C2 - '63 Brake Failure

[Sydney G.]

Hi all,
Last night, while driving my 63 coupe to meet my ball team for a post-game championship celebration, I experienced a total brake failure. Lucky for me, I was just pulling in to a parking spot when I went to press the brake pedal and it went to the floor! Needless to say, there was a large puddle of brake fluid on the street.
I was shocked, as there was no warning at all while driving prior to pulling into the parking spot.
There are many steep hills around where I live and I could only imagine what would have happened if this sudden loss of brakes occured going down one of those hills! If this failure had occured moments earlier I probably would have had an accident attempting to stop at a traffic light without any warning of having zero brakes. It happened that quickly!
After many phone calls and hours, I was able to get a flatbed tow home and slapped the car in the garage. I only checked the master cylinder (recently rebuilt) and all looked fine.
Has this danger happened to any of you! What could have caused this? Brake line rupture or brake hose (all new) disconnect?
C2 drivers beware!!
Syd

[ken edmunds]

Re: C2 - '63 Brake Failure

Syd, where do you see fluid? At the wheels? Under the master cylinder? Mid way down the left side of the chassis? Need more info! It could be a hose, line master or wheel cylinder.

[Bob R.]

Re: C2 - '63 Brake Failure

My first car was a 63 Impala and I lost the brakes on that car in a similar way. Just for your info., If this should happen again you should be able to get some stopping from the emergency brake.

[Robert Jorjorian]

Re: C2 - '63 Brake Failure

Syd
As a guess I'd say at the rear of the left frame rail where it makes a bend,right in front of the left rear wheelwell.From my experience that is the most likely spot 1963s corrode through.
If you look under your car that area should be wet with fluid.
Good luck,Bob

[Verne Frantz]

Re: C2 - '63 Brake Failure

Syd,
Driving one of these old cars with a single stage master does present it's risks. I would suggest that before taking a drive, press down on the brake pedal VERY hard and hold it for a few seconds. If nothing happens, you'll likely have an enjoyable ride and get home safe. If the worst should happen, as in your case, use either (or both) of these techniques: Use the emergency brake, but keep the handle in the unlocked position, using it as a hand-held brake lever, and/or shut the engine off in gear. And, don't forget to steer out of harm's way while all this is going on.
And for anyone driving a '63,'64 or '65 with self-adjusting drum brakes, don't forget to get some momentum in reverse once in awhile and stand on the brakes, just short of locking the wheels. That keeps things adjusted properly. Do it on a regular basis. We tend to drive these old cars very gingerly, and mostly do not "slam" on the brakes, but the self-adjustment process is important. Besides, the tactic will also let you know if you have any loose body mounts or suspension joints.! (Ha!) ...Consider it as preventive maintenance...or insurance.

Verne

[Sydney G.]

Re: C2 - '63 Brake Failure

Hello,
I just checked out the car briefly and it appears that the fluid came from somewhere above the left (drivers side) front wheel area.
The huge puddle on the street late last night was in the front area of the car.
The master cylinder looks good.
Thanks for your responses! Again, a very scary sudden situation when one is least expecting it!
Syd

[Chuck R.]

Re: C2 - '63 Brake Failure

I'd look real hard at the rubber flex line as the #1 culprit Syd, it's probably ruptured.

Where ever it's leaking, when you get up close and inspect the lines, it should be pretty obvious.

Guess you should thank your lucky stars that you weren't tooling down an expressway off ramp huh?

Reminds me of the time I went to impress my girl friend with my brand new Road Runner and slapped it into second on the interstate to blow the dorrs off an older Road Runner that was teasing me. All I accomplished was a blown driveshaft at 70mph. I was spouting hail marys faster than a machine gun.

Hope it's a quick fix for you Syd,

Chuck

[Chuck S.]

Re: C2 - '63 Brake Failure

Ditto here...66 Impala. The rear cross-over line fatigue cracked at the right rear wheel.

I was exiting the freeway on a long, straight downhill ramp when the pedal went right to the floor...the ramp dead-ended at a stop sign on a crossing street at the bottom. I quickly learned how to pump the pedal to gain braking force, albeit while losing fluid with every pump (I could see the little wet spots on the pavement behind me), and how to effectively brake with the park brake by holding up on the release handle. It worked so well, I carefully limped the car on home.

It was Puckersville...Thank you Uncle Sam for getting involved in our brakes anyway.

[Joe L.]

Re: C2 - '63 Brake Failure

Verne, et all------

Yes, until 1965 for power brakes and 1967 for non-power brakes, Corvettes did not have a dual circuit braking system. With a dual circuit system there is, basically, seperate and non-inter-connected braking systems for the front and rear wheels. In this way, even if you lose one of the circuits, you still have the other to provide some braking.

The change to dual circuit was not done because the single circuit systems were just as good. No indeed! Syd received an "object lesson" in the reason why a single circuit system is not as good as a dual circuit.

[Duke W.]

Re: C2 - '63 Brake Failure

Dual circuit masters certainly provide added safety, but if you loose the front and only have the rear, it's next to no brakes and you can do just as well by applying the parking brake.

These cars are 40-50 years old and most have no maintenance/inspection records of any kind. I keep records on all my cars, and in some cases developed comprehensive inspection programs modeled on the FAA requirement for aircraft inspections.

About 15 years ago I found a bulge in a front brake hose on my Cosworth Vega during a "routine" pre track event inspection a few days before the event. Of course I replaced it, but if I had not done the inspection I may have found myself approaching Turn 1 at Willow Springs with nothing but rear brakes, which would not have been much different than NO brakes.

It's a good idea to subject these cars to a comprehensive annual inspection with particular attention paid to critical safety systems such as brakes paying careful attention to corrosion - at least to the pipes that you can see.

As far as brake hoses are concerned, if they are of unknown age it might be a good idea to replace them apriori. Who knows, they may be original and organic materials degrade with time and stress application.

Duke

[Donald T.]

Re: C2 - '63 Brake Failure

I had the same problem backing out of my garage in my 65 a few years ago, and it is a helpless feeling. In addition to the vulnerability of the single master cylinder design, the front to rear brake line is also a problem on early C2s. The location on top of the frame rail makes it impossible to replace or even inspect the line without lifting the body.