i have a old junker A all stock! and am going to hop it up some? my brakes are all trash. i want to keep the mech. brakes. but have thought of upgrading to 33-34 brakes? has anyone done this? i have two cherry 34 front drums. so that is one thing i have going for the deal! all four of my A drums are toast. so what do ya think???
I don't have the parts in front of me, but something tells me this won't work. the 32-34 drums are larger diameter and getting the backing plates to align with the dog bone activators will take a lot of work. Best bet is to buy new A drums, floaters and new relined shoes.
this was a upgrade that many guys did back in the 30s and 40s. it can be done just wondering how big of a deal it is? anyone have any 34 backing plates and hardware? hummmmmm
'32-4 brakes should bolt on--you may need to use matching perches or extend the A ones with a tab, dunno for sure. Rear--there will be parking brake issues, as the late setup uses the main shoes for PB. Fiddle the linkage to makeit act like a '32... '32-4 brakes are basically the same as A but an inch bigger and with real drums. A's, except for some rare late '31 hardware, had pressed steel drums that were barely adequate before they all wore out--replacing them with current cast iron ones is mandatory and expensive. Mechanical operation first depends on eliminating slop--you probably have 1/16" play at each of the 938 clevises and cams in the system, adding up to m***ive loss of effort between foot and drum. To fix, you need to replace or fix lots of simple widgets, probably often by welding and drilling and grinding. I understand that some repro clevises are CAST IRON (!) and there have already been accidents caused by their failure, so WATCH OUT. If the seller doesn't say forged in the catalog, get out your welder and start fixing... Small parts are available in repro. Are they useable?? Expect surprises... You will need some of the Model A literature available on fixing things like the lower tracks. M***ive collection of simple and complex little jobs. I know '32 brakes can work well, but it's a lot harder to get there and stay there tham with hydraulics.
Nothing wrong with A brakes if they are set up properly, not much advantage going to 32-34 brakes. I do lots of mechanical brake work if you need help. Steve
Like has been said- you can get good A brakes- cast iron drums, equalizers, and in general just clean and tighten them up. 32-34 are a bolt on and get you an 11" dia X 1" wide or you can go to '35's and get 12" dia.X 1" wide. All you really need are the bigger fronts. They take a little time to get bedded in and require some adjustment at first but after that the mechanicals work just fine. Remember it is a whole system and all the rods, etc. must be checked. Good luck, Steve
I think you've got false economy here. Your changing your whole brake system for because you have a pair of drums! What about the backing plates, hardware, hubs, time and cost involved with finding it all.
i have 34 drums the ones with the cut out in them. the drum and hub is all one. i would need to find the backing plates and hardware. i'm thinking 50 to 70 bucks for that stuff. new A drums are 100$ each. and the floaters are easy i can make them out of old wedges. its easy, you cut the sides of the wedge bolt drill a hole in it and cut a pin and harden it BAMB! you have floaters. i do some machine work for old A guys on the side. one thing is i'm trying to use some stuff i have. and be a little different! i would think there is not much call for this stuff??? i'm also thinking of useing rod end on the rods??? with shoulder bolts? and am looking for a B carb!!!
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