The Ford Barn

wingski · 01-01-2018, 12:50 PM

Wow, a simple picture of the underside of my model A, and at least a couple of comments concerning my upside-down rear brake levers have started what seems to be a monster job.

When I finally realized that someone had put the wrong side backing plate on the wrong side of the rear axle, I just stripped everything off that axle. I’m really good at taking things apart and figured that it was best to start all over from scratch.

What a complicated mess. I’m finding out crap that I never wanted to find out, and my knees are screaming at me to stay off of them. They sure didn’t say Happy New Year to me this morning. Even with elastic knee braces, they don’t like cement floors at all and don’t want to work well as a result. They show their dismay by snapping and popping a bunch, and once in a while just decide not to support anything above them.

My god, it’s 2018 and I’m still here bitching about my knees. Mom and Dad would have said, “Shut up, some people don’t even have knees.” That’s a pretty disturbing thing to hear when you are too young to know what they’re talking about.

I hope you are all around throughout 2018 so you can bitch about your knees as well.

Mike

scrapiron · 01-01-2018, 01:12 PM

Jack it up more,,,, Get a scooter seat,

Bud · 01-01-2018, 01:27 PM

I have found that a thick piece of styrafoam insulation helps a lot when either on your knees or laying on your back when down at chassis level.

1crosscut · 01-01-2018, 01:31 PM

Knee Pro knee pads.
Best ones I've ever come across.
https://www.kneepro.com/Products/the...-iii--4-colors

Bill G · 01-01-2018, 01:38 PM

I did mine at the end of August when it was over 100 for a few days. At least I didn't do it in July when it was even warmer and didn't cool down at night. My garage gets south and west exposure so I had to wait until night to do my brakes. Sweat streaming down my face trying to wipe it aside to see. I don't know which is worse. A hot, sweaty situation or a cold one. Frankly, I would prefer hot. I have poor circulation and cold does not work well for me. My knees are OK but my back is messed up. Oh, the joys of working on these cars! If we didn't have these things to complain about, it would be our wives or kids or something. Just think of the service we are doing to our families and fellow men by taking our frustrations out on Model A brakes!

michael a · 01-01-2018, 02:20 PM

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I had knee surgery December 1st it was supposedly supposed to lay me back for a week well when they got into it they had to remove some muscle around the hardware they were removing and it has been a slow painful recovery. Last Friday I feel real good and go to the license bureau to tag my 49 Ford after that's done I did a few errands and as it was going to get so freaking cold we moved as much into the shop as we could and all the tractors around so we can plug them in. I went to bed that night feeling real good about myself lo and behold the dog has to go outside at 6 a.m., so I get up to let him out and my off set foot feels like I broke it. I mean this burger just hurts to beat hell so I stay up off of it all day. Then yesterday I started putting the ice to it lots of ibuprofen and ice and this morning I can walk on it not good but I can walk on it all I can say is what the hell? I would like to meet the SOB that didn't know gold from rust cuz I haven't seen anything golden about getting older

Sent from my SM-J700T using Tapatalk

wingski · 01-01-2018, 02:57 PM

Bill, if you look on page 42 of the owner’s manual, you’ll see the picture of the rear brake in figure 28. The alignment of the e-brake shoe and lever is sure different from the way mine looks. The way the e-brake shoe fits on the plate, and the position of the bar where the two ends of the e-brake shoe come together is not where mine is. The control lever for the e-brake shoe is down in fig. 28, where mine are up. I can’t see any way those levers can be turned so they’re down instead of up.

What am I missing?

Mike

J Franklin · 01-01-2018, 07:54 PM

Posted photo by Tom W. take a careful look and compare to yours.

Bill G · 01-01-2018, 09:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wingski

Bill, if you look on page 42 of the owner’s manual, you’ll see the picture of the rear brake in figure 28. The alignment of the e-brake shoe and lever is sure different from the way mine looks. The way the e-brake shoe fits on the plate, and the position of the bar where the two ends of the e-brake shoe come together is not where mine is. The control lever for the e-brake shoe is down in fig. 28, where mine are up. I can’t see any way those levers can be turned so they’re down instead of up.

What am I missing?

Mike

Your e-brake carriers are on the wrong side. Just swap the e-brake carriers.

jb-ob · 01-01-2018, 09:33 PM

Wingski,

Find a club member with a rear axle half that you can borrow. Stand it on the banjo end or lock it down in a vice and assemble your backing plates either sitting or standing.

Attaching the finished backing plate to your axle will require some creativity to catch that last bolt but less time annoying dem knees.

Best, JB

Y-Blockhead · 01-01-2018, 10:14 PM

It appears to be upside-down to me. I rotated your picture to compare to Tom's picture. They have either been rotated when installed or are installed on wrong side as others have already said.

Bruce of MN · 01-02-2018, 07:16 AM

I use these https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_s...=301K880SQ1F8Q for kneeling and stadium seat cushions. Pretty nice on aluminum bleachers in the fall!

