Boiling Bros.

ssffnomad

ssffnomad

Well-known member
So Boiling Bros. self energized brake kits get great reviews here and on the HAMB.
) just rebuilt 39’ Lockheed, drums awesome condition, never been turned. New lines and duel master . One month on the road short drives. Hard on brakes . Adjusted 1/2 dozen times. Stops very well and straight.
) Starting on a 36’ this fall. Thinking going to Boiling Bros. For front brakes .

Have you ever experienced their shoes being very hard ? Like too hard ?
Possible rumor who knows ? Been told some high end shops take the new Bros. shoes, send them out to get relined with softer , better braking pads .
Good member “ Krylon” will hopefully give his input, as he is a Vendor for them. Stretch
 
Dave,
I drove an original '32 sedan today w/ Bolling Bros brakes ( built 8BA '39 trans ).
Panic stops impossible...the pedal feel was distant and if I could get both feet on the pedal I would have. Reminded me of power brakes with no vac.
Charlie ny
 
ssffnomad said:
So Boiling Bros. self energized brake kits get great reviews here and on the HAMB.
) just rebuilt 39’ Lockheed, drums awesome condition, never been turned. New lines and duel master . One month on the road short drives. Hard on brakes . Adjusted 1/2 dozen times. Stops very well and straight.
) Starting on a 36’ this fall. Thinking going to Boiling Bros. For front brakes .

Have you ever experienced their shoes being very hard ? Like too hard ?
Possible rumor who knows ? Been told some high end shops take the new Bros. shoes, send them out to get relined with softer , better braking pads .
Good member “ Krylon” will hopefully give his input, as he is a Vendor for them. Stretch
Click to expand...


First mention of hard shoes for me. We've used them (bought second set..they MUST be great). Rave reviews on the real Boling Bros parts. Beware that Speedway uses similar-looking drums made in "Who-Knows-Where", with many complaints of out-of-round, and out of balance. USE the REAL Boling Bros drums! Fronts work real well with Lockheed rears.

Gary Mussman (Krylon32) is a dealer, and offers 10% discount to F'Barners.

Coop

.
 
I recently put them on my coupe. with their drums. The drums are really nice quality. They work well but do require a lot of muscle. The emergency brakes also don't hold well. I am going to try and adjusting everything again.
 
Interesting, I did order full set (front and rear + MC etc) for my friends model A.
Very good looking parts and everything fits like they should.
But after he went for a first ride and second and .... he complaint that the brakes need lot
of pedal force and he was not able to lock the brakes on paved road.
Actually I didn't believe him , but now I have to.
Anybody have a solution for this ? Or should he go to gym...
 
vilanar said:
Interesting, I did order full set (front and rear + MC etc) for my friends model A.
Very good looking parts and everything fits like they should.
But after he went for a first ride and second and .... he complaint that the brakes need lot
of pedal force and he was not able to lock the brakes on paved road.
Actually I didn't believe him , but now I have to.
Anybody have a solution for this ? Or should he go to gym...
Click to expand...
Never heard this complaint before. My guess would be the master cylinder diameter or the leverage supplied by the linkage. Did they supply the master cylinder mount and linkage? When I mounted the Lockheed brakes in my '32 I duplicated the leverage from a '39 and used the '39 (and up) master cylinder.

Charlie Stephens
 
vilanar said:
Interesting, I did order full set (front and rear + MC etc) for my friends model A.
Very good looking parts and everything fits like they should.
But after he went for a first ride and second and .... he complaint that the brakes need lot
of pedal force and he was not able to lock the brakes on paved road.
Actually I didn't believe him , but now I have to.
Anybody have a solution for this ? Or should he go to gym...
Click to expand...
Never heard this complaint before. My guess would be the master cylinder diameter or the leverage supplied by the linkage. Did they supply the master cylinder mount and linkage? When I mounted the Lockheed brakes in my '32 I duplicated the leverage from a '39 and used the '39 (and up) master cylinder. I hope someone is communicating with them because I think they are getting some bad publicity they don't deserve.

Charlie Stephens
 
They should be exactly like the Lincoln brakes that guys have been using for decades, except for the shoe lining compound. I don't have any Boling brakes, but I recently installed a pair of real Lincoln fronts on my '32. I had original shoes reclined with a soft compound, and they were arced to my drums' diameter. I used a late 60's Mustang drum brake master cylinder. I spent a couple evenings fine tuning the adjustment, both at the lower link as well as the top anchor height.

