Projects 46' brake drums

I am converting my '30 coupe over the juice brakes. I have a set of '46 Ford backing plates and drums. I can get the shoes, wheel cylinders, bearings, and seals through Auto Zone ('48). They dont have the drums. What year Ford drums will work in place of the '40-'48 drums?

Streetrods are driven by Chevy, Hotrods are powered by FORD!

 

You can get them from Speedway and from Mac's but you're going to pay a premium because they're reproduction, small run parts.

 

Before you spend the money for new drums make sure you check your old drums. They're not always junk.

 

The front one should be ok, but the back ones are rusted pretty bad around the edge.

Streetrods are driven by Chevy, Hotrods are powered by FORD!

 

Do you have 46 HUBS as well? The bearings are the same as your Model A set but you'll need a new pair of front grease seals.
The 40-48 drums are of two styles. 40-41 the drum mounts over the hub flange like modern cars you may have worked on. 42-48 drums mount from behind the hub flange. Both styles are held to the hub flange by swedging the special Ford studs into the hub/drum.
Rear 46 hubs may or may not share same big roller bearing as 28-36 Fords. The smaller 37-48 roller bearing and appropriate oil seals are available from your favorite early Ford parts supplier.

 

I have the '46 hubs. The drums slide over the hubs front and back. Maybe the hubs and backing plates are not from '46.

Streetrods are driven by Chevy, Hotrods are powered by FORD!

 

It is hard to tell what is happening from your picture. To correctly install original drums on the hubs requires a 20 ton press, the proper tools and knowledge. Ford only sold the hub and drum assembly. Have you tried a "wanted" ad here and on fordbarn.com?

There are two other things you need to worry about. If you are running Ford wire wheels you will need spacers on the drums (see http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/40-ford-wheels-on-a-model-a.750368/#post-8330045) and frequently the later drums had weights welded on that will interfere with the wheels. I just removed the weights on mine and there didn't seem to be any bad effects.

Charlie Stephens

 

Charlie,
I have a set of steelies i plan on using. Did you need any spacing on the front using the stock model a spindels? Did you space the hubs on the rear for the stock bango or did you shave down the backing plates and drums?

Streetrods are driven by Chevy, Hotrods are powered by FORD!

 

A better set of brakes for the front is to use the backing plates, hubs and drums from an F100 pickup. I won't list the bearings and seals you need to use to make the switch, but I'm sure a search here on the HAMB will bring that up. I've used this set up on a '37 I drove on the freeways. It was much better than the older style. Also, keep in mind F100 brakes are self-energizing and much easier to adjust. Unless you're a purist, this is a quick and dirty way to get better brakes.

 

Ive used hubs like yours, i use a newer style stud that is splined and made to fit those hubs and have the drum slide on and off. They are like 6 bucks each though. I would just spend the extra 25 bucks each and get the fully machined MT brake drums. The cheap ones i got from speedway had some bad core shift and may have caused some balancing problems.

 

The spindles are not the problem, it is the stock hub/drum when trying to use most steel wheels (I say most because I have read that there a few steelies designed to work). Take a look at the post I referenced. The ring in the center (or raised humps on later mechanical brake drums) will keep the steelies from seating on the drum/hub. The steelies will sit on the raised ring. If you tighten the lug nuts you will deform the wheel and it will probably eventually fail. You will probably have trouble finding the spacers since most people running steelies also run hydraulic brakes. Have you considered bent spoke Kelsey's? Note that the Kelsey's need a different spacer if run on hydraulic drums. In either case the studs need to be long enough. I think you are also asking about another problem, the rear drums rubbing the backing plate when converting to hydraulics. I haven't done it yet but I think I would start with one of the suppliers of the reproduction Lincoln brakes and see how they solve the problem.

Charlie Stephens