RAS · 01-02-2018, 10:38 AM

I went through a similar problem with a "rebuilt" front axle assembly I bought a while back. It wasn’t until a few months later I installed the assembly and realized for the brakes to work, the brake rods had to push the front brake lever. Believe me, there was a lot of head scratching before I figured out the kingpins were reversed. So I feel your frustration.
Like others a good work stool with tool/parts shelf underneath and a 2” thick piece of foam rubber will make the job much more tolerable.

History · 01-02-2018, 11:51 AM

All of you guys over 60 have more money than you know how to spend. I'm only 54 and not as wealthy as you fellows but i do have empathy so I will share some knowledge to help you with your knees.

If any of you appreciate my sharing of this knowledge you could probably buy two for a better price and give me one, you know, to show your gratitude.

https://youtu.be/4d69VmX45qw

wingski · 01-03-2018, 02:42 AM

History, that thing is remarkable. It gives me faith in being able to work on cars and equipment a lot longer than I ever expected.

I am so impressed, thank you,

Mike

JBill · 01-03-2018, 09:51 AM

I've had both knees replaced, and bought a pair of the kind of knee pads that volleyball players wear. Any sports store has them.

History · 01-03-2018, 11:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wingski

History, that thing is remarkable. It gives me faith in being able to work on cars and equipment a lot longer than I ever expected.

I am so impressed, thank you,

Mike

You're very welcome and I hope it's something that would work for you. It's been awhile since I looked into one so hopefully the price has came down. I want to say it was priced at $10,000. I could be wrong on that. Somewhere on the $1500 range and I'd have one. The Chinese will have one cheap soon I'd reckon.

Bob C · 01-03-2018, 11:55 AM

From the Human Hoist web site.
"Introductory price is $12,500US so order soon to avoid disappointment."

[email protected] · 01-03-2018, 12:07 PM

Maybe off of the knee topic. My wife request for a Christmas present this year an "Electric Table". The used office equipment stores sell used draftsman tables and office work stations that go up and down with a push button. They use an AC electric motor and a linear actuator for the up and down motion. She wanted it for her sewing machine so she could also sew standing up when her back aches. It can then go down to the correct height for use while sitting. Neat item for her use.... Around $300.

wingski · 01-03-2018, 12:24 PM

I have a pair of blue Trace brand sports knee pads. They have a round opening in back and are super comfortable when I’m standing up. If you wear the things over your pants, they will even stay up in place. However, if I kneel down on them or even bend my knees past a certain point, they cut off circulation to my lower legs. I’ve still got really muscular legs because I walk so much. Maybe my legs will shrink a little as I get older, and I can use them.

But hold on, maybe if I bought a pair that were a little bit bigger, they’d work.

Go figure,

Mike

P.S. You guys bitch and moan about Chinese products, but I’ll betcha that Harbor Freight would sell something like the Human Hoist for a lot less than $12,500. Wouldn’t that be neat?

01-01-2018, 12:50 PM	#1
wingski Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2017 Location: Cave Junction, Oregon Posts: 432	levers and knees Wow, a simple picture of the underside of my model A, and at least a couple of comments concerning my upside-down rear brake levers have started what seems to be a monster job. When I finally realized that someone had put the wrong side backing plate on the wrong side of the rear axle, I just stripped everything off that axle. I’m really good at taking things apart and figured that it was best to start all over from scratch. What a complicated mess. I’m finding out crap that I never wanted to find out, and my knees are screaming at me to stay off of them. They sure didn’t say Happy New Year to me this morning. Even with elastic knee braces, they don’t like cement floors at all and don’t want to work well as a result. They show their dismay by snapping and popping a bunch, and once in a while just decide not to support anything above them. My god, it’s 2018 and I’m still here bitching about my knees. Mom and Dad would have said, “Shut up, some people don’t even have knees.” That’s a pretty disturbing thing to hear when you are too young to know what they’re talking about. I hope you are all around throughout 2018 so you can bitch about your knees as well. Mike

01-01-2018, 01:12 PM	#2
scrapiron Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Independence, VA Posts: 423	Re: levers and knees Jack it up more,,,, Get a scooter seat,

01-01-2018, 01:27 PM	#3
Bud Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Ohio Posts: 819	Re: levers and knees I have found that a thick piece of styrafoam insulation helps a lot when either on your knees or laying on your back when down at chassis level.

01-01-2018, 01:31 PM	#4
1crosscut Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Lincoln, Nebraska Posts: 1,909	Re: levers and knees Knee Pro knee pads. Best ones I've ever come across. https://www.kneepro.com/Products/the...-iii--4-colors __________________ Dave / Lincoln Nebraska

01-01-2018, 01:38 PM	#5
Bill G Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2017 Location: Walla Walla, WA Posts: 1,045	Re: levers and knees I did mine at the end of August when it was over 100 for a few days. At least I didn't do it in July when it was even warmer and didn't cool down at night. My garage gets south and west exposure so I had to wait until night to do my brakes. Sweat streaming down my face trying to wipe it aside to see. I don't know which is worse. A hot, sweaty situation or a cold one. Frankly, I would prefer hot. I have poor circulation and cold does not work well for me. My knees are OK but my back is messed up. Oh, the joys of working on these cars! If we didn't have these things to complain about, it would be our wives or kids or something. Just think of the service we are doing to our families and fellow men by taking our frustrations out on Model A brakes!

