Relining Alvis brakes

It wasn’t until this latest service that it was discovered that, like virtually everything else on HP6161, the brakeshoes are special too.

During the earlier restoration the spares bin was regularly raided, but since the original brakes were deemed fit for purpose, they were not changed. Only during this recent work was it possible to see that the standard 12/50 shoe is an entirely different animal to the variant fitted to Racing Car No. 1.

The lower shoes in the photograph are made of a lightweight alloy of less than half the weight of the standard item and are probably from a different car (although at this stage it is not know what), as the profile has been made good by the addition of a series of shims totalling 6mm in depth.

The weights of each item are indicated on the respective lables.

3. Comparisons