Front Brakes

[james1savage]

I'm getting into the front brakes of the car as I knew there were some issues, but I'm not familiar with what I'm seeing. I've attached a few pictures for reference.

To my untrained eye it looks like there is some significantly uneven wear on the shoes on both sides, and glazed areas. They obviously need replacing which I plan on doing, however I don't want to just donate another set of shoes to the same problem. Was it purely due to very poor brake adjustment?

If anyone that has better understanding of what's going could share their knowledge, I would greatly appreciate it. I obviously want more than an vague approximation of brakes in the car and I seem to currently have less than that.

I also note that the front shoes seem to be molded shoes, while on the back of the car they are woven shoes.

Once again, I greatly appreciate any and all thoughts. Thank you.

 

[1930artdeco]

The one thing right off the bat is the actuator that is at the bottom of the brakes, it should be round. So that should be replaced along with the shoes and springs. The wedge is probably shot and should also be replaced. Sheck the pins at the top and if they are damaged, they should also be replaced. So that means you are basically replacing everything. Then set the brakes according to the ford bulletins or Les Andrew's book and you should be good to go.

Mike

 

[The Master Cylinder]

The one thing right off the bat is the actuator that is at the bottom of the brakes, it should be round. So that should be replaced along with the shoes and springs. The wedge is probably shot and should also be replaced. Sheck the pins at the top and if they are damaged, they should also be replaced. So that means you are basically replacing everything. Then set the brakes according to the ford bulletins or Les Andrew's book and you should be good to go.

Mike

Along with what Art said, ensure your brake shoes are centered. They appear to be more worn at the bottom than at the top.

Do you have cast iron drums?

 

[Marshall V. Daut]

Once you remove the brake shoes, odds are that you will find divots dug into the roller track ears from the clevis pin heads sliding over them every time the brakes are applied. This causes the shoes to dip at the bottom and sometimes hang up in the divots, which interferes with smooth brake shoe sliding action. This also creates uneven brake shoe lining wear. I can't recall ANY Model A whose brakes I have been asked to fix that didn't need the roller tracks replaced or the ears built up with weld and ground smooth. This is one of those repair steps that a lot of "restorers" skip, either because of the hassle replacing the tracks or they don't know that the tracks need to be replaced. Attached is a photo of what your roller tracks will most likely look like and a photo for comparison of how the roller track ears should look.
Marshall

 

[Marshall V. Daut]

Here's another before and after comparison. The rear roller track is shown in the "after" photo, but the principle is the same with the front.
Marshall

 

[Synchro909]

IMO, the first thing to do if you want good brakes is to replace the steel drums with cast iron ones, then machine them concentric, then have the relined shoes arced to match the drums. Now you have a decent start. Do as Marshal says above (repair or replace the tracks), make sure the rollers work properly and you're just about there. You will be surpised how well Model A brakes work when they are set up right. (Says he as he peels his face off the windscreen)

 

[nkaminar]

Your friend is Randy Gross. Send your backing plates, drums and hubs, and shoes to him. You will get back brand new looking parts with the shoes matched to the drums. He will replace any steel drums with cast iron drums and shoes lined to provide the best performance with the drums. It will be the best investment you will make for your car and your family's safety.

One shoe on each brake is self actuating. What that means is that the friction force helps the actuator (the wedge in the front) to push the shoe to the brake drum. The other shoe is not self actuating meaning that one shoe does more work than the other and therefore wears more.

The Flat Head Ted kit is designed to address this problem and makes both shoes self actuating. This increases the braking function and makes the wear more even. The alternative is to switch shoes front to back periodically to even out the wear.

https://www.snydersantiqueauto.com/product.htm?pid=977549&cat=41655

 

[Herb Concord Ca]

Nkaminar, thanks for including the Flathead Ted DVD. It helps you understand how the floaters work. We the, Diablo A's, make 21 other technical DVDs, Snyder's sells them all.

 

[james1savage]

Thanks for all the tips and information. I'm well on my way now to having a solid brake setup.