I'm doing a little planning ahead on my frame build and looking for advice when selecting these bits please. My ride: 34 Ford 5WC with 364 nailhead / Muncie / winters QC / Buick drums on new Lincoln style energizer brakes. 1. Dual or single diaphragm booster for drun / drum combo 2. Diameter and tube material - steel / aluminum / copper / nickel? 3, Booster location for exhaust routing - floor / firewall 4. Any decent hanging pedal boxes that look more traditional than modern. I'm building a traditional style fender less car - no billet but I want it to stop on drums and would prefere to find a work around for what I imagine will be a packaging challenge for booster and exhaust. Many thanks Hambers!!
Issue with most hanging pedal setups is the master cylinder mounded on the firewall and if you use a booster, even more on the firewall. It is more of an appearance thing, operationally they are better. I still prefer the under the floor and out of view setups. Not sure why you would need a booster in the first place, what is the planned weight of your project? On mine I'm concerned about not getting thrown through the windshield! I am running 11x2 inch drums all around and no more than the coupe weighs that should do the trick. There are F1/F100 brakes that were designed to stop a loaded truck! Brake lines have to be steel.
Actually there is that new NiCopp line that is safe for brakes. Looks sort of like copper and can be easily bent by hand. I used 1/4' steel myself on my pickup. Aluminum, never. As far as the booster I don't think it's needed either. Like jseery said, properly adjusted (and that's the key) juice brakes will stop a coupe, roadster or pickup just fine. Lime Works has the method for adjusting them. It's a long, pain in the**** process (which is why a lot of people don't take the time to do it this way) but it will make your brakes stop a freight train. Worn out parts and improper adjustment have given juice brakes and mechanicals a bad rap. Here's a link to a thread for adjusting regular juice brakes. I'm not familiar with the Lincoln style. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/...-brake-adjustment-info-from-limeworks.476016/
The Lincoln style are the self Energizing type by these guys: http://www.mtcarproducts.com So no booster? Any other thoughts or pearls of wisdom on brake line materials - let's knock out aluminum? I'm looking for advice on the size too for fittings etc? Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
I thought stainless was the hot tip for brake lines? Looking at the rusty lines on my old Plymouth sure has me wishing for stainless.
Stainless is nice, harder to work with, harder to bend, harder to flair, etc. It is really nice, but you need the tools to work with it. If you have the money and tools I would go with stainless and AN fittings.
Copper nickel alloy is the best in my opinion. As corrosion resistant as stainless, but soft, easy to bend and flair. It does have a telltale bronze color, so on a traditional car it would have to be hidden or painted. I don't see a reason to get away from the standard 3/16 tube size that most all factories use.
40 style juice brake wheel cylinders are made for 1/4" lines. Not sure about the self energizing f1/f100 or Lincoln type.
How much vacuum are you pulling at idle? If arent making enough vacuum, you wont be able to run a vacuum booster anyway. You can make just as much pressure in a manual brake system as you do a power boosted system. If you have a good enough pedal ratio (6 to 1 is a good ratio) there is really no reason for a power booster. If you have the correct bore size, it will feel similar to a power brake system. Divide the large number by the small, that will give you your pedal ratio. If you have say a 5 to 1 or lower ratio, you may need a booster to give you some vacuum****ist.
^^^What he said^^^ Further, drums self-energize, discs do not. That, in a nutshell, is why most disc set-ups use boosters, while many drums did not. Boosters can make drum brakes very sensitive, to the point that you may not like driving it. I vote for unboosted drum brakes. Cosmo
Check out the Poly-Armor Steel line at your parts store. You can get it in various lengths or in a roll. Its what I used when I changed from the old fruit jar M/C to a dual bowl. It bends very easily and you can bend it around a 1/2 inch socket without it kinking. Great stuff.
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