I am trying to get my 63 T6 356 going after 10 years hibernation. I have now retired and have time to spend. I took the car out for a tentative and slow drive down the block 50 feet. When I tried the brakes they would not stop and so I pulled on the emergency brake which worked. After I tried to move the car to take it back to the garage the car would not go forward. The brakes were stuck it appeared. I was able to get it the few feet back and into garage by driving it to the garage. I lifted it up and without the E brake on and in neutral the 2 left side wheels turned fine but the right sides did not. I backed off the adjusters and they would turn but every time I tried the brake and checked the right side wheels remained tight against the drums and would not retract at all until several hours later. Any feedback on how to approach this would be appreciated. Thanks!
Ralph Hays

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Could be very sluggish brake cylinders that will move out with hydraulic pressure but won't retract with return spring force. If you know how to do brake work, you could remove the right side brake drums and have someone "gently and slowly" depress the brake pedal to get a slight movement of the brake cylinder pistons. Then see if the springs return them. If they don't, it could be time to clean out the brake fluid and cylinders or possibly the rubber hoses that attach to the brake cylinders have collapsed, which I read hear seems to be a common problem, although I have not observed it with my 25 year old rubber hoses with silicon fluid. Could also be the return springs, but not likely in my opinion.

good luck

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Phil Planck

I had similar trouble after 25 years of rest. Pretty much all the wheel cylinders had their metal pistons sticking in their bores. I was able to knock out the pistons with a wood dowel, very lightly wire brush them, and hone the cylinders. Then new seals from Stoddard, for not much money. I also agree that hoses can become check valves, and replacement is a good idea anyhow. I had to clean out the holes in the bleeders (after removing them) to get them to bleed properly. Consider as well a dual master cylinder if you don't have one already- good insurance. If your wheel cylinders are acting up, the master cyl may not be that great anymore.

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Ralph,
If your brake pistons returned to normal position after a few hours, then they are not the problem. It sounds like the hoses. Replace all four, and report back.

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Sounds like more than hoses as the first problem was that the brake pedal didn't make the car stop, requiring the parking brake to be pulled.

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And if the hoses were restricting, then they wouldn't pass much fluid to stop the car, would they? Actually, I think it's a definite possibility that some of the pistons are stuck also.

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Does not risk hurting you and break your car, a disassembly and changements from defective parts is wise.
The brakes was new he was 10 years ago?
One cleaning steel tubes, is possible according to their condition.
The change from the along center tube, is complicated to replace it!
I've seen solid brake fluid in the tubes!
Good luck and enjoy your 356 at your retired!

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Ralph all those things that were said in previous posts on this thread are 100% great suggestions. There is one systemic message in all of this.
10 year old components and sitting around without use leads to moisture issues in the entire brake system. For the price of 6 wheel brake cylinders, 1 master cylinder, one can of brake fluid, plus all the appropriate hoses, you are buying a lot of safety. The initial cost may appear to high, but when you consider potentially your life if the brakes fail, it is cheap.

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