1920 Buick front brake kit

[Jackrosie]

Does anyone know of a brake conversion kit to add brakes to the front wheels on a 1920 Buick?

 

Ditto 1912 Cadillac

 

Regards

Jack

[Rusty_OToole]

Your best bet would be to check the axle on a newer Buick or Cadillac. When did they first use front brakes? Chances are they did not change the axle very much. If the springs are the same width and distance apart the axle should be a bolt on. Then you will have to figure out the linkage if they are mechanical.

[dibarlaw]

Jack:

 If you wish to do front brakes I would check out some of the modifications done to some of the Great Race participant cars. Some were done as disk brake set ups. Either hydraulic or electrically controlled. Much easier modifications to make. The 1924 and later Buick mechanical set up required much more hardware not just the addition of some drums and cables to the front axles. Extra brake rods, cables pivot point, equalizer shafts. All pieces engineered to work as a unit. If set up and adjusted properly they are excellent stoppers. (Just don't get them wet.)

I helped a BCA member work on his 1919 H45. When he had me drive it, it scared the beejesus out of me as it had hardly any brakes. Pedal to the floor and hardly any thing slowed. He said that when his father had work done in the 1970s he thought that that was all the braking it should have. I checked and he had parts missing from the right rear brake. So in effect he had a "one wheel brake system". After sourcing a few items from a local hardware store, we made some of the missing pieces in his garage. After replacing the missing parts, taking up all the lost motion in the brake rods and doing an adjustment he took it out for a drive. He was amazed that it would actually stop so well with about 3/4 pedal.   Having said this these still are not like modern brakes.. The were barely adequate as speeds and traffic accelerated in the 1920s. Hence the need for 4 wheel brakes and better systems. I have driven early Buicks with 2 wheel brakes and felt perfectly comfortable but at a speed of probably not more than 35-40 MPH. And when driving these cars one must respect the limitations of the design.. in short be aware, be careful and plan ahead.

[60FlatTop]

Here is an example of a set of external contracting brakes from a '29 I am parting out. The linkage is really complex and would be a nightmare to swap over.

Look at that solid actuator rod that has to pivot with the wheel.

 

I buy my brake lining from: http://www.rochesterclutch.com/   They have three basic levels of non-asbestos lining material. They can probably make your brakes equal or better than new.

 

[Jackrosie]

10 hours ago, 60FlatTop said:

Here is an example of a set of external contracting brakes from a '29 I am parting out. The linkage is really complex and would be a nightmare to swap over.

Look at that solid actuator rod that has to pivot with the wheel.

 

I buy my brake lining from: http://www.rochesterclutch.com/   They have three basic levels of non-asbestos lining material. They can probably make your brakes equal or better than new.

 

 

[Jackrosie]

Thanks Guys for the suggestions and in particular 60 Flat Top.

 

I am aware of the complexities of a mechanical brake setup and ideally I am looking for a hydraulic conversion kit.

I believe that there is something available for Model T's and I may be able to adapt this to my Buick.

 

I live in the Alps with many steep roads, so I really want to have brakes up front as well as at the rear.

[60FlatTop]

For steep grades you might consider buying another Buick and a stout cable.

 

[Jackrosie]

A friend has suggested a marine anchor, but I prefer hydraulic brakes, so what about it, does anyone know who makes the Ford Model T hydraulic conversion kit?

[Mark Shaw]

A quick search and this is what it shows...

https://www.modeltford.com/item/2565.aspx

 

[Rusty_OToole]

If all you care about is stopping and not looks or authenticity then a modern disc brake would be the thing. They can even be disguised with drum like covers.

 

The question is, would it be easier to adapt them to an axle that had brakes on it, and therefore had mountings for the drum/disc and backing plate? Or start from scratch with a non braked axle?

 

Then there is the problem of making new hydraulic brakes work with the old back brakes. You may have to replace the back brakes with hydraulics. You end up re engineering the whole braking system and building a modern system, hot rod style.

 

Maybe it would be easier to buy a newer car and leave the 1912 models alone. They are over 100 years old, maybe it is time they were in a museum if they are not safe to drive.