VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1916-1922 - Model 490 490 Brake Upgrade

Anyone, ...I am driving my 1918 490 quite regularly in and around my small town - country roads and in-town roads. No steep hills but there are some long grades here and there and cars pulling out. I live in a tourist region and throughout the summer season there is great deal of traffic coming and going. I noticed on some of the Ford Model T sites there are rear brake upgrades you can purchase (T2565-A Rocky Mountain brake Kit from Texas T/A Parts)to improve braking and safety. I am somewhat worried about the stopping power of the stock brakes on my 490 and safety issues. With the amount of driving I am doing I feel it would be beneficial to upgrade the brakes on my 490 if that is possible at all. Not sure ? Has anyone upgraded the rear brakes on their 490 ? Is this possible with any kits or other assemblies ? Any suggestions or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Doc Brandon.

My professional mechanic changed the brake linings of my 1916 in October 2002 to modern, soft type. During these years there have been some oil leakages from the rear axle to the drums and the linings have become slippery from the oil. When than happened, I had to remove the brake shoes and put them in an oven for heating ceramics: 300 degrees Celsius in one hour, quite some fumes and the oil was gone. The shoes were ready for the road again. At last I got tired of this uncertainty and drilled one 5mm hole under each L&R part of rear axle to let the extra oil come out in stead of reaching the drums. For the last two years the linings have been free from any oil and no more reduced braking. Search and you will find my pictures and description about the subject in this column.

You mention the T-F**Ds. The service brake works on the rear wheels, but due to the brake system they used, with "main" brake working on the axle between rear axle and engine, they really need more power to stop. So they have had to develop a strengtened system.

The inside and outside brakes on our 490s work in opposite direction when both in action. I have much more brake power when I use both pedals on my car at the same time and feel reasonably comfortable with our system, even in the present traffic. I certainly keep some distance to the traffic in front but am not afraid of going down even steep hills with my Chevrolet. Quite a lot of T-F**D owners are, and envy us a much better working (original) brake system.

Change to soft, modern brake linings, drill the holes and you will enjoy the rides much more.

Thanks Solan, ...I will take one side apart and inspect everything. Are there any tricks or is there anything I should know about when removing the rear brake drum. Will let you know how things go. Dr. Brandon

Solan, ...I need a little help on how to inspect the inner rear brake on my 490. Can you provide a simple step by step on how to remove the rear drum ? So far......
1. I have removed the rear wheel cotter pin.
2. Removed the castle nut.
3. Removed the flat washer.
4. Where do proceed from here ? The wheel and drum are joined together. The wheel and drum do not want to come off ? Are they just stuck on the axle ? Do I need to pry or hammer them off ? Not sure how to get the drum off ?
I do have the 490 service manual. There is nothing in the manual that describes brake removal or replacement.
Can you describe step-by-step how to get the drum off ?
Brandon.

I suspect you do not have the correct hub puller, so you will have to improvise. Replace the big washer, put the nut back on but do NOT tighten it. For safety, place the cotter pin back in. Now drive the car in tight circles, right and left, and this should loosen the hub. After you can remove the hub you can have access to the brake drum.

Sorry for being late. I agree with Antique Mechanic as to loosen the wheel.
Here are the pictures of the hubpuller etc.:
https://vccachat.org/ubbthreads.php...earch/true/Removing_the_wheel#Post226299

You may read more about it in this thread.

Before you remove the wheel, put the car horizontally and release the service brake (right pedal). Be careful when removing the brake springs holding the shoes together.

If you find the new linings to be thicker than the ones you remove, release the brake wires somewhat to make it possible for the new linings to fit to the drum size.

It may be a little tricky to adjust the 4 wires to brake evenly. The left pedal must be given some space in between the clutching and the braking. The service brake should start to brake close to the moment you use it, so try to adjust those linings to nearly touch the drums, when the pedal is free.

When you have adjusted, try the brakes in a quiet place, and adjust to get the car go straight forward, even when braking hard.

Hope this may help.



PS. I have had the hub puller made here in Oslo, but have seen such for sale on eBay, too.

Brandon,

I suggest you buy the hub puller it is far easier to pull the hubs off that way. You can use a Ford Model T puller they are available from Langs and are not that expensive.

Gary

Thanks for the tip, Gary. Agreed. Sorry I did not know about that possibility before I bought mine.

Here is the page: http://www.modeltford.com/item/2800WP.aspx

Thanks Gary, I ordered the Rear Wheel Puller from LANG"s...regardless of the condition of my brakes on inspection, I would like to order the inner and outer brakes for my 490. Are these available through you ? Do you have a contact number I can call to order ? Brandon.

I am hoping to see an answer here, too. Finally pulled off my rear wheel on the '16 and looked around in there today. Needs new linings. Do guys just get the old shoes re-lined?

I haven't pulled my rear drums yet (it's on the to-do list), but I bought lining material from an eBay seller a couple years ago. I just dug out his old message:

"It takes 2 pieces of 1 1/4 x 5/32 26 1/2 inches long and two pieces of 1 1/4 x 5/32 27 1/2 inches long. I have some and will list it if you want to purchase it. - nutnnew

I bought enough to reline my car. I just emailed nutnnew and asked if he has any left. I'll let you know.

According to Lang's, the hub puller "Screws onto the hubcap threads...". Knowing that 490 hub cap thread size changed over the years, do you know the Model T thread size?

The model T Ford has the same size hubcap up to the 1922 490/superior model (which increased in Diameter to 2 3/8'). The thread size for 490 models from 1916 to 1921 is 2 1/8" USS thread. The Model T Ford pullers are readily available.

Thanks for that, Don!

Jack - on the hub thread, 2-1/8" by how many threads per inch?

And thanks Don for the 5 years you served as VCCA Pres. The club has gotten better every year since I joined in 2008.

I'm not sure how many threads per inch, but it's a 2-1/8" fine thread. I learned about 490 hubs the hard way when I bought hub caps from Gary Wallace - that turned out to be the larger thread size. They look real nice on my display shelf.

Haven't heard back on the linings yet.

Don , 2 1/8" x 24 tpi USS ( obsolete thread)
The 1922 model uses 2 1/4" x 16 tpi.

Hello Don,

When we changed the lining on my 1916 (in 2002), the new were put on the old shoes after cleaning them for oil/dirt. When I got oil on the new ones later on we "boiled" the shoes/linings in 300 degrees Celsius for one hour. A lot of smoke, but I never have had any problem with them.

Thanks for that thread count, Jack, that will be helpful to me.

What is needed now is a source for the brake lining material as identified above: 1-1/4" wide by 5/32" thick, by ten feet or so length.