Early Ford brakes, how to do cheaply?

[gettingreasy]

Okay, I need to start roundin up some piecies for my A. What is a cheap way to get brakes on an I beam? I need spindles, hubs, backing plates, drums, and hardware. Is there a way to convert to Discs without a special kit, but usein junkyard goodies? What about F-1 spindles, will they work with my 39-41 axle? What about Small bolt patterns, 5x4.5 and 5x4.75? I need some help!
-Jesse

[rodrelic]

I see speedway has discs for passenger and light trick spindles. And I doubt the disc setup would allow clearance for early wheels. Someone that has been there done that shouid answer that.
Not cheap though but it will cost to get good stock brakes. About $120 for front cylinders and linings, and nearly $100 each for drums.
I don't imagine F1 parts will be much better price wise. I had some small bolt pattern '49 pickup hubs around here once, never tried them on a '37 spindle, wish I had for reference.
I personally would look for a whole front end to '48 for brakes hubs wheelbearings. The '37-41 spindles look better (in my opinion)'46-8 spindles will do. The later beam is wider and less desireable than the one you now have. My understanding is the king pins are the same diameter at least 28-48, and spindles will swap. The round back plate surface on the spindle started in '37 on cable brakes and ended in '41 I believe. Someone on ebay won a '46 front axle rubber and all in Fla for 25 bucks, I woulda done it. Scoop a deal like that and you'll be set.

[GreggAz]

hey Jessy, give me a call down at industrial chassis, or stop down here, I have some stuff you may be interested in.

[4t64rd]

That would be me.

$36 to buy the stuff

1 - Post on FordBarn.com

1 - response to ad from a man in Jacksonville who will pick up the parts in his station wagon on his way back from Mardi Gras. Provided that the parts are broken down so they will fit in back with his dogs. He is coming down to Tampa after picking them up. I said I would pay him something for his trouble ($25-$50)

$20 to get the neighbor to come over and knock the kingpins out (ebay seller had major surgery and coouldn't do any physical labor)

20 emails to arrange transportation, send maps and to coordinate schedules. Stressing about how this may all be a moot point if the total stranger from Jacksonville flakes out and "doesn't have time" to go to Fort Walton Beach, or better yet, he hasn't told his wife of his plans.

1 - 12-pack of beer and
1 - hour drive each way
to my non-car-guy friend's house in N. Tampa, to repay him for letting Jacksonville guy drop off greasy car parts in his front yard.

1 - Saturday wasted, wasted at friend's house, because that's just how things go.

I love old cars.

[gettingreasy]

Thanks guys, I just need some ideas and or info on how to do this shit cheaply. I'll see if I can stop by twomorrow Greg. I just don't/won't have the money to do it "Traditionally" I just need my damn car to stop! What about the chevy spindles on a ford axle? I think it was C9 who has early Mustang discs on his ride.
-Jesse

[thirtytwo]

personally i think the cheapest way if you have nothing is to find a 48-52 f-1 and rob everything off it ,including the shock mounts and steering, all the brake parts are readily avalible at most parts houses, if it needs a drum it will set you back about 75bux, last time i checked anyway, use the spindles too, you might want to chop off the steering arms though and put bolt on street rod ones, they should stop your car almost as good as discs, and their trad. too

[thirtytwo]

personally i think the cheapest way if you have nothing is to find a 48-52 f-1 and rob everything off it ,including the shock mounts and steering, all the brake parts are readily avalible at most parts houses, if it needs a drum it will set you back about 75bux, last time i checked anyway, use the spindles too, you might want to chop off the steering arms though and put bolt on street rod ones, they should stop your car almost as good as discs, and their trad. too........53-56 drums and backing plates will work too but the spindles are differnt youll have to use earlier ones

[gettingreasy]

So the F-1 spindles will work on my axle is what your saying? I don't really care to much about stopping power all it needs to do is stop. Thanks.
-Jesse

[modernbeat]

You don't HAVE to change spindles for a lot of conversions.

The cheapest way is to use OEM parts off another easily available car.

I scanned and posted a HUGE article that touched on most of the ways to get OEM drum and disc brakes on early Ford spindles. It's over in the Tech-O-Matic. It covers using '40 Ford brakes, F1 brakes, Corvair and '50s Chevy brakes, Econoline brakes, Chevy discs on Chevy spindles on Ford I-beams, and more and more and more.

Ultimate Brake Article (http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=UBB4&Number=88300&page=0&v iew=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=1)

[gettingreasy]

Sweet, I'll have to go cheack that out, thanks.
-Jesse

[gettingreasy]

Oh my fuckin god, I have no idea what I'm doing fuckin' with cars. I just read that article and I'm about ready to abbandon this project, there is no way I'll be able to afford brakes for this thing.
-Jesse

[av8]

Listen to what thirtytwo is saying and you won't go wrong. He has a lot of great ideas, and he's working with someone who is one of the savviest traditional Ford hot rod builders of all time, past and present. Remember, hot rodding is not rocket science -- it's a helluva lot tougher than that!

