Putting 39` Ford rear end under my 30` roadster. Would like to know what is needed to adapt 39` Ford backing plates and drums to the A axle ?Thanks for any leads and advice. farmer****
Let me be sure I understand what you are saying. You are going to put a '39 rear end under your '30 roadster. Of course you are going to shorten the torque to fit. If you don't narrow the rear end also the tires will stick out. You are going to run the wide 5 bolt pattern. But this is not what you are asking about. You are asking about the front axle. There is a simple kit to adapt the hydraulic brakes to the Model A front axle. Most of the suppliers sell them. The kit consists of a ring about like a piston ring to center the backing plate on the spindle since the hole in the backing plate is larger on the hydraulic backing plates than of the model A backing platers. Cheap rings break. There is also a spacer to put the bearing in the correct location. As with any of the report parts there are a lot of cheap parts out there that don't work. It would probably be good to ask on fordbarn who has a good kit. If you don't ask I would start with the Model A suppliers that have a good reputation and go from there. These, in my opinion, include Bratton's, Bert's, and Cling's. Be sure to put their feet to the fire about quality before you buy. Charlie Stephens
Yes. That is exactly what I needed to know. I had already dealt with the shortening and narrowing of the rear end. I will be looking at a complete rear end ***embly on Wednesday. I just wanted to be planning on getting the parts needed for the front end. I will be having a 39` trans rebuilt this coming winter. Next year a 59` series flat head rebuild. Thank you very much for the info. Richard Reed
Richard, I forgot to add that when you install the backing plates you have a little work to do. The bolt pattern for the four bolts holding the brakes to the spindle is slightly smaller on the Model A than it is on the '39 (actually the change occurred beginning with 1937). You have three choices, 1) Buy plates that have had the holes plugged (welded) and redrilled (Dennis Cling at clingsaftermarket.com, (480) 777-1202 and probably others), 2) Plug and redrill the holes yourself, or 3) Saw and file the holes into slots. Is this final method safe? I will leave that for you to decide. Remember that the direction of the load is not to the thin edge space. The load is in the direction to keep the backing plate from rotating. Use the search function and you will find a lot of information in the archives. Charlie Stephens
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