hello guys, been away for a while sorting out personal stuff, but am back on track and now getting stuck into my model A. what i want to know is, what was done back in the day to convert early fords to juice brakes before 39? when ford started using them??? i want to simply!(?) slip a hydraulic cylinder in place of the mechanical system, using the original shoes. it must of been done, so what was used?? anyone?? plenty of modern stuff to do it but i really want it to be realistic of the 1930s. cheers steve
Ansen used to sell hydraulic conversions for '28-38 Fords that used the original brakes as a basis. They rotated and redrilled the rear plate to orient the shoes properly, and then drilled out all four to take (I think) 1940ish Chevy cylinders, which had adjusters on them. With a Model A, this would put you up against the severe limitations of the original steel drums, which are almost certainly worn out, so you would have to buy the reproduction iron drums now sold to really get any improvement. This isn't really a period improvement, either--it dates to the fifties, I believe, AFTER people started scrounging '39-48 brakes from the junkyards. Ansen kits included fairly clever bracketry to adapt the pedals to master cylinder. I have never seen more than fragments and poor quality catalog pictures of an Ansen kit, so don't know details of the adaptation.
[ QUOTE ] buy the new issue of ol' skool rodz,there's a complete how to article on the topic ~Creepy [/ QUOTE ] The topic isn't really about turning the mechanicals into hydraulics, it's about swapping '40-'48 brakes (backing plates and all) in place of the original setups. I have heard of English rodders using cylinders from VWs or Cavaliers but I have yet to find any real details despite my repeated postings about it.
Steve, glad you are back on track.....see if you can contact PFF, he or Billy would probably know & may have parts too. Kev.
The Jalopy Journal
