Does anyone know of any vendors selling new 53-56 F-100 wheel hubs? Putting these brakes on my '30 A pickup rod...
Not aware of hubs being available but drums are. Someone else will know better so hope this helps move your question forward.
Made mention of this @ Fordbarn first, got several leads. Nobody has returned my calls. I am learning that telephones these days are a one-way connection system, unless they are Telemarketers! Even for parts vendors. You have a question? Too bad, nobody returns emails nor phone calls. But they will gladly fill your order. Really getting discouraged about my project. Interestingly enough, I see people finding and using these parts. One said they are plentiful, even NOS ones?... I've also seen many saying they have about all been bought up. I have already invested $$$ in all the other parts needed to swap these brakes onto my '30 A rod...I have one set of front ones that don't look very usable. I have all I need for this swap, except the hubs. I'm about ready to sell the whole mess and just buy the disc brake conversion from Speedway. Thing is, I want to stay era-correct. Local Model A club wants me to build a stock Model A. Peer pressure sucks, even for someone in their 50's, many of these folks are in their 70s/80s. Many of these same guys also have Speedsters...Even my friend who is my age has jumped on the "stock Model A" bandwagon. OK I'm finished venting now.
stay with the F-100 brakes , you will like them on your A...i have them on all my cars keep looking, good used ones are out there....have you checked the classifieds? placed a wanted ad?
Yep got a pair....spindles included...the set up was on a tube axle I had got for my Stude... When I removed the hub's I noticed the one on the right side was heavier than the other...and the flange is twice as thick..it's all around beefier could of possibly used in a old sprint car I really liked the look of the axle big and beefy but it turned out to be bent slightly so I just got a all new set up from speedway.... I will grab a couple of shots of them and post in a few moments Sent from my QTASUN1 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Here's the rest of it...the axle was set up for a funky cross spring it wasn't on it but it had a shit load of mounts and crap welded on it one side of the spring appeared to be dead mounted and all the mounts had several holes for adjustments don't have any of the brake parts ...I'm not going to be using any of it ....the axle could be bent the way it is for some reason the pin angle seemed to be the same but one side was up and back compared to the other side... Sent from my QTASUN1 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Back when it was popular, I installed Volare K members on F-100s. I ended up with a pile of front axle assemblies. I actually couldn't give them away. I placed a number of free ads and received no responses whatsoever. Scrapped them all
It shouldn't be that hard to find a pair of 53/56 F100 hubs that are in good shape that match. Drums aren't an issue as they can be bought new. Napa is rather proud of theirs https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/NDA...NDA4401070?searchCategory=3.4&searchIndex=App but if you get a buddy deal and don't get charged shipping that might put them closer in price to the Rock Auto price that is 30 bucks a drum less. https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog...272cid+v8,1488278,brake+&+wheel+hub,drum,1744 A good pair of used hubs, new wheel bearings and a pair of new drums and you are set.
I have everything except the hubs...actually I have two front hubs, they look like they have been well abused lol
Isn't that spindle with the bolt-on steering arm an Econoline? The hubs aren't to best of my knowledge, as Econoline are 5x4.5 car pattern.
Man, those hubs look to be in sad sad shape. One is not an F-100 for sure and the welded in studs in the other are likely to be bad news. Here's a pic of an F-100 with the flange height illustrated for comparison.
