Which are better: flat steel or wire steel brake rod springs?

[Pat Martone]

I know they can both be used on 30-31 cars, but which type is better?

Are the earlier flat steel brake rod (anti-rattler) springs better or stronger spring power than the later wire-type springs or is the opposite true?

Did Ford switch to the wire steel type in 1931 to save money, or are they better springs than the flat steel type?

Thanks.

[machine girl]

the spring by far

[wrndln]

I my opinion, they both work OK. It also depends if you want the correct spring (for the year of the car you have) on your car.
Rusty Nelson

[Purdy Swoft]

I prefer the spring type. The spring type are correct for the 31 models, maybe just late 31. I would try and use the correct spring for the year of the car, not because i'm a purist, I just wouldn't like hearing that my brake springs were wrong.

[Pat Martone]

Thank you for the replies.
I have the later, spring-type on my car now, but I noticed that they are a bit too long and therefore they make my rods "bow" down, and I think this may be a contributor to slightly spongy brakes. (I do have new cast iron drums, rebuilt backing plates (Snyder's), and shoes. I have no slop in the rods and clevis pins.) In the oval slot in the anti-rattler springs where the rods go through, I can see the rods riding on the top of the slot and the rods are still bowed down since the spring slots are too long by about a half-inch. I can't imagine it is easy to shorten the springs so that my rods run in a perfectly straight line?
Any suggestions?
Thanks.

[ctlikon0712]

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This is an interesting thread Pat. I'll be interested in your responses also.
Thanks

[Doug in NJ]

I had the flat type, and they would not hold their springiness, and just rattled around.
(I bought them from a vendor with an impeccable reputation.)
I replaced them with the wire spring type, and those work great.

Doug

[Tom Wesenberg]

A 1/2" bow in the rods isn't too bad. I think the flat springs also put a slight bow in my brake rods. Maybe your shoes just need to get seated in for a firmer pedal.

[pat in Santa Cruz]

I have a small pile of spring types I have taken off cars that require the flat anti rattler ( for correctness) and when I went to use the spring type on my 31, I noticed there were several varying lengths. I suspect the longer ones are repops from Sears or Western Auto from way back in the 50's. You might try comparing lengths of yours to any you might find on a car without "bent" rods to see if that's your problem.

[Chuck Sea/Tac]

The spring type don't wear as well