Brake issue making me nuts!

[seabeecmc]

My '32 Ford has a complete 1940 Ford brake system. New master cylinder, new wheel cylinders, drums turned, new shoes ground on Ammco Safearc to match drums. Brakes were adjusted. Bleeding was done with pressure bleeding system. Brake pedal felt soft and kind of spongy.
A friend suggested adjusting the brake shoes up tight to the drums.
After doing that I now have a good hard pedal. But the shoes are still tight to the drum. I suspect if I back them off I'll have the soft pedal again. Or not?
So now my question is, what does this indicate? What should I do next?
Appreciate the help, Ron

[Terry,OH]

Adjust the brakes back to a slight drag. Seems bleeding brakes with them at a slight drag doesn't allow all the air to escape.

[PeteVS]

What kind of fluid are you using? I use silicone fluid and many say that it's difficult to get a good firm pedal when bleeding. Also, what is the ratio of the center of the pedal pivot shaft to the pedal pad to center of pedal pivot shaft to pin to master cylinder push rod? That will make big differences with brake effort.

[Bored&Stroked]

You should have a slight drag on all the drums. It is hard for us to understand whether what you call a "soft pedal" is due to air in the system, or just additional travel due to the shoes being too far away from the drums.

When the shoes are not dragging a little, there might be more pedal travel before engagement, but when it does engage, it should not be "soft" - it just has more travel.

Here is a link to a good video that explains that 4 point adjustment procedure for 39 - 41 brakes (the ones that have adjusters on the sides and bottoms of the backing plates).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxEwjnbfA2g&t=2s

[rich b]

^^^
Proper initial adjustment of the lower anchors of those '40 brakes is important and sometimes it is a little hard to wrap your head around on going on.

[19Fordy]

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Below is one of the best threads ever written regarding adjusting 40 Ford brakes. Carefully read info. in Post #2 here:
https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showt...40+ford+brakes

Notice the application of 25-35 pounds pressure on the brake pedal while adjusting.

[seabeecmc]

Appreciate the input. Will advise the outcome on this issue. Ron

[fredM]

Once you have used the car a bit and the shoes have "broken in," re-adjust them. examine the scuffing on the shoes. See if they are making full contact. Adjust them in another month if need be.

[aussie merc]

make sure that the linings are correct as most current day linings are way to hard and at best just polish the drum [dont grip] as they are meant for boosted systems that can generate anything up to 4 or better times the pedal pressure

[petehoovie]

Originally Posted by aussie merc

make sure that the linings are correct as most current day linings are way to hard and at best just polish the drum [dont grip] as they are meant for boosted systems that can generate anything up to 4 or better times the pedal pressure

Yeah, he should be using woven brake shoe material and DOT 3 fluid...