lincon brakes

[Darunee]

was thinking about fitting the aftermarket lincon brakes to my 31 slant sedan, any suggestions

[Chris in WNC]

My suggestion is to eliminate all lthe wear in the mechanical brake linkage and upgrade to cast iron drums.
Then you will have the best braking possible at a much lower cost with no fluid to worry about......

[Ray64]

I agree with Chris. I did just that and could.nt be happier

[J Franklin]

One more vote for a good thorough rebuild for super brakes in the car. Then if you need more stopping power add fatter tires.

[Synchro909]

There are a number of easy modifications you can make to the original brakes without going "hydrochloric" that will allow you to lock the wheels at 50mph on dry bitumen. It doesn't matter how you lock them, they are still skidding and you have no control. If using later brakes means you can lock the wheel easier, you are driving closer to the edge. Not for me, thanks.

[nkaminar]

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I have had cars with the original brakes, the Flathead Ted modified original brakes and juice brakes. The stock brakes work well if in good condition. The original brakes with the Flathead Ted modifications work better. The juice brakes work the best but also have to be kept adjusted and in good conditions. But they slightly detract from the original look of the Model A. Most non Model A people cannot tell the difference.

[Charlie Stephens]

There are only a couple of things I remember about the Lincoln brakes and you might find them useful. The bolt pattern on the Model A spindle is smaller and one of the suppliers makes a Lincoln backing plate that fits the smaller pattern without modification. If you run the original Model A wire wheels you will need an adapter to allow for the fact that the wheels need to be supported at two different levels. Other than that I have heard good things about the conversion. How do you plan to mount the master cylinder?

Charlie Stephens

[CWPASADENA]

Originally Posted by Chris in WNC

My suggestion is to eliminate all lthe wear in the mechanical brake linkage and upgrade to cast iron drums.
Then you will have the best braking possible at a much lower cost with no fluid to worry about......

I also agree with Chris,

However if you want even better mechanical brakes, find yourself a set of '32 -'34 front brakes, rebuild and install them in place of the Model A brakes. They bolt right on without any modification and are 12 inch instead of 11 inch and have cast iron drums. They add more brakes to the front axle where it is needed and definitely improve the braking of of a Model A.

My opinion,

Also Chris (W.)

[PotvinV8]

I have the Boling Bros./Speedway Motors Lincoln brake kit on my Model A. Works fantastic. I much prefer the Bendix-style brake design of the Lincoln brakes over the '39-40 Ford unit.

Research brake fade when using stock Model A brakes.

And the "I can lock up my stock brakes so they work fine" argument is no better than shoving a stick in your wire wheel to bring it to a skidding stop and arguing that that's productive braking.

[Chris in WNC]

PotvinV8-
when we lock up the brakes, we immediately ease off and use them like we learned in "braking 101".

it's your car and your money, we are just explaining that mechanicals can work just as good as hydraulic in 55-60 mph highway driving.

we had a 37 Plymouth that we loved but the juice braskes were an expensive nuisance.....

as many have mentioned, the limiting factor is the narrow tire footprint.

[DRG-ler]

Originally Posted by Chris in WNC

My suggestion is to eliminate all lthe wear in the mechanical brake linkage and upgrade to cast iron drums.
Then you will have the best braking possible at a much lower cost with no fluid to worry about......

Can someone tell me which brake drums are suitable?


Thanks Andy

[hardtimes]

Originally Posted by Darunee

was thinking about fitting the aftermarket lincon brakes to my 31 slant sedan, any suggestions

As for most these answers, you should remember where you are asking your question, eh !

Now to your question.
I regretfully just sold my ‘30 roadster to a youngster in England....named FORD..true !

Anyway, I built this car starting with a’30 frame. Took forever as I tried the RESTORE route for awhile. This included a totally restored brake system.... with mainly NOS parts. Luckily, I knew this old expert who had an amazing huge collection of nos parts. Better still, he was a phenomenal model A mechanic.

When I got the car so that it was licensed to drive on street, I had HIGH expectations.. re brakes.
Now I had owned and driven many old junker model As ( all I could afford. This is to say that I was familiar with Model As...brakes.

Within two years, I did what Potvin did, that is... installed a complete Lincoln brake kit. It did what I paid for...GOOD BRAKES on a vert light roadster.

