Here's the Speedway PN 916-31934...
Here's the Speedway PN 916-31934 kit right out of the box-well, actually the bag.
Drum brakes aren't the pinnacle of technology, but ya gotta admit they sure do look good on a traditional-style hot rod.
I've run front drums on the majority of the cars and trucks I've built over the years, and I've been more than satisfied with both their performance and looks. Sure, there are more and more faux-drum disc brake setups available these days, and they're great because they offer much greater stopping force along with a cool traditional look. But for those of us with the urge or the necessity to build on a shoestring budget, early-style, self-energizing drums are the way to go.
One of the most popular and affordable drum brake donors, at least for me anyway, has for years been those from the early F-series Ford pickup. I've personally used assemblies from an '52 F-1 and '53-56 F-100s-in fact, the next project I've got in the wings (a Bruiser-bodied A-sedan) is another traditional-style rod that I'll actually be running the '52 F-1 drum brake assemblies on shown here.
I began the chore by wandering...
I began the chore by wandering out to the driveway and stealing the brake assemblies off the '52 F-1 that had been waiting patiently for some attention over the last year or so.
A couple of the things I really like about this swap is that it allows me to retain the early 5-on-5-1/2-bolt circle so I can use early 16-inch steel wheels, and the 11x2 self-energizing design really does provide ample stopping power for a lightweight hot rod. Plus, I utilize the option of equipping the backing plate/hub/drum combo with mid-'60s F-100 shoes and hardware, making replacements a bit easier to come by.
Now this particular F-1/F-100 to '37-48 Ford spindle is by no means rocket science, but it's still relevant enough to revisit every now and then. As a matter of fact, I personally needed to revisit this subject-like many a bit of info I've squirreled away for future reference, the safe place I stored my crib notes of relevant bearing, race, and oil-seal part numbers needed for this simple swap must have been really safe because I've yet to find 'em. But all is not lost. Recently, while thumbing through one of my favorite hot rod parts sources (the Speedway Motors Street Rod Master Catalog), I gleefully discovered good ol' Speedy Bill had saved me hours of research by putting together and offering up an installation kit containing the bearings, races, and oil seals needed for the job all in one affordable package. The Speedway PN 916-31934 bearing kit allows you to install '53-56 F-100 11x2-inch drum brakes to '37-48 Ford car spindles (both original and aftermarket varieties), and I've also discovered they work with '52 F-1 drum brake and hub assemblies as well. So take a look at the following images to see just how easy a conversion this really is, and if you don't already have one handy, order up Speedway's 2007 Street Rod Master Catalog because it's chock-full of cool components and kits that'll save you a bunch of time, energy, and long green-believe me.
Unfortunately I don't own...
Unfortunately I don't own it anymore, but my old closed-cab was just one of many hot rods I've owned over the years that was equipped with the very brakes I'm talking about here.
Before getting too far into...
Before getting too far into it, I used a borrowed drum gauge to make sure the drums were within spec and still useable-they still had some life left in them, so I went ahead and cleaned them up and pulled the old oil seals, tossed the bearings, and pressed out the old bearing races.
One bit of elbow grease that'll...
One bit of elbow grease that'll need to be expended is to rectify a bit of a fitment problem that, though some don't believe needs to be addressed, I do.
The rear portion of the bearing...
The rear portion of the bearing sleeve has a very minor chamfer machined in the edge as you see here. Unfortunately it's less than the radius on the spindle stub.
The backing plate/brake assembly...
The backing plate/brake assembly was then ready for a good cleaning and a good ride in the blast cabinet.
Then, since I've yet to find...
Then, since I've yet to find a milling machine I can afford, I chuck up an elongated ball mill in my die grinder, stick it in my floor vise, and enlarge the chamfer of the inner bearing sleeve by eye.
You can see that the bearing...
You can see that the bearing fits right down over the radius of the spindle stub after enlarging the chamfer.
What I do is take those new...
What I do is take those new inner bearings (the outer bearings and races are a perfect match to the '37-48 spindles and require no attention other than plain old replacement) and seal them up good and tight with a couple layers of masking tape.
Here you can see the enlarged...
Here you can see the enlarged chamfer I end up with at the edge of the bearing sleeve.
I then get ready to press...
I then get ready to press the new bearing races into the F-1 hub after cleaning, blasting, and repainting the backing plates and drums.
Here's one of the drums freshly...
Here's one of the drums freshly rattle-canned and with the new race in place.
The next step is to pack the...
The next step is to pack the new bearings with high-quality, high-temp grease. Hand packing is a poor and messy way to accomplish the chore; an inexpensive packing tool ensures a thorough and much-less-messy job.
With the bearings packed,...
With the bearings packed, the rear one is dropped into place and ready for the new grease seal installation.
A dab of grease spread around...
A dab of grease spread around the outside edge of the seal with a fingertip, and it's ready to be pressed into place.
Since my chassis is still...
Since my chassis is still sitting over at my pal Tom Pierce's shop (Street Rod Engineering in Lake Havasu, AZ) where it was built, I mounted up my spindle in my floor vise to test the assembly's fit-looks good to me.
And there you have it-a nice...
And there you have it-a nice set of self-energizing drum brakes on a '37-48 Ford spindle.