zcjy5h][img:38zcjy5h]http&#58;//i1261&#46;photobucket&#46;com/albums/ii600/sandandlime/th_2a505a90d94136fd7786b5eb8d499c08_zps178d5345&#46;jpg[/img:38zcjy5h][/url:38zcjy5h]  The close-up photo looks a bt like rust, it isn't.  It's paint, bright sunlight and my poor photography.    At the moment, I would thoroughly recommend this company.  Regards,  Tony Posted by TonyO 23/09/2012 10:54:44

great stuff Tony, i hope they perform as well as they look! Posted by pryantcc 23/09/2012 21:36:09

I have had bonded shoe failure on two different French cars with the rear wheel locking up at about 60 MPH, ruining the tyre and nearly killing me and my passenger.  The other I applied the handbrake for a traffic light hillstart and was unable to drive the car because the rear brake was locked on. Posted by Dig 24/09/2012 10:02:28