Hydraulic Brakes vs. Original?

There is a safety issue with Hyd. brks. If you have a single system, when it fails, and it will, you have nothing to stop you. I saw one Hyd system where they simply applied the Hyd brks when the emergency brk was applied and they had a switch to disable the brk lite switch. Mickey Mouse!!!
A Hyd system must be a dual system for safety.
 
When I got my first Model A in 1984, it had been sitting in a garage for over 5 years with '40 Ford hydraulics that had been installed by the owner in 1967. The pedal was a bit soft, so I bled the system and topped up with new DOT 3 fluid. I drove it for 5 years before selling it and never had any trouble during that time. Call it luck, but I also lived in an area with very low humidity so never had any of the problems resulting from water getting into the lines.
 
I have three A's with hydraulics and one with mechanicals. Two of the A's were converted to hydraulics 23 and 25 years ago. Every time this subject pops up here, I can't believe the number of people who lack the knowledge on how to install hydraulics on an A correctly. I still feel bad that mine have yet to leak or fail!
 
I have never seen a brake rod on a model a brake, but I have seen a hydraulic line brake. When that happens you have NO brakes.
 
Do you mean "I have never seen a brake rod on a model a break, but I have seen a hydraulic line break. When that happens you have NO brakes." ?
 
180 a said:
I have never seen a brake rod on a model a brake, but I have seen a hydraulic line brake. When that happens you have NO brakes.
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Yes, I have had brake rods break. On my AA 280A, I had 3 of the 4 rods break at various times. Had them welded back together, no more problems. (That was a hundred years ago, my first A when I was 14)
 
Jacksonlll said:
There is a safety issue with Hyd. brks. If you have a single system, when it fails, and it will, you have nothing to stop you. I saw one Hyd system where they simply applied the Hyd brks when the emergency brk was applied and they had a switch to disable the brk lite switch. Mickey Mouse!!!
A Hyd system must be a dual system for safety.
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You mean all the cars from 1939 to 1965 are unsafe? That is a rather emotional opinion.
 
Just my 2 cents................
any of the systems need to be the very best parts available......to be used as originally designed.
my question after building all types Lockheed.....bendix and mechanical
I have had great difficulty finding either nos or really good re pop parts for everything I needed.
Almost all of the offshore parts I have had experience with have been questionable and many flat out were wrong and never got used.

Then swedging and arcing......who does this stuff anymore?

I'm not sure where all you folks are finding your "good" parts and service? :)
 
mrtexas said:
You mean all the cars from 1939 to 1965 are unsafe? That is a rather emotional opinion.
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I'd say any car with a single hydraulic system is unsafe. They didn't know any better back then. If there were't any safety concerns, cars today would still have single systems.
 
harleytoprock said:
So what is the actual benefit?
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Haven't done a scientific measurement but IMHO I can stop much faster with modern radial tires on 35 wire wheels and hydraulic brakes than with skinny model a tires and mechanical brakes. There are many more square inches in contract with the road on 195 75 R16 tires than 21 inch bias ply tires. I have experienced better handling with modern tires tires as they won't squeal as easily going around corners. I don't dispute that well tuned mechanical brakes can skid the tires. I'd rather be skidding bigger tires myself.

Mechanical vs hydraulic as always brings out strong opinions on either side.

Didn't spend much time driving around with skinny tires and hydraulic brakes. They sounded unsafe to me as I squealed my tires going around corners at very low speeds. Thought I was going to lose control so I put modern radial tires on and haven't squealed them yet.
 
harleytoprock said:
My question is, what real benefit is there by converting to hydraulic operated brakes?
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In my opinion, the only benefit on a Model A is to require less force from the driver to the shoes --they are power assisted mechanical brakes... Think of it like this, replace the metal rods or hydraulic lines with an linear electric motor that would apply a certain amount of force to the shoes and then to the drums... it could be a joy stick which would use even less force from the driver than hydraulics. Within the drum, it's shoes and the drum --all the same..
 
I have no problem with owners that want to maintain a stock mechanical braking system. However, I do have a problem with some posters that bad mouth hydraulic system with little if any experience. Again, I have A's with both systems and they both are adequate for their specific uses. To the best of my knowledge, I've yet to see anyone here say mechanical brakes are bad. It's a choice that one makes based on usage and experience. Hopefully this will post will get the thread locked!
 
mshmodela said:
In my opinion, the only benefit on a Model A is to require less force from the driver to the shoes .... Within the drum, it's shoes and the drum --all the same..
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And there are work arounds for the pedal pressure on mechanical brakes as well.

Do what you want it's your car. The simple fact that some people refuse to acknowledge is either, in proper working order, will stop your car just fine. As stated above, "Within the drum, it's shoes and the drum --all the same.."

Opening ones minds to accept something different then long held beliefs, is often like trying to crack open a safe.
 
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