So I've been driving the customline this week for errands and to work even   it is awesome.   One thing that is quite un-awesome is the amount of pedal force I have to exert to stop the car.  Anyone who has followed my build knows I have a completely new brake system from master cylinder (68 bronco) to the drums.  I have a very firm pedal and what seems to be appropriate pedal travel, but the responsiveness of the brakes leaves much to be desired.

I have to pick my heel off the floor and push with full leg muscles to get a braking response similar to normal braking on my modern cars.  Since I'm a tall guy my leg is bent at an akward angle and driving around town I'm starting to get knee pain.  I'm a very conservative driver and slow down early.

If I really stand on it, I can get the wheels to lock up (I've tried on some country roads) so the brakes are working, but they are just hard.  Sometimes if stopped on even a moderate incline with my foot on the brake the car starts to roll backward and I quickly have to apply more pressure, If I have to stay stopped on the incline for any length of time, the amount of pressure I need to keep on the pedal gets uncomfortable (sorry if I'm sounding a little wussy!)

Since I'm not familiar with what is "normal" for manual drum brakes I'm looking for some feedback/descriptions on what it should be like.  For example, can you typically stop coming down a normal freeway off ramp without picking your heel off the floor?  How does it compare to a modern car with power disc/drum?

Nate - Madison, Wisconsin

 

56 Ford Customline Sedan

 

Nate, I have a 56 with drum brakes and no power and have usual pedal travel but sometimes, like comeing down an on ram...I really have to stand on them. They do stop and stop even without pulling but it does take some pressure. I've had the car for 14 years and has always been the same. This probably won't help you much but maybe a little.

Jim

Washington, Ia

Location:Washington,Ia

My car was originally a power brake car.... however when the front discs were installed they disconnected the power booster. The first time I drove it I found the brakes were good it just took a lot of pedal pressure. I installed a new booster a week later. Mike

1956 Fairlane Victoria (ORREO)

 

Overlooking Beautiful Rimrock AZ

You say it takes too much force on the brake pedal to stop your car. Granted a 50s Ford with manual drum brakes will require more effort to stop than any new car but what you are describing it NOT NORMAL and is dangerous.

When you replaced the master cylinder with the 1968 Bronco do you know what the diameter of the piston in that cylinder is? If the 56 Ford master cylinder piston was 3/4 inch and you replaced it with a Bronco master cylinder piston that is 1 inch then the force required to stop has been INCREASED over 75%. Please do a GOOGLE SEARCH to verify this.

Good luck and tell us whatr you find out. Pete

I found it took alot with mine, always had to prepare for stopping etc, and the brakes on mine had be done with all new parts.. since changing to a dual circuit power boosted sytem, its the only way to go. A must!



"Came too close to dying to stop living now!"

Pete, I was wondering about that too.  My understanding is that the original MC was 1" so I looked for other that are also 1" and other posts on this site recommended the 68 bronco as a bolt in.  So unless someone corrects me, the master cylinder diameter hasn't changed.

It sounds like maybe the extra pressure isn't unusual.  It maybe a bit tougher with my ogre legs, I can't push the pedal straight on...I'm coming from the side.

I might have to look into a booster....

Nate - Madison, Wisconsin

 

56 Ford Customline Sedan

 

I have a 1956 Fairlane 2/doorpost and I just put 2200 miles on it driving from N Jersey to Missouri and back with a LOTof extra stuff in trunk and back seat in Sept of this year as I did in a couple of previous years ,But my daily driver is a 68 Falcon wagon with manuel brakes so the amount of petal pressure does fill simular.

But if I git in my F100 with the power disk brakes takes a couple miles to git used to them.I think the 56 with stock brakes is reasonable unless you grew up only with cars with power brakes or disk brakes. There is a web site for a place out west www. praisedynobrake.com that clames to make special shoes for older drumn brake cars to help them stop better Like old Muscle cars,they have a phone # to contact about what you may need! I never really felt the need it slowed fine,even on the hills in western Pa.i

hoppys1956

Nate

Your cars brakes are not "normal" and there is something wrong with them if extreme force is required to make the car stop.

Ford sold a million cars without power brakes just like yours and they all stopped with no issues and no drama.

Along with the diameter of the piston in the Bronco master cylinder are the wheel cylinders you are using also the original size that came with the car? If you drive on a gravel road and lock the brakes do the front brakes apply first and then the rear?

Did you car every have a power brake booster on it?

Keep going to the gym until you fix the problem Pete

Nate

Fairlane Bob is on to something, When you turned the drums were you able to "Arc" the shoes to the drums? It is an old processes that mates the shoes to the drum exactly. When we did this to a front engine dragster with rear brakes only, it made a drastic difference in holding and stopping. We also used brake shoes with soft linings. Disk brakes would not hold the car on the starting line when you stalled it. You might have trouble finding a shop that can still do this type of work. Look for older business that have there own brake machines. Good Luck

Gary Ryan San Antonio.TX.

Gary - no I did not arc the shoes, I asked the shop that did my drums about that and they didn't offer the service.  But I placed the new shoes inside my drum after they were turned and they fit very nicely, at least I couldn't see any gaps in the arc match...but maybe even a mismatch that I can't see can cause a problem?

Pete - The wheel cylinders are all OEM spec parts.  I know you're right that braking effort shouldn't be "extreme", but maybe what feels extreme to me isn't really extreme since I've grown up driving power disc/drum cars my whole life.  It's just not what I'm used to, but maybe I'm just a young "softie" when it comes to pushin' the pedal.   I will do the gravel road test when i get a chance, i was trying to tell on a wet country road the other day but I couldn't tell what was locking up first.

This is why I'm looking for some descriptions I can use to calibrate my experience to other's, for example the effort I need requires my heel lift up off the floorboard when I'm coming down an off ramp.  In my  modern car, my heel is ALWAYS on the ground and I can create enough effort to brake by just pressing with my foot leaving my heel planted.  If someone could confirm whether they leave their heel planted while braking or whether sometimes they need to lift their heel off the floor too, that would help make our descriptions more objective rather than subjective.

I'm guessing maybe Gary is on to something, maybe my car is a little harder becuase the shoes aren't perfectly formed,  but most of what I'm feeling is likely just becuase I'm young and have lived a sheltered life with power brakes.  I drove to work again this morning, and the effort is right on the border of being tollerable, I can stop o.k. I don't feel like I'm dangerous on the road, but if I drove this car much I'd definitly get some new bulging leg muscles!

If someone is in Madison any time this fall, let me know and you can drive my car around and let me know what you think.

Nate - Madison, Wisconsin

 

56 Ford Customline Sedan