the f1 brakes are self energizing which gives you better shoe contact and stopping power not to mention they self adjust.if you like to adjust brakes go with the 40s.if you wanna spend time driving and stopping go f1.
X2^^^...brake fade is the same i would think, cooling holes or scoops in the backing plates as well as driving style will help with that issue.
Actually ... The F1 and the 53/56 F-100 brakes are self energizing ... but do not come with self adjusters. You can upgrade the springs, adjusting hardware and shoes from a 66 F-100 on the 53 to 56 backing plates and drums ... to gain the self adjusting feature. I have used both ... and I prefer the 53/56 F-100 over the 1940 Ford brakes. Parts are also a LOT easier to come by and less expensive also. GO HERE for a online tutorial. http://www.flatheadv8.org/f1brakes1.htm
Speaking of '40 Ford juice brakes, is there an outfit that sells a complete rebuild kit? I need everything except the backing plates and drums. Would prefer "one-click" shopping (to make sure I order ALL of the parts required). Any Alliance Vendors offer a complete kit? Thanks in advance.
Sure you don't need drums? They should measure no bigger than 12.060 but often are cut without measure resulting in as much as 12.250! Not too good in the panic stop department turned out that far.
<HR style="COLOR: #e5e5e5; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #e5e5e5" SIZE=1> <!-- / icon and ***le --><!-- message --> Can anybody tell me what the difference is between the 48-52 F-1 and the 53-56 F-100 brake systems?
I've got the f-1/00 style on my 40 coupe and there was a big change in stopping power. the drums are smaller at 11" but the shoe width is wider. I think they also have full contact with the bendix, vs just the top of the shoe on the 40 pivot. they're the best drum upgrade on a fendered car. TP
The backing plates and brakes are the same. The hubs and drums are different. Either F-1 or F-100 will work. The drums are more readily available and cheaper for the F-100 hubs.
does anyone know if the f-250 48-56 has 12" backing plates and if they do can they be ran with wide 5 drums or 45 finned buicks?
F-250s ARE 12". They will, in fact, bolt on to '37-'48 spindles. They afford much-improved braking when compared to the original Ford Lockheed-type brakes. With that being said, utilizing the F-250s WITH "wide 5" or "45 finned buicks" introduces some more work. The SPACING (inboard/outboard) of the F-250s VS. the stock Ford backing plate is different between the two when bolted to an early Ford spindle, thus, there will be an interference issue between drum and backing plate on either. The Buick drum, more importantly, also has to be adapted SOMEHOW (many options) to the early Ford spindle. LOTS of info if you do a search under "BUICK DRUM", "F-250 BRAKE" or "F-250 PLATE". DD
I got a set of '40 brakes with the my coupe body, and intended to use them, but after doing some reading, I used a set of '50 F1 brakes on my coupe...the only bummer was the drums were more espensive than F100's, and I did end up using the newer hardware with self adjusters. They stop my coupe very well though, and I'm happy with them.
What car are you putting them on? The best setup I have is F-2 or Lincoln with 2 inch wide shoes and Buick drums...
The is someting in the teck archives where I adapted big station wagon complete brakes into 46-48 backing plates. These are the full 2 1/2 in and will bring a light roadster down from warp speed without ever noticing it. I took the self adjusters off because they never wore enough to need adjusting in 100k miles. The parts were really cheap and available.
I did the conversion on the weekend, new drums, shoes, w/cyls and hardware. Not really impressed. It is a little better but but not the 'dramatic' improvement that one magazine article claimed....
Do these changes have any effect on the front tracking width? Does the wheel move in or out as a result?
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