Early Ford Self-Energizing Hydraulic Brakes

Ford took a big leap toward modern braking when old Henry finally caved and allowed hydraulic brakes to be fitted to Ford cars and truck in 1939. These "juice brakes" became a necessary upgrade to the hot rods and gow jobs being built with hopped up flatheads capable of more speed than those old mechanical brakes could handle.

Fast-forward about eight decades and braking technology has advanced significantly. The obvious answer to upgrading an old hot rod for life in modern traffic would be a disc brake kit, but for some that kills the vintage vibe that makes traditional hot rods so cool. This new kit from Speedway Motors offers the best of both worlds. The self-energizing design is a significant improvement over the old Ford originals, but it's packaged on a backing plate that still looks like it came off the line in the early 40's.

The big difference here is the self-energizing design. This technology was around in the early days; F1 trucks and Lincolns used brakes like this. But the early Ford brakes relied on hydraulic pressure only for stopping power. Self-energizing brakes add a mechanical component. The lack of a lower pin allows the rotating drum to force the shoes out and compound the braking force of the hydraulic wheel cylinder. While many hot rodders over the years have used the truck and Lincoln brakes to take advantage of this design, they never seem to look quite right. Early Ford brakes have a distinctive shape to the backing plate that is instantly recognizable. These new brakes from Speedway Motors offer the best of both worlds; the right look from the early Ford backing plate, in addition to the extra stopping power from the self-energizing design. And these brakes are also easier to adjust with the use of a modern star wheel type adjuster, and no longer using the complicated cam adjusters common to real early Ford brakes.