Currently collecting parts for my 30 coupe build. Just found a rear & moving to the front. What years from the F-100's (front brakes) would be compatible with a dropped axle/wish bone set up with '40 ford spindles? Thanx
I'm using '53 F100 brakes on my '40 spindles. 48-52 F1 and 53-56 F100 brakes will work though. You'll need new bearings to adapt to the early p***enger car spindles. Speedway sells the bearings as a kit or you can source them from NAPA. Be sure to change out the bearing races too. Speedway also sells a booklet on the conversion but it's really not needed. Good luck.
Early Fords and the F-100 use the same outer brg. and cup. Timken 09067 brg. and Timkin 09196 cup. The F-100 spindles are larger in diameter in the area of the inner brg. than the earlier Ford spindles. For this swap a brg. with the smaller I.D. is required. The necessary brg. is Timkin number 14116. It has the I.D. of the earlier Ford spindle and the O.D. of the F-100 hub. The inside if the inner race must be radiused slightly to fully seat against the early spindle. The stock F-100 inner cup (Timken 14276 ) is used along with a Victor seal 49196 or National 450461.
Use the later f100 setup as the f1 drums if needed new are about three times the price of the later f100's
F-100 spindles have a larger diameter kingpin and the angle is incorrect. F-1 spindles use the same kingpin as '42-'48 car and can be used. The left steering arm is pretty ugly; but the spindles can be trimmed to resemble square back car spindles and used with bolt on steering arms. Some people will say the angle is different; but they measure right with my digital protractor. Here are a couple of pictures of some F-1 spindle that have been trimmed and the grease zerks relocated to work with bolt on arms.
If the F1 spindle is used, then which is the best backing plate and hardware? Also can you switch sides with the spindles to put the steering arm in front?
'48-'56 backing plates are all alike and use the same shoes, cyls, and hardware. You can also use the self adjusting hardware from early '60s F-100 if you like that sort of thing. It is just the hub/drum ***y that are different between F-1 and F-100.
The ackerman will be all messed up. I am not sure if you can heat and bend the steering arms enough to make it work. Anyone know? Heating and bending using good technique is fine, I am asking about if there is enough room.
There is not enough room to bend the arms outward, they will hit the backing plate well before they would be properly located for correct ackerman. A car with the tie rod out front looks like somebody took a short-cut when they were building it. Just saying.
Front tire scrub, depending on which one gets the most traction will determine which one scrubs and which one steers. The principles of ackerman determine that when a car steers around a curve, the inside wheel steers around the inside of the curve and the outside wheel steers around the outside of the curve. When the ackerman is incorrect, the front wheels try to either steer toward each other or steer away from each other similar to a toe in condition or a toe out condition. Besides premature tire wear, the front end can dart around while steering around a curve depending on which tire is gripping the road and which tire is slipping...
use your ford roundback spindles and either 49-53 truck brakes..11inch backing plate or early ford 3/4 ton pickup front brakes..same as above but with a 12 inch backing plate for running buick drums. You can get all the parts..shoes.wheel cylinders...etc right from your local parts house..auto zone..etc.. because they are bendix style adjusting brakes. Lots of info here about them if you do a search..some threads even have part numbers for the brake parts too. You can get a new bearing and seal kit from Speedway as mentioned above
If I leave the spindles where they are, clean them up and add bolt on steering arms pointed to the front, will I still have ackerman problems?
The answer is yes. I have some 56 F-100 drums and backing plates I would sell if you need them. Pm me for details
Here is a good instruction from one of our great contibutors http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5877
F-100 brakes will fit the '32-'34 spindles. You will need to use one of the spacer & ring kits as used when adapting '39-'48 Lockheed brakes, and deal with bolt holes via your preferred method. The bearings are the same as used with F-1/F-100 brakes on the later Ford spindles. Real hot rods don't need self adjusting brakes, their owners are attentive to their maintenance. Otherwise, self adjusters started in '64 or so. H2541 & H2540 kits.
The Bendix brakes have always been "self-energizing". "Self-adjusting" is just a feature that was added later.
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