[Pete2125]

When done correctly, the car will stop very quickly. My Dad and I completely redid the brakes on his coupe (as per the instuctions in the "Restorer" don't remember the issue number) and that car stops on a dime. There is a LOT to mechanical brakes that effects stopping distance. To name just a few, bushing wear in the cross shaft, bushing wear in the operation rod levers in the backing plates. Clevis eye hole wear in the brake rods and brake rod clevis pin wear. Bushing wear on the brake/clutch pedal shaft and wear on the brake/clutch pedal shaft. Brake roller and roller track wear. Operating wedge and rod wear. Brake shoe and drum wear. As you can see, this is very involved. Ford also set the car up originally to have about 60% of the brake power on the back wheels. The back wheels should lock before the fronts do when testing. When adjusting at the backing plates there should be a light drag on the wheel when adjusted correctly.
Please note that this is not instuctions on how to do your brakes jsut an overview of how complicated the system is. If you are going to do the brakes, please make sure you get professional instruction. Good luck!