despite replacing the entire brake system - I cannot a get any feel from the brake pedal without one pump what gives

it has a new master, cylinders, pipes and shoes. I has been bled well and had no air in the lines. the shoes have been adjusted to maxiumum travel without contacting the drums.

Its a four wheel drum system.

Give it a chance to bed in, it's pretty common for the brakes on a drum system to be a bit average if all the parts have been replaced. Drive in round for a bit then re-adjust, should come good.

chicken and egg

I need it better for rego so I might need to do some midnight runs

We don't have that problem in the ACT, it's very rare that they would do a brake test, or even sit in the car. It's the bureaucracy that's the problem.

A mate of mine had this problem recently with his NSW registered car, I can't remember if it failed the brake test or not but he got it through. After a week or two the brakes bedded in properly and they're pretty good now.

When I adjust mine, I try to get them so the shoes are just rubbing the drums, just enough that there is some resistance to turning them when the wheels are off, but only a little. That might be enough to get rid of that first pump.

Last weekend I stuffed it and had them too tight, they were fine until I did a hard stop, the shoes heated up, expanded and then they were dragging quite badly. When I eventually stopped to fix them (didn't want to mess up the convoy) there was smoke jetting out around the hand brake levers.

Tim

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1951 Morris Commercial J Type Van
1955 BSA C11G
1961 Morris Mini Traveller
1969 Triumph TR6R
1977 Leyland Moke Californian

One obvious one - but can take a while to diagnose if you don't think of it is are the shoes on the right way with the correct "leading edge"?

Also if you've got twin leading shoe fronts sometimes they can get an air bubble stuck in the little pipe that runs between cylinders.

Yep he's right, very common problem if cyls have been changed. To see if this is the case undo the highest end of that pipe 1/2 a turn and bleed it there.

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

As i am doing a mechanic apprenticeship i have been told to adjust drums till it just binds the drum and u cant move it. When you put the wheel back on the force of spinning the wheel creates the perfect drag on the drums. Roadie it and check again.

I've been doing this to customer cars and never had any complaints back to me so i guess im doing something right