[Jim Brierley]

Well ... seems as I am in the minority here. All the above responses include "if everything is in good shape and adjusted properly" important conditions. I disagree with the idea that you will be plagued with rusty lines and cylinders. It is true that DOT 3 or 4 will attract moisture, DOT 5 (silicone) rejects moisture, so will eliminate any of those supposed problems. '39-'48 Ford brakes were designed for heavier cars, so do even better on cars the weight of our A's. They will not apply the front brakes before the rears, neither applies first, by the nature of hydraulics. Hydraulics do apply more breaking power to the front, where it is needed. I have 3 Model A's, all with hydraulics, I prefer the '39-'41 style, but that's just me. I ran my speedster for a couple of years with stock 'A' brakes, then went to 35's on the rear. That helped but but were still not what I liked. I am now somewhat handicapped, and don't think I have the leg strength needed for mechanicals. How often have you, or anyone in your family, ever had a problem with brakes on a modern car? Most can answer "never" to that question.

Bottom line, IMO, is if your son is not happy with the mechanicals, he'd be smart to go to hydraulics. Say what you want, but under hard usage, hydraulics are safer. Being 18, he might be prone to faster driving, and could even suffer from distractions at some time. I wish him happy motoring!