Technical Wide 5 question

Hey guys. Hear me out: Can i use 40-48 backingplates on 37-39 wide 5 drums? If my reading is right, 37-48 drums Are 2 inch deep. So on paper it seems it will work?
I love the wide 5 look but want hydraulic. Yes i know that 39 is first year hydraulic but to find that specific year here is not easy.
Am i right? Will the backing plates work? Or to ask more right, will wide 5 drums work on later backing plates?

 

There’s a way in the front. The Ford Pilot had wide 5’s with front hydraulic brakes, but rears were mechanical.
That would get you 1/2 way there.

 

The rears fit fine….I think the later wide 5 fronts will work, my ‘36 fronts did not and I bought later, I think they were ‘39’s…..

 

I think you mean 5 on 5 1/2 not Wide 5 which are common on Sprint cars etc.

 

28-36 have 1-3/4 inch deep drums
37-48 have 2 inch deep drums

The drums Are 11 inch all the way down to 1928.

So in my mind, that means that you could swap 37-48 around as you see fit.

Thats what i Get from it Anyway.

 

No, im talkin about wide 5. The bolt pattern from 1936 til 1939.

 

'37-'39 fronts and '36-'39 wide 5 drums work with Ford Lockheed brakes and repop Lincoln style Bendix brakes with 1-3/4" shoes.

'36 fronts won't work; they are pretty easy to recognize by the long nose.

 

I think you are almost right. 1936 wont work as those drums Are 1-3/4.
1937-48 Are 2 inch. So lockheed will work with 37 and up. Not 36. Right?

 

36 hubs/drums are “offset” meaning they sit “deeper” inboard, so they won’t work with juice brake backing plates. I got these backing plates from Speedway and they should work with my 37 front and rear wide five hubs.



https://www.speedwaymotors.com/1937-1948-Ford-Self-Energized-Juice-Brakes,475619.html

 

Wide 5s are stock 36-39 Ford which is very common in all forms of oval track racing but not sprint cars

Stock Ford wide 5 still used in oval track today.



Sprint cars run a splined wheel that slides over the live axle and uses a single wheel nut.

 

'35-'48 Ford brakes all have 1-3/4" shoes.

'36 front drums have a much deeper offset than the later drums that is why they don't work.

The '36 rears work as all* Ford banjo rear axles have the same offset.

*A rears are slightly different as noted when using juice brakes.

Some of the later Lockheed drums may clear 2" shoes on repop Lincoln brakes; but I wouldn't use that criteria to describe them as 2" drums.

Picture to illustrate how close a 1-3/4" shoe is to the edge of the braking surface in a '40 drum.

 

37-48 are 12” drums. Model A’s are smaller if I remember right they’re 10”.

 

Model A have 11" brakes.

'32-'48 have 12" brakes

'32-'34 have 1-1/2" shoes.

'35-'48 have 1-3/4" shoes.

 

Great info!! Thanks!

 

So, is this 37 and up?

 

The image isn't sharp but it looks like that the front end has a round back spindle and then it's a 1937-38 (mechanical brakes).

 

Simple answer to your original question is yes, 37-39 hubs/drums will work on 39-48 backing plates and shoes. That's what I did on my 32.

Mart.

 

Thanks for all the help and great info.

 

Rich B is the man. He knows....