How good (or bad) are '40 Ford brakes? I've been working on a fenderless chopped and channeled '32 Ford pickup for about three years now, and my plan all along has been to use some stock '40 Ford brakes in front that I bought at a swap meet, and in back some bigger newer drum brakes on a Ford 9". I made up a custom pedal ***embly with a balance bar like race cars use with two small master cylinders -- one for the front and one for the back, so I could balance the brakes so the backs wouldn't lock up too fast. Are the '40 brakes going to be good enough, or am I going to regret not going with Lincoln brakes? I've driven lots of older drum drum cars over the years, but nothing with the non-self-energizing brakes before. Does it just mean I'll have to stomp on the pedal harder to get it stopped, or is there some other big problem with the older brakes? I know I'll probably have to adjust them once in a while, but that's no big deal. I'm figuring this '32 will weigh a lot less than a '40 Ford, so they should stop it okay. Am I right? Do you guys with the '40 Ford brakes see your life flash by every time you have to slam on your brakes? Thanks
'40 brakes work fine. Have 'em on my '40, had some on my '33 pickup. When adjusted right, they're good enough - especially in a light car. Building from scratch, I'd opt for updated early drums. I like the F250 12" brakes w/Buick drums. Work as well as Lincolns, cheaper, easier to find parts for. If you want new, check out Bob Wilson's brakes - he's got brand new setups. Quality product. The F100 often don't look quite right on a fenderless car because they're 11" - they do work well & I had some on my '34 (w/fenders). They are more than enough brake for your pickup, but they're visibly smaller than the early Ford stuff. Parts availability is excellent though.
Thanks for the ideas. I'll look into those. I found out that my spindles that came with the brakes are probably actually '42 or later maybe because they're the square style. But they are definitely not "self-energizing" style brakes. I already painted my backing plates a nice gloss black and have all the parts to put them together. Maybe I'll see how they work before I give up on them. But those F100 or F250 sound like a good bet if I decide I need something better. Thanks!
The '42-48 square-back spindles are my personal preference for both the F250 & F100 conversions - it eliminates the grinding necessary on the earlier round spindles.
I recently acquired a front end (straight axle, spring, spindles, etc) from what looks to be a 41 lincoln 4 door. I'll be using the set-up in a open fender low boy pick-up. When reading the HAMB, I keep noticing reference to using the F-100 or F 250 backing plates and other workings. Please let me know what year F100 and F250 series you are referring to. Also, any other comments regarding the set-up I have would be greatly appreciated. I failed to note that I'll be needing some of the front end steering components. If there are some donor cars I should be looking at, please post some of your thoughts. I plan on using a Vega steering box. Thanks
When it comes to "stopping" I would go with self energizing brakes.I have owned my 40 since 1963 and find they do not stop on a a dime.
If you correctly adjust the bottom anchors and get good friction material, the '40 brakes will work fine. You'll have a light car weighing several hundred pounds less than a stock '40. If ya' can modulate the stopping power and lock them up if needed, how much more brake do ya' need. Go with a master cylinder that's at least 1" in diameter. I'd prefer a 1 1/8". I trade higher pedal effort for less brake pedal travel.
For the F100, you can use '48-52 F1 or '53-56 F100 (maybe later years too, but I'm not sure). The F100 are 11" brakes & must be used as an ***embly (backing plates, hubs, & drums). For F250, the '53-56 F250 front and rear backing plates can be used. They're 12", so are popular to adapt with Buick drums - a bit more work involved than the F100s (which are almost bolt on). Also same year F350 rears also work. No e-brake cables on the rears - they used a drum on the ******, so they're essentially the same as the fronts.
Contact vaphead (Eric) here on the hamb for a great deal on the repro lincoln style brakes, same ones as wilson welding sells. Or just visit his website. http://www.riley-auto.com/
I drove my 40 with stock front brakes for years and thought they were OK until the first time I really had to do a panic stop. After that I went with the F 100 upgrade because it was an easy way to get the self energizing brake set up. If you plan to do a lot of driving I would recomend at least that upgrade. Of course disc are better, but you probably want to keep it more traditional, so sacrifices must be made. Just my two cents...........
Thanks for all the info on brakes. I think I'm going to try installing my '40 Ford brakes for now since I have the backing plates all painted up and everything. I'll try it out for a while and see how they feel. I'm planning on keeping a huge distance between me and the car in front of me. I made a custom dual master cylinder setup with two 1" bore Tilton master cylinders (one for the front and one for the rear with a balance bar). If it looks like I have too much pedal travel, maybe I'll move up to the 1-1/8" bore for the front brakes. Thanks again for the tips!
I ran 40 front brakes on my Model A for 16 years, it stopped fine. I changed to disc's about 4 years ago and they do stop better but not a drastic change.
If F250 backing plates are used, what hubs/drums can be used other than Buick?? Thinking of using on a '40 Ford pickup........ Thanks....
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