11” Brakes?

J

jeepguy1948

Well-known member
11” Brakes?

Has anyone ever installed the F1/F100 Bendix brakes on a banjo axle? Without the parts to use for mockup I have no way of sorting it out for myself. I did once upon a time in the past install those 11” brakes on my 48 Jeep DANA axle with no problem at all.
 
Re: 11” Brakes?

Be advised that the weakness of Model A mechanical brakes comes not in the mechanical, but rather in Ford's choice of pressed steel drums for Model A production.

Pressed steel work fine when they're new. But wear "thins" the drums and creates a condition where the steel mass heats quickly and the brakes "fade" as the drum expands under heat.

Better is to use cast iron drums from aftermarkets such as Mel Gross, which is actually where Ford went late in the 1931 model year for exactly the reason given.

MEANWHILE, if you persist in later Ford Hydraulic Brakes, you'll find that periodic brake "adjustment" still exists, even with Hydraulic. You have to get into the late 1950s to get into "self-adjusting" brake mechanisms.

And - while later Ford Hydraulic brakes can be made to fit, you end up cutting bolt holes to "slots" to make it happen and putting holes in the backing plates to clear the shackle eyes. And when you're done you may have improved the brakes by virtue of cast iron drums, but the car won't stop any better being hydraulic over mechanical/cast iron.

Hydraulic is the fluid and functional equivalent of mechanical force transfer.

Go with what you think pleases you.

Joe K
 
Re: 11” Brakes?

Joe, I agree with virtually everything you are saying. I have purchased from Mel Gross (I think that now it’s Randy Gross) in the past and know about the cast iron drums. I’m not sure that everyone understands just what I’m talking about here. The early Ford hyd brakes are “Lockeed” brakes and cannot be altered to make them self adjusting and they are only marginally better then the mech brakes. I wouldn’t waste my time with them. What I’m talking about are “Bendix” brakes. The are both “self energizing” and can also include “self adjusting”. Bendix hyd brakes are a huge upgrade over both the mech brakes and the “40 Ford (Lockheed)” brakes. Bendix brakes already existed when Ford went to hyd brakes but Henry did not want to pay for their use. To go with mech brakes is pretty much out of the question because virtually all the bits & pieces are long gone and if I have to buy the components either way I will go with the hyd brakes.
 
Re: 11” Brakes?

Bruce, that link is for front brakes which I already have covered (I got a narrowed perch drop axle which allows the use of the Lincoln brakes without adding to the overall width. The problem really is caused by the wire wheels and the 5 x 5.5 pattern. Going to a Chevrolet pattern for example makes it all quite simple. I have my eye on a ‘30 Phaeton that still has the mech brakes and if I purchase it I will most likely just get the cast iron drums from Randy and stay with the mech brakes.
 
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