MTFCA Forum

Hi To my knowledge 1926-27 rear brake levers are unique and are not reproduced. The cams are reproduced. I am cannibalizing 2 rear brake levers from old differential halves. Is there an easy way to remove these? The pictured cam is frozen. There is very little space between the lever and the housing to cut it with a grinder without possibly damaging both the housing or the lever. Maybe I can try my new cobalt drill bits?

There is a pin through the arm and the cam to hold the two together. i suggest you wire brush it to find the pin. The cam being seized may be a help here. It will make drilling out the pin that much easier as you will not have to hold it while you drill. if you can get at each side, just drill enough out of the arm to be able to drift the cam out. Then drill the rest of the pin out of the cam.
It's well worth the effort, as the reproduction cams are two pieces and are a poor design.

Allan from down under.

Here's a picture of the parts Allen mentioned

Unless the cam or shaft is really worn, you might want to pull the pins. In my OP, a little wear when just used as parking brakes with new bushings should be ok. If you want to cut them off, there should be room for a hack saw blade between the parts.

Anything can be made to come apart by heating and cooling, multiple times, with an oxy/actl torch. It’s a matter of getting it all red hot and letting it cool down all by itself. Once it cools, a few taps with a brass hammer and some penetrant poured over it may produce a tiny bit of movement. Repeat this process a number of times and eventually it will be moving. Don’t expect a lot of progress right away. Once that cam is swinging freely in the housing, drill thru the rivet almost all the way, with a bit that is about half of the pins diameter. Heat it up again. Once it cools it may tap right out. The best penetrant that I have ever come across is made at home by doing a 50/50 mixture of Acetone and ATF. Best of luck!