Yes Econoline also has a arm like that .. originally the drivers side one Has the big u shaped arm on it ..but like I mentioned before the axle that these were pulled from I believe was a old race car , probably sprint and on dirt ,just a guess but old race stuff usually got used and sometimes the building and repairs were not the best so of course they are not going to be up to today's standards some old parts are not always nice and clean well constructed Peace's of art and be leave it or not alot of the racer's and hot rodders of the past , and current, used what they had available or and could afford to put there cars together or repair .....plus the bolt pattern has been changed, quit noticeable in the picture the original pattern was 5" on 5" , and the king pins are the long ones with the mushroom or why ever ends on them and when I looked things up earlier they said that was the 53-56 f-100 style .....bottom line I went and bought all new everything for my project hung the axle on the wall and through the rest of it in the junk pile so if it's dirty crusty not good looking and miss matched ... I don't care what it is or is not because I have moved on....just saying... Sent from my QTASUN1 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
That's it ....no explanation why....you know when I first decided that I was going to go with this set up I started doing some research on the subject of steering front or rear and Ackerman , my engine is going too be set back 10" so clearance with the oil pan and headers etc. Wasn't going to be a issue , most everything I found was on leaf spring set ups and I am going with 4-bar / coil-over and cross steering also most all the articles I read the biggest reason or complaint that guys had for the reason of front steering not working or being wrong was tires squealing in parking lots or parking garages.....what...well that got me looking deeper into the subject and like most anything else there are ways of getting things to work instead of just figuring that was the final answer and having people say you can't do it that way because your tires will squeal in parking garages....well it's a hot rod not a luxury car....if I wanted that kind of ride I would just drive one of my Cadillacs ... but I do want it safe for me but mostly others.....so my research got more into theory and principles and mathematics of the subject and wow.... There's more variables on the subject than I would of ever imagined on both positions ...what I took from all the research that I did was that there is , on the subject of front steering is wrong, no cut and dry reasons that you can or cannot put your steering on the front or rear of the axle..there are alot of variables on either... application, wheel base, type of mounting of components, driving style, type of car, weight of car, performance application, and on and on ....so before anyone can just say it's on the wrong side ...explain why you think that and I hope it's not " because it will make your tires squeal in a parking garage..... I included some of the calculations , chart's and graphs, and mathematics of my research for reference....and after all the research I did I am still going with my front steering set up but I will be using some of the info that I learned through research that will correct the negative things about front steering and will take in consideration of my driving style and performance application and actual vehicle technical info to come up with a front steering set up that works and doesn't squeal the tires in a parking garage....Hell it's going to do that anyways it's getting a Dana 60 w/4:10's and a spool in the rear........ I will just stay out of parking garages.....moving on.... Sent from my QTASUN1 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
The reason for squealing on turns, is on front steer cars that "just had the guy mount the arms out front, despite being designed for rear mounting", is that the car will have the opposite of the ackerman principle. Those cars that are not built correctly as far as Ackerman, they TOE IN more and more, as the turn increases. Ackerman has the wheels TOE OUT in turns. So...the squealing sound, and black marks on pavement are caused by the front wheels not steering to the right directions, they are actually fighting eachother. . as your diagram above shows/proves,>>> yes, a front steer can have perfect ackerman if the arms are shaped to get the tierod ends out further like the diagram. .
Im down to my last set of 56 1/2 ton hubs. I plan to keep them. I sold several sets to different Hambers in the past. The 3/4 ton hubs use the very same spindle as a 1/2 ton.
@rudestude The research, charts, and stuff you posted is all good; but what I was specifically referring to were the steering arms in the picture of your set-up in post #45. They are made for a rear tie rod location. I don't know, maybe you are going to get the correct front steer arms; but you didn't mention it.
Yes you are correct....and I am currently working on getting the correct parts .....the reason I did not mention that earlier is that it had nothing to do with the topic or reason for the post I was just showing that I have bought new parts and was not dealing with unknown old parts and was moving on with the project ......but I should of known better..... I have no problem with advice but at least if it is going to be offered a explanation of reasoning should come with it.....it's just I have herd and read that " front and rear " controversy so many times with no explanation why ..... I have been playing with , building and racing cars for almost 45 yrs. and before that I was reading about them....and I am not claiming to know it all, but I do know that there are reasons for why things are done differently on one or another for basically the same end results , like some cars are front steer and some are rear steer , but there are so many variables on getting the answer that fits your personal objective that just because don't get it.....and most claim's and test results are made on things that were tested or built for " normal" situations...well myself and my situations are usually far from normal so that is the reason for the extra research and I am aware of what needs to be done to make it work and fit my personal style ........or abuse.....plus when I ordered that front axle set up from speedway I talked to them and told them exactly what I was doing ,including the fact that I was wanting front cross steering arrangement, and I was told that that would not be a problem you just flip the arms from the back to the front....yes this was the "Tech" guys answer....well it is obvious that's not the answer...so when I get my new stuff it will all be changed.....and adjusted and tuned to my driving style........... isn't this stuff fun...... Thank You .... Terry (aka) Rudestude Sent from my QTASUN1 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
One thing I need to know about this swap (using 53-56 Brakes on Model A)... I have noticed everything I read is about the front hubs. Or are mentioned as "the pair"... Do folks doing this swap only use the newer front brakes and the stock rears, or all four? If I do use all four, do I need the E-brakes as well? I have located a chassis locally, but need to know more specifically what I'm getting into. First time I've done this. When I purchased the drums, pads, bearings, etc, I got all four. I have put this part of the build on hold for getting the body done.
The rear brakes on the F100 will not bolt onto a banjo rear. I run early ford hydraulic brakes on the rear and the F100 brakes on the front. It works great. With the Model A stuff you will need to convert to either a later rear to get the juice brakes or convert you model A rear to juice brakes. The stock parking brake in the A will not work with juice brakes, but you can easily convert it to use a cable and attach it to the factory lever and then to the hydralic backing plates.
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