Bendix type backingplate for a 33?

Mr 42

Mr 42

Senior Member
I'm planning to go hydraulic on my 33 Roadster.
But i want to keep the original spindles, and brake drums and wire wheels.

Anyone have any experience of these?
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Does they fit this brakedrums?
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I think you wi find that your drums are too narrow for the shoes. The best person to ask is Richard Lacy at earlyv8@aol.com, (626) 338-2282. If you go with the later drums you will need an adapter to fir the wire wheels (which set on the drum at two levels). Whose catalog is this out of?

Charlie Stephens
 
Why would you want to spend that much money on backing plates and wheel cylinders when you can use 48 ford parts with a 20.00 kit for the spindle and you will need drums and hubs with bearings and spacers for the wheels. JMHO
 
jimvette59 said:
Why would you want to spend that much money on backing plates and wheel cylinders when you can use 48 ford parts with a 20.00 kit for the spindle and you will need drums and hubs with bearings and spacers for the wheels. JMHO
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Those pictured are much-more-efficient Bendix brakes, for one. DD
 
V8COOPMAN they are no more efficient than the 48 ford single point adjustment action Bendix brakes. You may be thinking of the early 40s brakes with two point adjustment Bendix brakes. Actually they look more like my 59 Corvette brakes that are not that great from the get go. I feel he could save a lot of money by having a later 40s brake setup installed in a stock 33 Ford. JHHO Jim.T.
 
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jimvette59 said:
V8COOPMAN they are no more efficient than the 48 ford single point adjustment action Bendix brakes. You may be thinking of the early 40s brakes with two point adjustment Bendix brakes. Actually they look more like my 59 Corvette brakes that are not that great from the get go. I feel he could save a lot of money by having a later 40s brake setup installed in a stock 33 Ford. JHHO Jim.T.
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Do you know what a Bendix-type brake is? Because "48 ford single point adjustment action Bendix brakes" AIN'T "Bendix" brakes. They're Lockheed-type, non-self-energizing brakes.

I also know about '59 Corvette brakes. I owned serial # 8314 for many, many years. Actually not bad brakes when well-kept for a heavy, poor handling excuse for a sports car. Zora was finally ALLOWED to fix that in '65, leak as they may.....I have one of them too, since '86. DD
 
I stand corrected. I still think even the Lockheed 12" brakes will be less expensive and work just fine on a stock 33 Ford.
 
Is the kit made specific for the early spindle/backing plate bolt pattern and seat diameter, or is it 40-48? I see that it says 32-36. At one time Wilson Welding made the Lincoln style that bolted to the 32-34 spindle.

You also might want to look at 53-56 F-250 backing plates. 12", Bendix, use a 53-56 F150 wheel cylinder. I have a set, but have not installed them. The early drums in the picture are too narrow, though.

Also there has been on the HAMB some extensive coverage of this, along with a post on converting the smooth 32-34 mechanical backing plates to Bendix hydraulic.
 
We have three early Fords with juice brakes. My Son's 29 A fenderless RPU, overhead 4 banger, a very light quick little car. Probably weighs half of what a fully loaded 39-48 Ford Fordor with six adults and luggage would weigh. It has Lockheed brakes(39-48 Ford) front & rear and stops very well. My 32 Roadster is a Brookville on a stock 32 frame warmed up 8BA , no fenders. A little heavier than the "A", top end speed a little higher as well. It has Bendix brakes on the front and Lockheed on the rear. Stops very well and the Bendix brakes are easier to adjust. My 32 Tudor sedan is stock bodied with fenders, hood, bumpers etc. Much heavier than the other two. It has a 56 Chevy 265 w/ trip 97's and a mild cam. It goes pretty good, kinda sloppy and top heavy. It has Bendix brakes on all 4 wheels and stops very well. These cars have been on the road for close to 10 yrs. and 10K miles. Going forward we will only use the Bendix front/Lockheed rear combo. It's the most cost effective setup and works very well for our needs while retaining the early "look"... Bendix brakes on all 4 wheels is much more expensive and really doesn't show any improvement.
P.S. I know there is a difference between early & late Lockheed brakes. I lumped them together because they are all fixed shoe/non-self energizing.
 
I have those Bendix brakes on my 32. I got them from Richard Lacy and they bolt directly to the 32 spindles. Great brakes. I use the later drums.
 
I've sold several customers the backing plates pictured which are a bolt on for 33 spindles after a minimal amount of machining on the top of the spindle. I have always used new drums and hubs also. Everyone has been satsified so far.
 
Those look like the 39 Lincoln type backing plate reproductions that are offered by several companies. Definitely better than Lockheed type. Using the 12-inch Ford or Lincoln drums solves the problem of new drums that "are available" where the old ones aren't but you still need the ring adapters to make the wire wheels work. A lot of folks carry those but that is a nice package and the price is about the same as others offer.
 
The '33 drums are 1.5 inch wide. So the 1.75 shoes that come with the brake kit won't work. You need the '40-style drums and hubs. And no, there are no 1.5 inch shoes that could be substituted. I looked ALL over and spoke to brake warehouses - no dice.
 
Thanks guys
I guess I will go with the 2" wide 37-48 version then, with the adapter kit for the spindle.

And this brakedrums.
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I have and have had enough cars with the Ford brake solution, so I like to upgrade. And I will use a dropped axle, so the mechanical solution wont work.

In the rear I will use a 37 rear axle with Ford 42-48 brakes.

And a dual master cylinder.

guess Im Getting old :-)
 
With Lockheed the choice of lining will be important ,softer !,you could add a remote power booster that will give you as good as bendix but then choose a harder lining.
 
Just some added info and opinion. Some hot rods may look lightweight, but getting actual wheel weights can be surprising. For example, my avatar roadster weighs 2550 lbs. with a 1/2 tank of fuel, top and hood, but add 2 people, luggage, cooler, full fuel etc. and it's at +/- 3000 lbs. and no longer a lightweight.
I agree that adding Bendix drum brakes on the front and keeping (or adding) Lockheeds on the rear is a worthwhile upgrade and should provide good braking. A better upgrade would be adding Bendix on the rears also, especially factoring in cost and replacement part availability. This would really compliment change to a dual master cylinder, as the rear-only Bendix will provide much better performance during a front system failure than the non-servo Lockheed. (A dual master conversion is the first change I would make, regardless of brake style. :) )
Keep in mind that adding a power assist that's been suggested doesn't improve actual braking, it just requires less pedal effort. :cool:
 
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The Bendix type are easier to adjust too. It may be possible to add self adjusters if a person was so inclined but that would be too easy.
 
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