Hello people of superior knowledge, I have been putting together my T bucket for a little over two years now. I am running 1935 Ford wire wheels, and initially, I was going to run 1953-56 F100 11" drums with wheel spacers on the front. Well, I didn't really like how that looked, and I recently found a KILLER DEAL on a fully rebuilt pair of 1946-1948 12" Ford Lockheed juice brakes. Aesthetically, I like them better on the car (cleaned up the scrub radius and the backing plates are easier on the eyes), but the car is still in mock up, so I have no clue how they perform. I am a young guy, and my only experience with 4 wheel drums was in my non power ***ist 1968 Impala from high school. I am wondering if it would be worth it at this early stage to convert the Lockheeds to a Bendix style, or just run them as is? I do plan to drive the car a lot once done, so my thoughts were that the maintenance, performance, and parts availability of more modern Bendix internals would save me some grief. Could any of you "in the know" comment on this? I would greatly appreciate some input. Thanks,
I would think they would work fine on a T bucket. I am running them on my full rendered, Mercruiser powered, '32 roadster. With your lack of weight you would probably go a long way before you have to adjust them. Remember that you need to run adapters if you run '35 wire wheels on the '40 to '48 style drums. Charlie Stephens
Verify full contact of shoes to drums, with everything adjusted to as little clearance as possible. Your car should be about 1,000 pounds lighter than a '48 Ford, a huge advantage here.
Thanks guys, I will give them a shot as is. I was just reading in another thread about adjustment and shoe-drum contact, so I will verify that this weekend. I have the adapter rings to be able to run the '35 wires, so I'm covered there. Appreciate your input.
`46 - `48 brakes are -- IMHO -- much superior to the `40 Ford models that folks seem to gravitate to. The reason I think they're better is that the lower studs are fixed -- two less points that require adjustment. I have them on a `28 roadster and love 'em! And the face of the `46 - `48 drum is flat so you can run `35 wires without the spacer rings. Ford may have been too cheap to pay royalties on the Bendix design, but he was a shameless imitator. By`46 -`48 they were damn near the same as early Lincolns. But mebbe you'd want to just sell 'em to me and get something you'd be happier with... When you install the shoes, slightly loosen the upper stud before starting the adjustment. This will allow the shoes to "set" better on the studs. Once you've gotten close on the adjustment, retighten that upper stud.
I agree with you that the drum is flat but the '35 wire wheels (and wire wheels back to 1928) were designed to run on a surface that was at two different elevations and YOU DO NEED THE ADAPTERS. If you don't understand what I am talking about go to http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/40-ford-wheels-on-a-model-a.750368/#post-8330045 Charlie Stephens
Yes, I have the adapter rings already, and they are in place. I will play around with adjustment this weekend when I'm out there - thank you for the tips. I will not sell them just yet lol. The guy I got them from sold me a 1935-1936 axle, original kingpins, original brake lines, turned drums, loaded backing plates with new wheel cylinders, new shoes, and new hardware with new bearings and seals in the hubs.... for a grand total of $60. I couldn't believe it. They were painted red, and I was nervous about what was underneath the paint, but after a day of s****ing that off, those things are in excellent condition. I am super pumped on this deal! Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
The only thing you missed in your description is whether or not the brake shoes were arced? Post if you need adjusting instructions for the brakes. Charlie Stephens
I do not know if they were arced. That is something I will need to check this weekend, and I would appreciate instructions for adjustments greatly!
For adjustment go to post #3 on this thread: http://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=112160 If anyone has better or other procedures please post them. Charlie Stephens
Your two goals are...smallest clearance without drag and greatest contact area, which is where arcing comes in if needed.
Tim with a T. Clever. Agree to the previous posts, follow them to the letter. My '46 Ford tudor sedan had all original brakes, I arced new Wagner shoes to the drums after turning .010", and that car stopped on a dime. (well...a long dime...) Stopped for a long time.
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