The first time I drove it after the conversion I almost put my wife through the windshield.
 
Well now I'm thinking knock off not genuine BB. This gennie barn find from an estate was
so well done I was unpleasantly surprised when attempted a quick stop....ditto vilanar.
Charlie ny
 
Charlie ny said:
Dave,
I drove an original '32 sedan today w/ Bolling Bros brakes ( built 8BA '39 trans ).
Panic stops impossible...the pedal feel was distant and if I could get both feet on the pedal I would have. Reminded me of power brakes with no vac.
Charlie ny
Click to expand...


Charlie ...That's an awful feeling - pushing for all you have, yet it just ain't enough. That can easily be caused by a M/C with too LARGE (diameter) of a bore, or the brake shoe ANCHOR STUD at the top being incorrectly adjusted. Those brakes on a '32 should put your head through the glass.

Coop

.
 
Another thing to consider on the '32; if someone added an arm on the original pedal to permit the push rod to pass under the K member; the pedal ratio changed in the wrong direction and will definitely take more effort.
 
Every part was from BB ,MC and linkage and all. Quality of the parts was top notch.
I have not driven that car myself , but now I have to believe what he told.
My own cars with Lockheeds or Lincolns stop on dime. (Although we don't have dimes here)
 
I installed Boling Bros kits front and rear on my '46 Coupe, and initially found poor braking performance. When I pulled the drums, (all original I.D.) I found that the linings were not arced to the correct radius, and only about 50% contact on the drums. After two sets of sanding off high contact points, I now have brakes that work well.
 

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Here's a sidebar about shoe material and arcing:

My brother has a hot rod 32 coupe that has 48 Ford front brakes. He drove it a season with some repro shoes from a usual vendor, but was never happy with the brakes. Over last winter he had some old original Ford shoes reclined with soft lining, as well as arced to his exact drum measurements. It made a big difference on his coupe too, even using the Lockheed brakes.

I don't there are very many of us who need a hard metallic lining for racing purposes. I think we would all be better off with a soft lining that will get us slowed down in a hurry when the teenager in the Honda in front of you makes that last second left turn.
 
51woodie said:
I installed Boling Bros kits front and rear on my '46 Coupe, and initially found poor braking performance. When I pulled the drums, (all original I.D.) I found that the linings were not arced to the correct radius, and only about 50% contact on the drums. After two sets of sanding off high contact points, I now have brakes that work well.
Click to expand...


Like I said above, Speedway's "Lincoln" drums are made to look much like the Boling Bros (BB) drums, are substantially cheaper, and have had MANY complaints of being out-of-round, as well as out of balance....BUY the REAL Boling Bros drums (also known as "MT CAR Products"). Out-of-round can also cause only partial shoe surface contact.


Speedway Drum BELOW...Looks plain-Jane

1065400_L1600_f55f62a6-866b-4be6-9602-0bf545041301.webp



BOLING BROS Drum BELOW. Note Embossed lettering around perimeter.

image25__17904.1542060016.webp


image20__61769.1542060016.jpg
 
So on our 39’ with original Wide 5 Drums . They have never been turned. Must be very close to original 12” . Ok , I know in 83 years they have obviously had some wear . Who to call and discuss installing new linings on our original shoes ? T/Y
 
ssffnomad said:
So on our 39’ with original Wide 5 Drums . They have never been turned. Must be very close to original 12” . Ok , I know in 83 years they have obviously had some wear . Who to call and discuss installing new linings on our original shoes ? T/Y
Click to expand...

I sure there are companies closer; but we use Brake & Equipment in MPLS to reline shoes. They reline shoes and arc them to match your drum measurements.

Speaking of drums; I would suspect that that unless your car has led a very sheltered life, the drums will be worn. Find someone with a drum mic to evaluate the situation. I find many drums that are worn way oversize.

Be aware that the rear drums take a special arbor for the brake lathe and many places won't have one.

Due to the scarceness of good wide 5 drums; find someone trustworthy and beware of heavy handed machinists; drums should on be turned only the bare minimum needed and every little line/groove does not need to be removed.
 
For those that have relined with a softer material, what brake lining manufacturer and specs did you go to?

Thanks
 
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