[Chrysler300] help Joe out

["John J. Hertog" <crossram@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

For the second time, Joe Luciano has lost his brakes - entirely - while driving his '62 300 convertible.  This is getting both very annoying and very dangerous. Can anyone help Joe ?  I personally have never encountered the exact problem that he is experiencing, but perhaps one or more of you have?

The car is a '62 300 Sport convertible; it is using the original single-reservoir mater cylinder. Up front, the brakes have been changed to 1964/1964 Bendix-type drum brakes from a 64 300  (that should not matter) . Other than that, everything is stock. 

First time Joe lost his brakes, he was driving in heavy traffic on a hot day, coming back from a show.  When he called me and described what happened  (pedal first got hard, then disappeared entirely, went right to the floor) , I (wrongly) assumed it was a bad master cylinder and told him to change it.  Which he did. 

Second time: same scenario, with the new master.  After driving the car for a few hundred miles, from NYC to Carlisle PA  and back, with no problems, Joe once again hit traffic, on a hot afternoon. After crawling along for awhile, the pedal started to feel "funny"  and then, boom, no more brakes at all. 

This time, however, Joe opened the hood, and noticed that the master cylinder "looked" hot.  So he threw some water on it, and the water sizzled off the master cylinder like it was an exhaust manifold.  And again and again, just kept sizzling. 

So - I now assume (?) that the master cylinder is getting so hot that the brake fluid starts to boil, and that is what is causing brake failure.  However - what I don't understand is, why is the master getting so hot?  I mean, it's hot under the hood, but not THAT hot, and the engine is not overheating, so why is his master cylinder getting so hot that it percolates the brake fluid?   Been driving these cars for years, never seen that one yet.  Anyone else?

Looking forward to your repsonses, 

John Hertog
Sag Harbor NY







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