Hot Rods Converting brakes to self adjusting.

Hi Guys

53-56 Ford F100 front brakes / 57 Ford fairlane rear brakes - both use 11 inch drums

wanting to convert both front and rear to self adjusting - seems a pretty simple process.

but which self adjusters do i use ?? is there left and right ? how long do the wire cables need to be ?

any help much appreciated.

 

Each end of the car would need H2540 & H2541 self-adjuster kits along with an H7144 spring kit.

The shoe retainers need to relieved a little to clear the new "fatter" front retract spring. Picture shows a later (D7TZ-2028-B) retainer; but the existing one can be trimmed.

You should also cut another adjuster slot in the left hand backing plates for initial adjustment and later access if needed.

 

Kudos for driving your car so much you need self adjusting brakes!

 

Thanks Rich - thats exactly the info I needed - Much appreciated

 

I omitted the self adjusters on my 32 . It makes me jack up the car once a year and look things over , lube the chassis , adjust the brakes , change the oil and filter .

 

Anothet tip: The metal ratcheting shoe that contacts the star wheel adjuster is sometimes stamped with a raggedy edge surface where it contacts the star wheel. To insure a good positive engagement with the wheel I grind the edge with a slight angle to the surface so that the adjuster gets a better "bite" on the wheel. Otherwise the ratchet adjuster may skip-n-slide, especially when the wheel gets dirty or corroded.
Good luck with your project.

 

Thank you - Much appreciated

 

Did this a few weeks ago
Haven’t driven it though

51 merc. 11 inch drums. Bought an adjuster kit for a 60s f100. Both share the same shoe.
The adjuster kit came with everything.
The catch is the red arrow. The shoe anchor wasn’t designed for the extra cable. So you either get the f100 shoe anchor or thin the shoe retainer plate
This piece needs thinned to make room for the cable

 

A Help 13896 shoe retainer is thin and would probably help there.

Also looks like the wrong primary spring on top. Should be shorter and fatter like the springs on the picture in post #2.

What did you do for the bottom spring?

This is the spring kit to use in addition to the self-adjuster repair kits for 11" Ford Bendix brakes.

 

Here’s the before

So we put it back like this using what was in the kit

 

The H7144 spring kit along with both H2540 & H2541 self-adjuster repair kits make up the necessary parts to change those 11" brakes over.