How We Almost Died
By the time my father and I got to Ohio and its larger populations, we adjusted to greater following distances, keeping a vigilant watch over side streets and traffic patterns. However, we still weren't prepared when the 3100's pedal went to the floor as we braked for a red light on a steep hill in metro Cincinnati. Pedal pressure dropped to nothing when Old Red's brake pedal slammed into the floorboard and didn't come back up.
There was no time to stop the truck; fortunately the intersection was clear, and we coasted through under the red. We also blew through a second red light 20 yards farther, as the truck began to pick up speed. I tried not to panic. The four-lane road descended a moderately steep grade with a blind curve ahead, with businesses lining both sides. The implications of a 30-mph-offset crash in a vehicle without seatbelts, impact-absorbing bumpers, or a collapsible steering column started to loom large.
Remembering the lessons of Driver's Ed, I dropped down into second gear to let the engine decelerate the truck, and looked for escape routes. Since I'd just run two red lights, there was no traffic ahead of us. There weren't any trees or telephone poles to hit, and, thank goodness, no pedestrians. I eased into first gear, the low ratio making the old 235 howl, and gently put the emergency brake's pedal down. I scrubbed off more speed by making a wide left turn into an auto shop on the opposite side of the road. Once I was safely off the road, I put the e-brake to the floor and shut off the truck.
Upon inspection, we discovered that the long copper brake line running from the master cylinder to the rear drums had ruptured. Thanks to the new wheel cylinders and lines up front, it was almost certainly operating at a higher pressure than it had in years, and the strain was too great in the end. In a newer vehicle with redundancy built into the brake system, this wouldn't have been a serious problem, but back in the old days, hydraulic brakes were simple closed systems. When the line split, most of the brake fluid landed on the pavement and the breach made it impossible to maintain any pressure in the system at all. Luckily, there was no one in front of me when this happened! Many owners opt for modern disc brakes on their old pickups, and kits for this important safety upgrade are readily available.
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