Are the 39 Lincoln self actuating brakes with the 2" shoes about the best set up there is for front hydraulic brakes for a A coupe with warm SBC ? (yes I know discs are better but that's not the question )
I replaced the front brakes on my '37 Ford, that I drove around LA, with those from an F100 pickup. I had the drums resurfaced (very lightly), added new brake shoes and wheel cylinders, checked to see there was a near perfect fit between shoes and drum, then drove around the surface streets to break them in before hitting the freeway. After using them a couple of times to avoid near misses from unexpected lane changers at seventy five miles an hour, and when traffic slowed to a snail's pace, I had such brake fade it was like stepping on something slimy in my bare feet. And, yeah, I did the obvious --- and it cured the problem. I really hope you have better luck with drum brakes than I did.
The Lincoln brakes, and the F-100 brakes are both real good DRUM brakes. Both would be fine on your Model A but, as fortynut said, they will fade if they need to be used aggressively, such as freeway or mountain driving.
The answer is in the driving, where , when and mostly how when you are where. It's not 1945, or even 1965, if you want a car with 1940s technology you just have to realise that 2020 people will not understand, they won't even care. The answer to the original question is that self energising brakes are about as good as it gets if you are building/driving a traditional car. If you make the brakes too good, the traditional crossply tires will likely not have enough grip to stop the car anyway.... then you will change everything and have a streetrod. If you have a car with an earlier theme, Teds floaters will make even a Model A brake into a wheel locker !
I had a Model A with Corvair front brakes. Not the largest 1960's design. Never experienced brake fade. Drove that car over 140k miles, much of it on freeways. Go for it. Stay traditional. You will be happy. Phil
You don't need a booster on a small A. On the front brakes it depends on what you want, with the Lincolns you can run wire wheels and they look better without fenders, but your limited on parts, you'll have to buy shoes from the same vendor or have them relined (same with wheels cylinders). The F100 setup will get you off the self parts and run solid wheels only without a crazy adapter. Don't let everyone scare you, properly serviced drum brakes work great, do they stop like ABS disc...no, but don't drive like an asshat and tailgate and you'll be fine. I have Lincolns on my '47 and F100s on my '41 pickup.....plus my '56 panel has stock drums........all see frwy speeds and hard stopping in traffic.........I still live to tell the tail.
My 34 has 40 Ford brakes in front and 55 Chevy in the rear, it brakes ok on bias plys. The 40 has F100 bendix style brakes up front and 59 F100 brakes in the rear, it also brakes ok on bias plys. My 55 Chevy has it´s stock drums on all 4 corners , the single master and it will send the passenger through the windshield, if the need occurs on radials. My 62 Impala also has the stock system and the brakes are even cripser than on the 55, it also has radials. Best braking power of all has my 65 Riviera, on bias plys. What occurred to me is , it plays a big role what weight car you have and which tires and brake lining you are using. If the car has set for too long to get some rust inside the drums or the brake lining is not a quality material, it will glace and affect stopping power. I usually hit that issue with 40 grit sandpaper until the shoes look like suede , adjust the brakes close as possible to the drums and go out and brake them in by really hitting them at 60mph slowing down to 15mph . I repeat that until I feel them fading and can smell them . Let them cool for a while and see what you´ve got. I bet they will bite like never before. A light car like your model A will need less stopping power than a buick, but it will need very good tires to bring all the stopping power you have to the pavement. And that is what I see as a problem with our traditional rides. My 34, the 40 and 65 run bias plys , the 55 and 62 radials. Both the 34 and 40 have enough braking power, but the tires just can´t handle any more, the Buick has enough weight to put some traction even through those old Goodyear power cushions. My old 34 Plymouth had discs up front and did not brake any better than both the 34 and 40, because it also had 560-15s that would lock up at maybe half pedal and before I could feel deceleration. If I only brked slightly and kept the tires from locking up, braking power was much better. Do does my 56 Chevy, power disc brakes in front and drums in the rear, all on 710 Firestones... I won´t say it brakes worse than my stock 55 Chevy on radials, but certainly not any better, because it´s much more difficult to not overbrake the bias plys. Even worse on wet roads... But after all, be have to be careful, we are driving old cars in modern times. Good maintainance is #1 , defensive driving covers the rest for me.
Check out Ted's floaters! Flatheadted.com http://www.flatheadted.com/index.ph...n=com_virtuemart&Itemid=54&vmcchk=1&Itemid=54
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