This subject seems to come up alot on the HAMB, “How do I fit hydraulics to my Model ‘A’ “. Hopefully this should show how to fit said brakes the CORRECT way.
My Model ‘A’ came already fitted with hydraulic brakes, but the more I studied them the more things I noticed were wrong with the way they were fitted. The true horrors weren’t discovered until they were actually removed from the car.
I decided the best way forward was to start again with a fresh set of backing plates.
ere is your basic ’39-’48 Ford backing plate. In this case they are the later ’46-’48 plate as they have the riveted rather than bolted bottom pivots. You will also need the correct hubs and drums as the original ‘A’ ones will not work with the hydraulic backing plates.
We’ll start with the fitting of the front brakes first. This is the stripped hub. You’ll need a front fitting kit which consists of 2 bearing spacers and two backing plate spacer rings. You can see how these are mounted to the hub. Take care with the backing plate spacers as they are cast iron piston rings and will break easily if forced.
My Model A had a hydraulic brake conversion done on it before I purchased it, like most things that have been done it’s been pretty poorly executed. The emergency brake has particularly badly done. I looked into trying to make something, but Cling’s Aftermarket in Arizona provide a ready made kit. Even with the shipping it’s a pragmatic solution.
Emergency Brake Kit (Product Code:2004)
With no modification to your Model A, cable simply attaches to the original Emergency Brake Cross Shaft. Fits years 1928 – 1931.Complete kit includes:
Took a couple of days off work and with a huge amount of help from my friend Simon of Simon’s Autos and despite the shocking efforts of Parcelforce and HM Customs (parts held for over 3 weeks despite taking 2 days to get to the UK from Bert’s Model A Center in Colorado) we achieved quite a bit :
Lunch 🙂
Lunch with Simon and the Model A Ford
Parcel Woes
Parcel Damage
Parcel Damage
Front Tube Shock Absorber Conversion
Fitted the bracket kit from Bert’s and the Gabriel shocks sourced from US Automotive here in the UK. Pretty much a bolt on apart from drilling the front axle in two places. I have a new rear spring and tube shock absorber brackets for the rear to do in the summer.
Model A Ford Front Tube Shock Conversion
Model A Ford Front Tube Shock Conversion
Model A Ford Front Tube Shock Conversion
Model A Ford Front Tube Shock Conversion
Model A Ford Front Tube Shock Conversion
Model A Ford Front Tube Shock Conversion
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Rear Brake Grease Boxes
Those of you that read the blog will know that the car had hydraulic brakes when I purchased it, the conversion was quite badly done in parts so it was upgraded to 1948 parts. I was short of a couple of grease boxes for the rears which I got from the States via eBay for a reasonable price. These were nicely fitted by Simon
Model A Ford Brake Grease Boxes
Model A Ford Brake Grease Boxes
Model A Ford Brake Grease Boxes
Model A Ford Brake Grease Boxes
Engine Oil Leak
After I changed the sump gasket in the process of cleaning out the years of sludge, I ended up with quite a bad oil leak near the timing gear inspection cover using a combination of gaskets and black RTV. Fingers crossed as it’s OK so far.
Model A Ford Engine Oil Leak Repair
Model A Ford Engine Oil Leak Repair
Model A Ford Engine Oil Leak Repair
Model A Ford Engine Oil Leak Repair
Model A Ford Engine Oil Leak Repair
Clutch Pedal Modification
Due to my height, (6’4″), and the fact that I have a dropped foot it’s difficult to drive a standard Model Coupe. We came up with a few modifications to help me drive, these are working out quite well so far, still have a bit more to do as the clutch is dragging when hot despite slowing the idle as much as possible making the selection of 1st gear difficult. But it’s a great improvement. I think we’ll still need to design a new thinner seat back to give me a few more inches of room. The modification is done with wood so far to see how it goes. Makes life a easier for me!
Model A Ford Clutch Pedal Modification
Model A Ford Clutch Pedal Modification
Model A Ford Clutch Pedal Modification
Model A Ford Clutch Pedal Modification
Model A Ford Clutch Pedal Modification
Air Filter
John Cochran kindly pointed out that my “A” has a “B” carburettor, so I treated it to a K&N filter which I think looks OK, car’s not original anyway so 🙂
Model A with B Carb K&N Filter
Model A with B Carb K&N Filter
Transmission & Rear End Oil Change
Thanks to Simon’s space heater and heavy duty pump we managed to get the Morris Lubricants SAE 250 Golden Film gear oil into the gearbox and axle, no mean feat as this is some seriously thick stuff, I can only imagine how thick the 600W spec oil from back in the day actually is!!
As you may know the car came with a very poor quality hydraulic brake conversion, to rectify this I gathered the parts to convert the system to the superior 46-48 single adjuster system. I was however missing two grease boxes for the rear. Luckily I’ve managed to track down a pair on eBay from a nice gentleman called Al for a very reasonable cost. Hopefully these will be winging across the pond shortly!
Took a detour on the way back from Wheels Day to collect my rear brake backing plates from Austen Metcalf at Ozcraft in Bisley. Austen has done an excellent of reworking these later hydraulic brake backing plates to fit my 1929 Sports Coupe. Pnce I have the sump completed I can start on the brakes,
Started looking at the brakes today and found a bit of a mix and match situation. The 1929 Model originally had manual “rod” type brakes. It was common practice to use hydraulic brakes from the later 30’s and 40’s Fords. My friends on the H.A.M.B. (Hokey Ass Message Board) have assured me that what I have will be OK if the the wheel cylinders are the same bore.
“The one front and one rear backing plates shown are ’39-’41 style brakes with the adjustable lower anchors.
The two different style hub/drum shown are interchangeable, no cause for concern.
The ’39-’41 used a different sized front wheel cylinder as compared to the ’42-’48 brakes; but all the aftermarket replacements are the larger (later) size, which is not a problem if used in pairs.”
The next task will be to inspect everything and get a modified handbrake cable ordered from the States.
RHF Wheel Bearing
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