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MG MGA - Good Brake Shoes?

Hi all,

Greetings form the Land of the Rising Sun! Replaced the front shocks and decided to go ahead and adjust the front brakes. I can adjust a couple all the way out, and maybe have one notch left for the other two. Swap the drums to eithr side and same result. I did not try to swap the rears for the front, however as they adjust out fine.

These only have about 8,000 miles on them and the shoes seem to be too thin already. I checked the diameter of the drums, both measured 10.0625" at several points around the diameter. The wheel cylinders are all in great shape, nothing frozen, nothing leaking, and the adjuster cams still have nice detents and are only about a year old (I replaced them all when I have one jacket split).

So, who has recently purchased a good set of shoes that actually fit well out of the box?

I have most of the bits to convert over to front disc brakes, (including the Moss braket adapters) but I just can't bring myself to it and I am happy with the drums othersise. Plus I like the nostalgia! Anyone in Japan wish to trade for a 1326 head?
Tom Baker

Tom, I had a similar problem with the rear brakes on my 1600. I installed new shoes from Moss and could not adjust them at all. Just ran out of adjustment before the shoes made contact. Apparently, as I investigated, the material used now on brake shoes is technically superior to the old stuff and therefore they can use less of it (ie: not as thick). I had one specialty shop offer to reline my old shoes with a thicker material and also offered to arch them to match the drums. I did buy a set of new drums to see if that made any difference but haven't got the car out of winter storage yet to try it. I may end up going for the re-line of the old shoes as it seemed to be the most logical. Another remedy a couple of fellows in our club have used is to build up the lower pivot point on the shoes where the shoes rest. This forces them further apart and in doing so increases their combined diameter allowing for more adjustment and contact. Seems to have worked for them. Good luck !!
Michael Hosier

If I remember correctly the original size for MGA drums is 10". That would place your drums as .062.5 oversize.
Sandy Sanders

I recall reading where a strategically placed weld bead can bring these shoes back within the range of adjustment.
D Sjostrom

This thread was discussed between 13/04/2008 and 20/04/2008

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