48 coupe- lever, hand brake operating help

[Bolts]

The levers shown in the picture are from what I believe is a '41 rear brake. I swapped the backing plates over to '48 and the levers don't fit (big surprise). Looking at the Green book, the parts shown are 91A 2103 and 91A 2104. Apparently what I need are 51A 2103 and 51A 2104. Can anyone show me a picture of the correct levers for the '48 brakes?
Does anyone know of a source for the parts I need?
Thanks for the help.

[rg130]

I would call Richard Lacy, Early V8 Garage, 1217 Azusa Canyon Road, West Covina, 91790, (626) 338-2282. He is the early ford brake expert and is very helpful. Another place for parts is Bill McGrath, Early Ford Store, 108 W. Bonita Ave., San Dimas, Ca 91773, (909) 305-1955. good luck, Bud

[Bolts]

Thanks for the tip Bud. I called them, both. While very helpful, they don't have the parts.

Still searching. Anyone???

Originally Posted by rg130

I would call Richard Lacy, Early V8 Garage, 1217 Azusa Canyon Road, West Covina, 91790, (626) 338-2282. He is the early ford brake expert and is very helpful. Another place for parts is Bill McGrath, Early Ford Store, 108 W. Bonita Ave., San Dimas, Ca 91773, (909) 305-1955. good luck, Bud

[Mart]

I didn't realise they were different.

Mart.

[Bolts]

From what I was told (and makes sense) the difference amounts to an offset approximately in the center to clear the different brake shoe retainers. If I can't find the correct parts, I'm considering grinding off the bottom side locally to clear the retainers and welding a doubler over the top of the area removed to add strength back.
Has anyone done that?
Thanks.

Originally Posted by Bolts

The levers shown in the picture are from what I believe is a '41 rear brake. I swapped the backing plates over to '48 and the levers don't fit (big surprise). Looking at the Green book, the parts shown are 91A 2103 and 91A 2104. Apparently what I need are 51A 2103 and 51A 2104. Can anyone show me a picture of the correct levers for the '48 brakes?
Does anyone know of a source for the parts I need?
Thanks for the help.

[blacktopbuddha]

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

Two places for you to try. First, is Ford Barn member 26 lakes, and I'll send you his number in a PM. 42-48 Fords are his main focus. Second, is Baxter Old Ford Parts here in Lawrence 785-842-9256

[Gary in La.]

Try (Barnfind08) here on the Ford Barn. He's got lots of NOS parts at reasonable prices also Antique Auto Supply in Arlington Tx. Stacy Brown (817) 275-2381 He's a knowlegable Ford guy with buildings full of NOS parts.

[Bolts]

P L E A S E---someone with a '46-'48 Ford passenger car must know about the emergency brake levers.

Because the parts identified in the Green Book do not seem to be available anywhere, I am in the process of buying parts with different numbers than what the Green Bible shows for the '48 levers because they are coming off a set of '48 brake shoes.

I firmly believe they will work , but I would very much appreciate knowing from anyone who can help if the parts marked 51A 2111 LH and 51A 2110 RH are replacements for the original part numbers.

This problem came about when I swapped out the backing plates from my '41 rear end and changed them over to '48 because my car is a '48 and I wanted all the brakes to be the same. The brake shoe retainers are different on the '48, so the levers need to be offset to clear. Fine, but the part numbers that are available are not listed in the Green book.
Has anyone else been through this?
Many thanks, Alex

[rg130]

I have a 47 ford and the brakes are currently apart. I checked the emergency brake levers for ID #. One is marked 51A2110 RH (Right Side). The other one (Left Side) I can't make out. They look like the ones in your picture. To answer your question I would say that the 51A2110/2111 series are replacement parts for the 46/48 rear emergency brake levers. Hope this helps. Bud

[Bolts]

Thank you Bud!!!

[Bolts]

Many thanks to all who contributed to this thread. I am adding this comment to finish my odyssey and for the benefit of others who may one day face the same issue.
The pictures below show the different configurations of the brake shoe retaining clips between '41 and '48 years (passenger car). They are so dramatically different, I was not surprised to see the levers listed differently in the Green Book. As I had never assembled the rear brakes on a '48 before, the first time I tried to do it I must have had the parts wrong because nothing was going together. The pictures in the Ford Repair Manual and on the Vanpelt page don't show much detail, so naturally I got things wrong, I guess.
Anyway, after taking up everyone's time on this I finally decided I would go back and try to figure out how to make my levers from the '41 brake work. They actually do fit and have enough clearance over the brake shoe retainers.
My conclusion is that they ARE actually the same and I am embarrassed to have made so much fuss over this.
A big thank you to member blacktopbudda for your help and my apologies to member 26lakes for not knowing what I was doing and causing him to waste his time trying to help me on this. Special thanks to member rg130 for the pictures which made all the difference.

[Mart]

Thanks for the updates, Bolts.

Mart.