Not saying that Flathead Teds floaters are bad,I really don't understand them and feel that many others have the same problem. I understand how Teds square rear centering pins work and I can see how they are an improvement over original round brake roller pins for centering the rear brakes. I haven't used the square pins but it seems that they should work on the front as well. Otherwise I understand the original brakes well enough that I can make them stop as well as any. I don't drive in the mountains but good steel drums work fine for me. Of course it is only common sense that thicker cast iron drums would expand and fade less than steel in extreme conditions. As for floaters, I've used the old style that are no longer offered with good results . I now use the wedge style floaters offered by Snyders and Brattons and they equalize shoe pressure againjst the drums and are simple enough that anybody should be able to understand how they work. Original brakes are very simple and with the brake centering tool that is now available, doing the original brakes shouldn't be that hard to do. The main objective is to reasonably center the shoes within the drums and the rest, besides replacing obviously worn out parts is brake rod setup and adjustment.
Its really not necessary to have to replace every part of the brakes to have good brakes. Only the parts that are worn past the point of adjustment taking care of will have to be replaced . If the brakes wear on the modern car you don't replace the whole system, only the needed parts are replaced . Adjustment and proper setup of the service brake shaft , brake rods and shoe adjustment solves a multitude of sins with the model A brakes. On the other hand, a person can spend thousands of dollars replacing every part of the brakes and still be no better off if the brakes are not setup and adjusted properly.