[thirtytwo]

[ QUOTE ]
Oh my fuckin god, I have no idea what I'm doing fuckin' with cars. I just read that article and I'm about ready to abbandon this project, there is no way I'll be able to afford brakes for this thing.
-Jesse

[/ QUOTE ]

dont get too worked up!!, the whole brake thing can suck if you dont have anything...

every thing from an early f-1 is a bolt on deal so if you find one intact rob everything, the spindles drop right on the pass. axle no modifying they look just like pass spindles from 42-48 cars except one has a bolt on steering arm the spindle snout however is a larger diamater, so if you want to put f-1 brakes on a pass spindle differnt bearings are needed..

i would expect to pay from free to 150.00 if everything is cherry 200 woulnt be so bad steering arms are around 60.00 sounds steep, but i think just aftermarket spindles are 200. plus the brake kit ect.

shoes for the f-1 are around20.00 wheel cyl. around15. drums aroun75.00 and if thats if you need to replace ...they are a benix style brake so there is nothing tricky about them, i dont know of any other alternative cheaply, econo line maybe, but there kinda ugly im not sure if they're a bolt on deal either-Good luck

[SamIyam]

Jesse-
About how much is cheap to you?

I originally bought the brakes for the Roach Rod ('55 Ford F-100), and paid $75 for everything at 1/2 price day at Pick N Pull. I got the spindles DIRT CHEAP at a swap for $50. I then did the hokey-ass rebuild which consisted of honing the wheel cylinders myself, cleaning the grease off the linings and other shtuff with some break clean and then scuffed the rust off the drums with a 3M pad. I had to buy and modify new bearing to fit... and along with seals, that amounted to $75 or so. Then there were the new break hoses that cost approximately $60... and the new hard lines, rear hose and fittings another $50... the master cylinder was free... and the rear breaks on the rear end were in need of re-build kits as well as new pads... another $50... So taking into consideration I got a bunch of free shit... and did the hokey-ass rebuild on it all, and basically scrounged swaps and wreaking yards I did it for what I think is dirt cheap... just under $400.

Fast forward to the Ego-Rama... I had put about 3000 miles on the car and those cheap ass rebuilds proved to be as hokey-ass as their price... the car went from stopping pretty good to stopping pretty bad... I placed last in the breaking competition. I drove it a while more, I probably have 5000+ miles on it and the wheel cylinders gave out... so I went and bought new shoes and wheel cylinders... about $80... and then tried to get the drums turned... they wouldn't turn as they had been turned to thier limit... so I priced new ones... $85 ea. at Kragen... $120ea for good ones from my auto parts house... So now I'm looking at close to $600 for my break system... doing it on the cheap, of course.

My point is; however much you think you can build a hot rod for... double it... and tell yourself that's how much it is going to cost... then be prepared to pay at least three times what you expected to spend. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

I do not want to discourage you... I actually want to encourage you to be resourcefull. There's no way in hell I could build hot rods on my teachers salary if I wasn't resourcefull...

My advice is to become an expert (self proclaimed is ok) at one aspect of building cars... then use that to do jobs for others... you'll gain a network of friends as well as the much needed cash... who knows, you may end up getting some parts out of a job too... like when I did a IRS swap under a guys F-1... I got all the guys stock stuff for
free... he thought I was stupid for even wanting the stuff...

Anyway, do oil changes... break jobs... maintenance stuff at first... then move on to other jobs to make side money... it may be going to swaps, buying some stuff with seed money and then turning it for a profit after you spruce it up. Be a parts whore if you have to... e-bay is full of them, and this is a free market society. (As much as I loath these guys http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif )

Also, try to budget for this and plan on taking a couple few years to build the thing. Save your lunch money, go to swaps and wrecking yards... and above all, educate yourself on what you want, and what will work. Nothing puts a damper on a project more than buying something that requires skills above your means to make work.

I think a post on hot rod economics is in order...

Sam!

[gettingreasy]

Thanks Sam, I'm tring to build it cheap but, 150 for spindles and another 250 for the disc brake kit(the cheapest way)is outta my price range. I would like to do the F-1 brakes(nice looking and relativly cheap). I'm setting a goal for my self(a tough one to)but this A HAS to be at least a roller(not even with the body mounted)by April 19th or I have to get rid of it. My real goal is for it to cost around 2g's and have it drivable. If I have to beg for free parts and decent deals so be it but I'm trying to push my limits. You guys are a great help and this place is cool, thanks.
-Jesse

[rodrelic]

"That would be me."

My dad lives in Naples and I was this // close to calling him to see if he could have picked it up for me. Glad you got it, I didn't need it. Like a crow filling it's nest with shiny trinkets.

[tommy]

If money is the determining factor, you may need to adjust your tactics. You may be able to find a rough F-1 for the brake parts. You may be able to find a rough Camaro, 4 dr Chevell, etc. for disc brake parts. I always look for donor cars to get parts cheap. Donor cars with sellable body parts, engines or trans. can sometimes reap parts at a profit.

I've had great luck with the "low buck disc brake kit" that uses the early 70's Gm disc. parts on the 37-48 spindles, but you may find an F-1 first.

Keep an open mind. Which ever parts donor you find first may determine which way you go. Buying a car one part at a time will always cost a lot more.

I paid 400$ for a T boned 77 Monte Carlo with 48K. I used the motor, trans, drive shaft, rear, front brakes, proportional valve and M/cyl.. I sold the rally wheels and the good body parts for 450$ The 50 buck profit went towards a set of 48 spindles.

Keep you eyes open. you can build a car cheaply if you don't get hung up on only using the desireable big buck parts.

[gettingreasy]

Belive me when I say that if it wasn't a total budget build job, I sure as hell wouldn't run a small block Ford. Any way, 55 SAfai came through for me, complete brake setup and spindles/kingpins from a '39-'41, for $100. These came off a running driving '34 pick up that switched to IFS. My good Karma is starting to pay off(knock on wood). Thanks for the help guys, now I just need to get rid of this pile of Honda parts to pay for the things.
-Jesse

[SamIyam]

Cool,
That Safari Kat is a nice guy. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Sam!