01-01-2018, 02:20 PM	#6
michael a Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: Lone Jack Missouri Posts: 381	Re: levers and knees Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements) I had knee surgery December 1st it was supposedly supposed to lay me back for a week well when they got into it they had to remove some muscle around the hardware they were removing and it has been a slow painful recovery. Last Friday I feel real good and go to the license bureau to tag my 49 Ford after that's done I did a few errands and as it was going to get so freaking cold we moved as much into the shop as we could and all the tractors around so we can plug them in. I went to bed that night feeling real good about myself lo and behold the dog has to go outside at 6 a.m., so I get up to let him out and my off set foot feels like I broke it. I mean this burger just hurts to beat hell so I stay up off of it all day. Then yesterday I started putting the ice to it lots of ibuprofen and ice and this morning I can walk on it not good but I can walk on it all I can say is what the hell? I would like to meet the SOB that didn't know gold from rust cuz I haven't seen anything golden about getting older Sent from my SM-J700T using Tapatalk

01-01-2018, 09:33 PM	#10
jb-ob Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Posts: 640	Re: levers and knees Wingski, Find a club member with a rear axle half that you can borrow. Stand it on the banjo end or lock it down in a vice and assemble your backing plates either sitting or standing. Attaching the finished backing plate to your axle will require some creativity to catch that last bolt but less time annoying dem knees. Best, JB

01-01-2018, 10:14 PM	#11
Y-Blockhead Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Redondo Beach, CA Posts: 5,849	Re: levers and knees It appears to be upside-down to me. I rotated your picture to compare to Tom's picture. They have either been rotated when installed or are installed on wrong side as others have already said. Last edited by Y-Blockhead; 01-01-2018 at 10:24 PM.

01-02-2018, 07:16 AM	#12
Bruce of MN Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: VA Posts: 1,410	Re: levers and knees I use these https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_s...=301K880SQ1F8Q for kneeling and stadium seat cushions. Pretty nice on aluminum bleachers in the fall!

01-02-2018, 10:38 AM	#13
RAS Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Indiana, 46040 Posts: 62	Re: levers and knees I went through a similar problem with a "rebuilt" front axle assembly I bought a while back. It wasn’t until a few months later I installed the assembly and realized for the brakes to work, the brake rods had to push the front brake lever. Believe me, there was a lot of head scratching before I figured out the kingpins were reversed. So I feel your frustration. Like others a good work stool with tool/parts shelf underneath and a 2” thick piece of foam rubber will make the job much more tolerable.

01-02-2018, 11:51 AM	#14
History Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2017 Location: NC Mountains Posts: 689	Re: levers and knees All of you guys over 60 have more money than you know how to spend. I'm only 54 and not as wealthy as you fellows but i do have empathy so I will share some knowledge to help you with your knees. If any of you appreciate my sharing of this knowledge you could probably buy two for a better price and give me one, you know, to show your gratitude. https://youtu.be/4d69VmX45qw

01-03-2018, 02:42 AM	#15
wingski Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2017 Location: Cave Junction, Oregon Posts: 432	Re: levers and knees History, that thing is remarkable. It gives me faith in being able to work on cars and equipment a lot longer than I ever expected. I am so impressed, thank you, Mike

01-03-2018, 09:51 AM	#16
JBill Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 702	Re: levers and knees I've had both knees replaced, and bought a pair of the kind of knee pads that volleyball players wear. Any sports store has them.

01-03-2018, 11:55 AM	#18
Bob C Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: So Cal Posts: 8,753	Re: levers and knees From the Human Hoist web site. "Introductory price is $12,500US so order soon to avoid disappointment."

01-03-2018, 12:07 PM	#19
[email protected] Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Illinois Posts: 730	Re: levers and knees Maybe off of the knee topic. My wife request for a Christmas present this year an "Electric Table". The used office equipment stores sell used draftsman tables and office work stations that go up and down with a push button. They use an AC electric motor and a linear actuator for the up and down motion. She wanted it for her sewing machine so she could also sew standing up when her back aches. It can then go down to the correct height for use while sitting. Neat item for her use.... Around $300.

01-03-2018, 12:24 PM	#20
wingski Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2017 Location: Cave Junction, Oregon Posts: 432	Re: levers and knees I have a pair of blue Trace brand sports knee pads. They have a round opening in back and are super comfortable when I’m standing up. If you wear the things over your pants, they will even stay up in place. However, if I kneel down on them or even bend my knees past a certain point, they cut off circulation to my lower legs. I’ve still got really muscular legs because I walk so much. Maybe my legs will shrink a little as I get older, and I can use them. But hold on, maybe if I bought a pair that were a little bit bigger, they’d work. Go figure, Mike P.S. You guys bitch and moan about Chinese products, but I’ll betcha that Harbor Freight would sell something like the Human Hoist for a lot less than $12,500. Wouldn’t that be neat?