I put the kit in. Im no mechanic. Good written instructions and phone help made it pretty easy.

I had no problem with using my ‘35 wire wheels, as proper spacers were part of kit. A small amount of clearance grinding was done where indicated (rear shackels near brake cyl).

Best tip:
Because you have a totally NEW hydraulic system....install synthetic fluid. NO water absorption!!
You can always change to lower grade type fluid ...if wanted. But you cant go back up without complete clean or new lines !
PRICY, yes. GOOD value for the money, yes.

I traded out/sold entire mechanical kit. Used to buy Boling Brothers kit.
If funds available... might do it again.

[Big hammer]

Originally Posted by DRG-ler

Can someone tell me which brake drums are suitable?


Thanks Andy

Randy Gross advertise here and swap meet ! All of model A suppliers also sell the cast iron drums and new shoes.

[Jim Brierley]

Pay close attention to what hardtimes said. I've run both early Ford hydraulics and a combination of Ford & Lincoln. Both work very well, the only advantage of Lincoln's over Ford is a softer pedal. The problem with mechanicals, all mechanicals, is they need constant maintenance, hydraulics do not, in spite of what Chris says. Use silicone fluid, aka DOT-5, and you'll never need to worry about the cylinders. I also tried stock mechanicals on my speedster, and stock fronts with '35 mechanicals on the rear, finally decided that hydraulics were the best way. If you're going to drive your sedan, install the Lincoln's! At age 83.85 and having had a major stroke a dew years ago, mechanicals just take to much energy to operate and maintenance is a major problem.

[Jack Shaft]

What makes the lincoln brakes effective besides the hydraulics consistent application is their sheer size,a whole lot of brake surface area..I like fiddling with stuff,mechanical with woven shoes,cast drums and teds floaters work well as can be expected..with modern 16"radials you don't skid,you stop.

[rotorwrench]

The 12-inch Lincoln type brakes would require a change of the front spindles to the 37 through 41 types. I'm not sure how well the 12-inch drums fit the model A rear hubs but they should be usable. The spring over axle suspension usually required a rotational tilt of the brake backing plates for clearance but I've never tried this modification myself. The E-brake would likely have to be cable operated. Lots of things to consider just as using the Ford Lockheed brakes on the model A.

[Jim Brierley]

Lincoln and the '39-'48 brakes are both the same size, and can use the same drums. Adapters are available to put them on A spindles. Before commercial adapters were available we used a hard-seat for A valves and a +.040 piston ring to make it all work. Lincoln brakes are of the Bendix design, with floating anchors so are self-energizing, so the rotation of the shoes aid in the application.

[Charlie Stephens]

Originally Posted by rotorwrench

The 12-inch Lincoln type brakes would require a change of the front spindles to the 37 through 41 types. I'm not sure how well the 12-inch drums fit the model A rear hubs but they should be usable. The spring over axle suspension usually required a rotational tilt of the brake backing plates for clearance but I've never tried this modification myself. The E-brake would likely have to be cable operated. Lots of things to consider just as using the Ford Lockheed brakes on the model A.

You should check this with the manufacturers of the reproduction Lincoln brakes, I think they have solved those problems with both the front and rear.

Charlie Stephens

[hardtimes]

Originally Posted by rotorwrench

The 12-inch Lincoln type brakes would require a change of the front spindles to the 37 through 41 types. I'm not sure how well the 12-inch drums fit the model A rear hubs but they should be usable. The spring over axle suspension usually required a rotational tilt of the brake backing plates for clearance but I've never tried this modification myself. The E-brake would likely have to be cable operated. Lots of things to consider just as using the Ford Lockheed brakes on the model A.

As I said previously... Boling Bro has figured EVERYTHING out ! Like falling off a log easy.
Not like back in Jim B day, when these guys were real inventors/rodders !
Boling just refined the kit , so that if you didnt have time for trial/error, swap meets on on... they cost more... but you got best IMO.

[PotvinV8]

Originally Posted by Chris in WNC

PotvinV8-
when we lock up the brakes, we immediately ease off and use them like we learned in "braking 101".

And I'm sure that works great when you have plenty of room to skid and brake and skid and brake. But what about those times that you don't have room for all that?