The Ford Barn - brake rods

The Ford Barn (https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/index.php)

- Model A (1928-31) (https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=3)

- - brake rods (https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=228175)

Does anyone know how long the emergency brake rods are supposed to be on my ’29 A cabriolet? I’ve cleaned and adjusted my rear brakes and can’t get the emergency brake lever to click when I pull it because there isn’t enough play to engage that first ratchet. I thought it was brake rod adjustment, but both brake rod ends are already turned almost to the end of the rods. I still have the driver’s splash apron off, and I’d like to figure this out before putting it back on. Both actuator levers are on at about a 10 degree angle towards the front of the car. Thanks.

There are two holes in the lever on the brake cross shaft, the rod from the
brake lever should be in the lower hole unless there is a lot of wear.

Bob

Thanks, Bob. I checked and the rod is in the lower hole. The E-brake works. I just had to put the seat back in so I could pull the lever better.

wait - the levers are supposed to be ideally 15* away from the center of the car. SO fronts 15* towards the bumper and rears 15* towards the rear bumper.

Curious what the 15* connotes?

He is trying to say 15° but has no command of the Character Map on his computer. And while it is true that the Service Brake arms are to have about a 15° angle to them, nothing is said about the proper angle for the Parking Brake. I believe they will be whatever angle suits them best for holding the car stopped. They are not to be used to stop the car.

Quote:

Originally Posted by RawhideKid (Post 1522036)

My I-phone doesn't have a character for degrees so I use *

If I tried to angle those E-brake levers on the backing plates 15 degrees toward the back of the car, my E-brake rods wouldn't reach the crossover levers. The shafts that come through the backing plates have keys in them so the levers can only fit on one way with the retaining bolt coming in from the back. I tried turning the lever over so the bolt went in from the front, but that didn’t look right at all, and I switched it back so the bolt enters from the rear. When I was adjusting and cleaning the rear brake shoes, I noticed that they look brand new with almost no wear, so you would think that the brake rod ends would be screwed onto the rods with almost no thread showing. That’s not the case because the rod ends are almost at the end of the threads on the rods. I know that on a new car the E-brake is stiff and only gets looser with use because of wear and the cable stretching, but this A isn’t new and that E-brake lever is so stiff that I can only get it to click twice if I really pull hard on it. I’m not going to be able to really test it until I start driving the A and see if I can get the rear brakes to lock up while the car is moving.