Ok I have a few questions for you guys...


1. I forgot which, but I heard at a car show that it's best to get either hard or soft brake pads for the brakes. I'm thinking that it was soft. Is that right?

2. On that last qestion. How can I find out if they are soft or hard? Maybe you can tell me the parts # or brand? The people at the parts places have no clue and tend to leave me standing at the counter.

3. On the drums, is the hole/slot in the side of the drums the lowest they can be turned? I hope not.

4. Can material be welded onto the drums to make them thicker?

5. Where's a good cheap place to get front drums for a '52 F-1? The only ones I can find is from Mac's for about $80.

6. Or is there another drum that will fit?


As you can tell I'm getting back to working on my truck after such a long school year. Thanks for the help!

Clayton

 

Clayton,

I can answer a few of your questions. Softer brake pads typically require less pedal pressure to stop your vehicle and are often preferable to metallics for non-power assisted systems. Hard brakes are typically metallic and you can see it by comparing the two. If you just ask for non-metallic shoes I think you'll get what you want.

You can't weld material onto your drums. Unless you find used ones, they are going to be fairly expensive. You have to measure the inside diameter and check against specs for excessive wear. One of the guys here may be able to provide the spec.

 

I would try to stay away from the "lifetime" type brake pads. They probably are too hard.

I am glad you are concerned about your drum thickness. I found this out the hard way. I took my drums to a shop to get them turned, so that's what they did. No regards for any diameter limits. I installed them, and the vehicle had very poor brake pedal feel. It felt like the system had air in it. And it also gave you the feeling it wasn't going to stop when you wanted it to. I fought this thing for a year till I realized they had turned the drums too thin. I got somebody to push the brake pedal while I was under the vehicle, and the drums where actually flexing when the shoes applied.

 

11" + .060 is the maximum diameter. New they're close to 11.0"

I bought new drums from Sac Vint and they were about that price.

I remember someone here found that 11" x 2 1/2" drums off something in a junk yard worked. They found them loose so they weren't sure what they came from.

The front drums have a 1/2" offset toward the backing plate and are unique to the 48-52 F1's.

 

JobLot Automotive (www.joblot.com) has the F-1, 48/52 front drums part number 8C-1125 for $64.95 each in my 2002 catalog.

Here's an aside, 'fenders mentioned that welding metal on your drums is a no-no. I was reading about a plasma arc process where they plasma spray new metal on worn bearing journals, races, or just about any other wear surface. The material is very hard and can be ground to whatever final tolerances are necessary. The application was in the nuclear industry, I believe, but I can't lay my hands on the article.

Has anybody ever heard of this process being used for auto cranks or other parts? I know I'm going to get an answer like "What cave have you been hiding in for the last three decades?"

 

George, We have a plasma arc tool at my work. It hasent been used for years. It looks like that it is hooked to a stick welder and a air hose and these long sticks are fed into it. It will then spray metal over the worn parts. I have changed king pins,bucket pins and such that were fixed with this and some things held up but some things didn't.

 

I know a shop around here that makes band brakes or something for the oil rigs. I heard that to harden them they have a machine that welds material to them and then they cut them smooth. My dad said that it would take forever and that he sees no problem with it.

Clayton

 

I think this will work fine for brake drums but your dad is rite it will take a long time and maybe a lot of $. It may be better to find new or better ones.

 

Guess I confused things. I was just wondering about the plasma spray stuff. I think the material that's deposited is not suited for brake drums. If I recall the article correctly, it's good for bearing surfaces and other items that need to be very hard. Brake drums are made from cast iron for more reasons than just because it's less expensive than forged steel.

 

Clayton,

Get the soft or non-metallic brake shoes. At $80 each for drums, it's much cheaper to replace shoes than drums. The metallic shoes may stop better depending on the brake system used, but they do wear out brake drums faster!

 

Clay,

That slot you noticed in the side of the drum is for insertion of a feeler guage to check lining-to-drum clearance when you are adjusting the brakes. The only way to check whether or not you've got enough meat left to turn them is by having them miked with a drum caliper.

I also agree that while it way be possible to have the drums spray arced and remachined, it would very likely cost the same or more than what a new pair of drums would. There would be a lot of time and labor involved. And the durability would be suspect on top of that.

If you are willing to use used drums, I can look and see if I've got another set. I've got several, but can't remember whether they are fronts or rears off the top of my head. PM me if you think you need them.

 

Ahh, well I found one drum on my parts truck that looks as though it may have enough meat left. It's different from the others so I guess it's a repo. But anyways thanks for the help guys. I guess I'm going to look for some replacements, take a look at the salvage yard too.

Clayton

 

i just put power disk on the front. i have the entire brake assemely if you are interested. i don't know how much is left on the drums, but i would take them to napa and have them cheched if they can still be turned.