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Joe K · 04-10-2024, 09:58 AM

Being yours is a '28, you may or may not have the variant "AR" wheels - which require the variant AR drums. Other parts are similar or identical.

These complicate things, at least because of the parts unavailability - i.e. not found under every hay wagon.

And many AR of the era were "converted" over to the later wheels. The only way I know to tell the difference positively is to measure the "rim" where the wheel inner circle meets the brake drum: AR wheels are "narrower" here. (Service Bulletins describes the difference, I can't recall offhand.)

As to construction/assembly, Brent is right. Your wheel hub, brake drum, wheel studs are assembled "as a unit," and have to be maintained that way. Later vehicles had loose "replaceable" brake drums for convenience in servicing, but the Model A is not that way and can't really be made to be that way.

Re-swedging drums is not an idle task. Perhaps better described as "daunting." Generally it takes special tooling and a pretty good size press to do it right. Most restorers who use the later version brake drums/wheels opt to install cast iron brake drums from Mel Gross successors, and buy them already installed/centered on the wheel hub. The incremental additional cost of new hubs is not large compared to the ease and assured centering of the brake drums.

When the Model A was new, the pressed steel drums worked - but not great. Traffic and use were less demanding in that era, and even Ford eventually woke up to the advantages of cast iron brake drums for the Model A. (Late 1931)

Today's well worn original pressed steel brake drums are generally "an accident waiting to happen" and many try to get past the issue by converting to hydraulic brakes thinking the mechanical brakes are the problem. Actually along with hydraulic brakes, Ford had converted production to cast iron brake drums, and its not the hydraulics that do the advantage in a conversion on the Model A.

I'm not sure that Mel Gross & Co. can provide AR style drums, so this may be your time for a conversion to the later drums/wheels if you want to have the safest brakes possible.

If you're going to put an AR car on the museum floor, you may want to retain the earlier drums/wheels - yunno - "for reference."

Joe K

04-10-2024, 09:58 AM	#3
Joe K Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Cow Hampshire Posts: 4,188	Re: Front and Rear Hubs 28 Model A Being yours is a '28, you may or may not have the variant "AR" wheels - which require the variant AR drums. Other parts are similar or identical. These complicate things, at least because of the parts unavailability - i.e. not found under every hay wagon. And many AR of the era were "converted" over to the later wheels. The only way I know to tell the difference positively is to measure the "rim" where the wheel inner circle meets the brake drum: AR wheels are "narrower" here. (Service Bulletins describes the difference, I can't recall offhand.) As to construction/assembly, Brent is right. Your wheel hub, brake drum, wheel studs are assembled "as a unit," and have to be maintained that way. Later vehicles had loose "replaceable" brake drums for convenience in servicing, but the Model A is not that way and can't really be made to be that way. Re-swedging drums is not an idle task. Perhaps better described as "daunting." Generally it takes special tooling and a pretty good size press to do it right. Most restorers who use the later version brake drums/wheels opt to install cast iron brake drums from Mel Gross successors, and buy them already installed/centered on the wheel hub. The incremental additional cost of new hubs is not large compared to the ease and assured centering of the brake drums. When the Model A was new, the pressed steel drums worked - but not great. Traffic and use were less demanding in that era, and even Ford eventually woke up to the advantages of cast iron brake drums for the Model A. (Late 1931) Today's well worn original pressed steel brake drums are generally "an accident waiting to happen" and many try to get past the issue by converting to hydraulic brakes thinking the mechanical brakes are the problem. Actually along with hydraulic brakes, Ford had converted production to cast iron brake drums, and its not the hydraulics that do the advantage in a conversion on the Model A. I'm not sure that Mel Gross & Co. can provide AR style drums, so this may be your time for a conversion to the later drums/wheels if you want to have the safest brakes possible. If you're going to put an AR car on the museum floor, you may want to retain the earlier drums/wheels - yunno - "for reference." Joe K __________________ Shudda kept the horse.