modelmodela
New member
Greetings,
I have a 1929 Model A pickup with brakes that were converted to juice 1939-1948 style. After rebuilding my axle, I purchased a rear "modern" Bendix brake conversion kit with auto-adjusting shoes (like a modern car). I did not realize until $1,200 later that the hubs, bearings, races, and a host of other parts needed to be replaced to fit the new system. Long story short, I have had nearly two years of headache and wait while very specific parts to this very specific system became available. I dealt with Macs and Sacramento Vintage Ford, and All Ford, each of which had extreme trouble obtaining back-ordered and "unavailable" parts to this system. I am now waiting for many months for the associated emergency/park brake lever which goes inside the drum assembly, and I cannot find the parts myself anywhere online or other sources. May I ask this question: Am I better off restoring and reusing my old 1939-48 brake assembly (which a local shop agreed to turn the drums and re-shoe), or should I continue with the Bendix who-knows-what-I-have assembly? In the long-run, I think the Bendix assembly will always be that "odd-ball" assembly with which finding parts will be virtually impossible. I welcome any experiences that you have had as the Bendix system seems to be pretty standard today. Thank you very much!
I have a 1929 Model A pickup with brakes that were converted to juice 1939-1948 style. After rebuilding my axle, I purchased a rear "modern" Bendix brake conversion kit with auto-adjusting shoes (like a modern car). I did not realize until $1,200 later that the hubs, bearings, races, and a host of other parts needed to be replaced to fit the new system. Long story short, I have had nearly two years of headache and wait while very specific parts to this very specific system became available. I dealt with Macs and Sacramento Vintage Ford, and All Ford, each of which had extreme trouble obtaining back-ordered and "unavailable" parts to this system. I am now waiting for many months for the associated emergency/park brake lever which goes inside the drum assembly, and I cannot find the parts myself anywhere online or other sources. May I ask this question: Am I better off restoring and reusing my old 1939-48 brake assembly (which a local shop agreed to turn the drums and re-shoe), or should I continue with the Bendix who-knows-what-I-have assembly? In the long-run, I think the Bendix assembly will always be that "odd-ball" assembly with which finding parts will be virtually impossible. I welcome any experiences that you have had as the Bendix system seems to be pretty standard today. Thank you very much!
