Someone needs to call me when this is going on...cause I wont want to miss it!

This is all kind of funny to me because I have a good friend of mine who is building a '46 Ford Business Coupe. It will have a very mild flat with a three speed. His main worry has been top speed. What he did not think about was none of us really "cruise" at 90mph. 50-65 is typical.

 

LOL... when driving mine home after rebuiling the top end... Most of the time I was about 65mph... but it's hard when everyone is passing you so there was a half dozen times I got mine up to 75 pushing 80....

 

If I knew I could get 65mph I would never swap to the 9 inch. I have got different thoughts from many different people. The wheels are 15" instead of the stock 16" but the tires are kind of tall. If you think I can hit 65 please let me know before I bust the torch out. The mustang gears are horrible, 2.50, maybe 2.73 at best

 

Don't go with the Mustang gears.

Like mentioned above, you can hit 65, but it WILL feel really squirrelly. You just need to drive it first before you commit to a radical rear end swap and all the loveliness that comes along with removing 60 plus year old leaf springs, U-bolts, brake lines, etc. And if you decide to completely remove and re-do your springs while you're there, you'll get to know those 6 lovely shackle pins that hold them on. Lots of fun. But seriously, just drive it first. It will tell you what it needs. My 50 F1 has a 3.73 bone stock Dana 41 behind a 302 and C6 transmission. I easily cruised 70 plus mph in that. In my humble opinion, the 3.73 isn't the limiting factor. The 100 horsepower flathead and tranny combo just don't want to go there.

EDIT: The point is that you won't really care how fast it will go once you get it going. An original stock truck with a flathead is an absolute joy to drive.

 

See, I am the opposite. I am going to say not to swap the Mustang stuff in because the engine/trans/gearing should not be the major limiting factor...the front end/suspension/steering will (should) be the major limiting factor.

 

Hey Dave,
Lot's of good advice about driving it first then deciding the best path to take. I have a 1950 F1 - It had stock suspension & stock brakes when I bought it & I'm here to tell you that going 65 wasn't my concern at all. Stopping in traffic & staying in a straight line were much bigger concerns - frightening actually. Before I spent a dime on getting it to go faster I'd really get after the brakes & suspension first. I live in a fairly large city with congested highways - I tried to get the drum brakes there -but it still didn't feel right so we went with Disc brakes up front (& back) - now we can talk about 65 mph.

Ben in Austin

 

The reason I am so concerned about speed is that I had a 49 chevy pickup I just sold and at 50mph the motor was screaming. I couldnt drive it anywhere that had a single lane that was 55 or higher. I would hold up traffic and really upset the drivers behind me. I am not looking for a race truck at all, something that I can drive to lowes or walmart and not worry about the motor screaming and going 45mph. I am looking forward to just cruising around and enjoying the truck. The plan is convert to front discs to help the stopability.

What do you think about this kit from performance online. Seems pretty complete and a fair price.

Brake Parts for Classic cars and trucks

 

My neighbor has a 1950 stock Chevy truck with a straight six and his truck is MUCH slower than mine. You'll be surprised at the difference. Just get it running and you will see. He gets so mad when I drive by his place and wave.

EDIT: That's a lot of money for a disc brake conversion. They sell good stuff. But if I were you, just get the drums up to snuff and see if you really need it with the flathead. Drums, in my opinion, are good enough for the stock flathead setup. Again, get the thing running, and it will tell you what it needs.

 

I am interested in the disc brake conversion kit in my last message. I can order the big bolt pattern like the truck has now but if I put the 9 inch in it has the small bolt pattern since it's from a car. I guess I will have to drive it and see. Thanks!

 

You need to match up everything to get what you want... Just remember that you give up something when you gain something else...

 

Good luck over there Dave! The Disc brakes kits are pricey - It's tricky. The mustang II front end kits are $2K - $3K & you get the modern suspension & the disc brakes, power steering, etc.. I'm in an urban setting - I just couldn't stop my truck fast enough with all the crazy folks & college kids driving around. If you are in a small town & use mainly less travelled roads maybe you can get happy with drum brakes.

Changing out the rear end to get better gearing is real straight forward & relatively cheap - the front end is a different deal. Anything upgrading the front suspension/brakes will cost. I fiddled with the drums for a month or so becasue it was the cheapest solution I just really didn't get anywhere near respectable results.

Ben in Austin

 

I have some 9"...no idea what its out of or what the gears are yet...but it is drum brakes...as are the fronts. My truck stops fine. In fact, it is right decent if you ask me. Parts can be had at a respectable price, even for stock setups.

Now I am not saying a disc brake setup is not needed...you put in your truck what you feel is needed. I will stick with drums cause they work just fine and it's all I could afford at the time of my build. Even if I could have afforded a disc setup, I still would have kept drums and upgraded the suspension or something else. It's a truck and it's driven like an old truck. If you don't tailgate or drive like a madman...you will be fine.

I will say that wet roads and bias tires get along like fire and ice!

 

Okay...stupid question...
There are power brake units available, will those work with the original drum brakes?
Yeah I know...

But nobody has said anything so, I will..

 

i wouldnt see why not. the bigger trucks had them as stock or options on the smaller models.

 

Check the albums for BobbyTNM, he adapted discs to the front of his 49 and it was simple and easy, and cheap.