Anyone still running mechanical brakes on a '32?

After having a few of Henry's offerings equipted with mechanical brakes I'm convinced that their primary function is to slow you down and actual stopping is a sorta,kinda, maybe proposition. I'm sure that when these cars were new,right off the assembly line they probably performed their function admirably, BUT, the day after they were sold and subjected to the rigors of rutted dirt road daily driving the path to ineffective stopping ensued. This is true of any assemblage of mechanical parts but in the case of brakes I'm happy there was a viable substitute (hydraulics) waiting in the wings.

Frank

 

I am putting 32 brakes on the back of my model A does that count?

 

'32 brakes are likely a good upgrade on the A, especially for front brakes which are of course more complicated to swap...on rear you will have to partially re-invent your parking brake linkage, as A had entirely separate park brake while '32 used the normal rear shoes... on a '32, the parking brake actually works all 4 wheels, actuating the entire system except for the brake light!
I don't think any early brakes are really up to snuff in the current world of big tires, four wheel discs, ABS, etc., but Ford mechanicals are adequate when centered, adjusted, and not worn out. As with anything from before maybe the 1980's you need to plan the next few seconds a lot more carefully than the kid in the 2010 camry has to...

 

I got 35 up front and have all the flathead Ted stuff front and rear. I hope to have it on the road next week

 

I have had problems stopping with manual hydraulic drum brakes, so I would be very wary driving anything with mechanical brakes. You can keep six or so car lengths between you and the car in front of you but there is always that "dipstick" that pulls into your "safe zone" and slams on his abs brakes! It happened to me a couple of times and I barely got stopped, inches from their rear bumper! If you are only thinking of ocasionally driving back roads you'd probably be OK.

 

I run mechanical brakes on my '32 woodie. It stops straight and with no "panic" feelings ever. Of course it isn't as good as high tech grabbers with fat tires, but it works really well. I have driven bad mechanicals, those are scary as hell!

 

Poor performance when linkages are adjusted right usually means centering is off and/or shoe arc does not match arc of drum...either means only a fraction of shoe area is in play.

 

PS...early hydraulics, Bendix into the 1950's, many Locheed, etc. have centering adjustments to be made BEFORE you go to the click wheel od the big nut adjusters. This is often ignored...

 

diddo....check out my album if you want to see pics. I like my mechanicals just fine. drove it all over the midwest last year and never felt unsafe as far as braking goes. Bruce is right, you have to go through them and make sure stuff is right. i spent alot of time with mine in the beginning making sure things were in spec, center, and shoes radiused within .010 of the drum. but now they are very enjoyable and i never have to worry about a sudden loss of brakes.

by the way...why is it that even on a dual master cylinder braking setup, when you crack open that bleeder valve on one brake cylinder YOUR PEDAL GOES ALL THE WAY TO THE FLOOR!!!