Lockheed brake frustrations

bobH said:
Another comment, another opinion.... Hard lining = nfg. You need soft lining for good brakes. Soft lining should not be a problem. My local relining guy, friction shop, seems to understand. And, when I ask for soft lining, he seems to know exactly what is needed to make fixed-anchor (Lockheed) brakes work.
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I also have a frictions dealer who has done relining on brake shoes for me when I ran my restoration shop. He has installed soft linings on my model A shoes for my tudor and my son's roadster pickup.
 
19Fordy said:
2manycars; Your problem is worth solving before you spend the big dollars.
When you say,
"I cannot turn them down without binding," What exactly is is binding?
Is your emergency brake "On?"
Is your brake pedal "free play" adjustment correct?
Rub some chalk on your brake shoes,install the drums and road test the car to see what part of brake linings are contacting the drums.

With the brake drum removed, turn those "dots" and carefully examine what happens to the adjustment. Could it be that the brass inserts in the bottom anchor holes are incorrectly installed? The stock 40 brake drum lining was 1/5 of an inch thick according to the 1935-48 CHILTON's MANUAL, page 437. Check yours for variation on all your wheels. Also, could it be that your brake linings are oversize with the ends of the shoes rubbing against the drum surface and the middle of the shoes are not..

Post photos of your situation. It would be interesting to see and possibly solve right on this forum.

Finally, do a Fordbarn search "Adjusting 40 Ford brakes" Lots of good info and problem solving, like this:
https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=239589&highlight=adjust+1940+brakes

Be sure to read all of this thread about adjusting 40 brakes.
https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=235995&highlight=adjusting+40+ford+brakes
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I have been through all that. There is something wrong in the setup of these brakes. The wheel locks up if I turn the anchor bolt down, so the lining is grabbing the drum when it should be lowering it. I think the anchors are installed wrong. In a few weeks it will all come apart. I am done fighting with it for now. The guy who installed these brakes may not have known what he was doing. This car stopped much better when I bought it in 1964.
 
Along this same line of brake questions, I have a '36 with manual brakes. I have acquired a complete '39 front end and will be putting the Bendix backing plates on it. for the rear end, I have a set of '39 rear backing plates and the emergency brake cable set up.
Question is, will I need to do any centering when mounting the '39 plates on the '36 rear end?
 
2manycars said:
I have been through all that. There is something wrong in the setup of these brakes. The wheel locks up if I turn the anchor bolt down, so the lining is grabbing the drum when it should be lowering it. I think the anchors are installed wrong. In a few weeks it will all come apart. I am done fighting with it for now. The guy who installed these brakes may not have known what he was doing. This car stopped much better when I bought it in 1964.
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Sounds like something's wrong BUT don't forget , we were a lot stronger back then !
 
I suggest you talk to Ray Helgers in RI. He will tell you that properly adjusted stock '40 brakes will put you through the windshield. But they need to have good quality, preferably old type brake linings, not the modern stuff that doesn't stop no mater how hard you jump on the pedal. Ray 401 635 4849, Wed. thru Sat. 8AM to Noon.
 
I take a piece of 80 grit sticky back sand paper made for the air file and stick it the the inside of the drum then with the shoe in hand dust the lining surface with black paint. Then work the shoe back and forth in the drum. You will see immediately that the shoe isn't making full contact. Keep working it untill it does. Yes it's time consuming but it's always worked for me. My 40 will slide the tires.
 
Ken/Alabama said:
I take a piece of 80 grit sticky back sand paper made for the air file and stick it the the inside of the drum then with the shoe in hand dust the lining surface with black paint. Then work the shoe back and forth in the drum. You will see immediately that the shoe isn't making full contact. Keep working it untill it does. Yes it's time consuming but it's always worked for me. My 40 will slide the tires.
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Mine used to slide the tires in the 60's,but with the current setup, it could not slide the tires on grass.
Big project comming up. I will have it stopping well when I am done.
Photo from 1969.
 

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Ken/Alabama said:
I take a piece of 80 grit sticky back sand paper made for the air file and stick it the the inside of the drum then with the shoe in hand dust the lining surface with black paint. Then work the shoe back and forth in the drum. You will see immediately that the shoe isn't making full contact. Keep working it untill it does. Yes it's time consuming but it's always worked for me. My 40 will slide the tires.
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That's a good method, but it is imperative to wear a dust mask, and to do the job outside, preferably on damp soil to hold the asbestos dust down. Care must also be taken in the handling of asbestos contaminated clothing. Asbestos is commonly found in dirt, and harmless unless, and only if it's dust is inhaled.
 
I'm just hoping Flathead Ted will soon release a Lockheed floater kit after he's done testing his prototypes. Jack E/NJ
 
If you use the original Lockheed brakes, replace the lining with NOS ones. Fred Wilner at SSO in MN, Nelson Pease, Pease Antique Parts in Palmer MA, and Ray Helgers in RI will likely have the good old linings. Ray's son, Ray III told about a '40 he put new brakes in and it wouldn't stop worth a darn. It wouldn't even lock up the wheels. Ray got a set of NOS ones from his dad's NOS parts, put them in, and it stopped like it should, and locked up the wheels when he got on it hard.
 
russcc said:
If you use the original Lockheed brakes, replace the lining with NOS ones. Fred Wilner at SSO in MN, Nelson Pease, Pease Antique Parts in Palmer MA, and Ray Helgers in RI will likely have the good old linings. Ray's son, Ray III told about a '40 he put new brakes in and it wouldn't stop worth a darn. It wouldn't even lock up the wheels. Ray got a set of NOS ones from his dad's NOS parts, put them in, and it stopped like it should, and locked up the wheels when he got on it hard.
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Thanks. I will look to see if my shoes have rivet holes. I have the machine to install them.
 
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