Thread: Self-Energizing brakes for early Fords

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Howdy guys,

Haven't posted here in eons. I post mostly over at Hotrodders.com but there aren't that many people over there working on early Fords. I thought some people here might be interested in this mod.

Here's a picture of the front brake conversion I just finished. Converted stock 37-48 front backing plates to accept early 70's GM station wagon/police 12" x 2" drum brake hardware. This is a useful mod for anyone building a period car who wants modern drum brakes. How I did the mod can be found on my web site under Project 32.

If you drill a hole in the shoe in appropriate location ( for the pawl ), you could easily adapt Ford Bendix cable self adjusters too.. which would be like a double upgrade.

You're correct. I decided to keep things simple and just delete the self adjusters. It only takes 5 minutes to adjust them anyway and with the limited mileage I'll be putting on this project (under 1000 miles per year) I don't think I really needed them.

That's a great tech article on the brakes, and after building a 32 with a 354 Hemi, I found your frame build very well thought out and constructed.
HemiDeuce.

Very nice article Centerline. I also looked at your frame build article. You mentioned a bend in the two upper crossmembers. The Speedway kit is a copy of Carl Fjiastadt's "Deuce Frame Company" crossmember, which was designed to fit the original Deuce body floorpan. These bends allow more clearance above the driveshaft and yoke. I liked your trans mount cross-
member. Nice job!

Thank you for this info. As a diehard who loves '40-ish Ford brakes this is a nice improvement. I'll have to try it.

Don