- Last seen
- Joined
- Aug 18, 2018
- Thunderbird Year
- 1964
Hi all. I've been around the barn on brake shoes for the '64 and thought I would share with you guys.
I went to replace the front brake shoes on the car. Had the drums turned and dutifully installed the Centric bonded brake shoes recommended by the local parts house. Not good. Trying to stop above 35 mph, the brakes pulsed and chattered to a dangerous degree.
One of my buddies is a certifiable Ford hot rodder who works the parts counter for the local Ford dealership. I shared my tale of woe with him and he told me that Ford OE brakes work the best because they are riveted and, well, because they're Ford. So I bought a set of NOS OE front brake shoes from NOS Parts Ltd. When they arrived, it was like opening a time capsule. Noticed a few differences too, 1) the primary shoes have longitudinal grooves in them, 2) the linings don't extend as far around the shoes as the bonded linings do, and 3) the linings of the primary versus secondary shoes are different colors and appear to be different compositions. And they're riveted of course.
Anyway, long story short, I installed the OE shoes and braking is much smoother than with the Centrics, and the pulsing/chattering problem is eliminated. I'm impressed and have found a set of NOS OE rear brake shoes that I'm going to buy.
I'm not advocating NOS OE brake shoes. It may be the key to all this is that they're riveted and that the lining doesn't extend as far around the shoes as do the bonded brake shoes. I believe Bendix is the OE brake shoe manufacturer for Ford and likely their brake shoes will work fine too.
I went to replace the front brake shoes on the car. Had the drums turned and dutifully installed the Centric bonded brake shoes recommended by the local parts house. Not good. Trying to stop above 35 mph, the brakes pulsed and chattered to a dangerous degree.
One of my buddies is a certifiable Ford hot rodder who works the parts counter for the local Ford dealership. I shared my tale of woe with him and he told me that Ford OE brakes work the best because they are riveted and, well, because they're Ford. So I bought a set of NOS OE front brake shoes from NOS Parts Ltd. When they arrived, it was like opening a time capsule. Noticed a few differences too, 1) the primary shoes have longitudinal grooves in them, 2) the linings don't extend as far around the shoes as the bonded linings do, and 3) the linings of the primary versus secondary shoes are different colors and appear to be different compositions. And they're riveted of course.
Anyway, long story short, I installed the OE shoes and braking is much smoother than with the Centrics, and the pulsing/chattering problem is eliminated. I'm impressed and have found a set of NOS OE rear brake shoes that I'm going to buy.
I'm not advocating NOS OE brake shoes. It may be the key to all this is that they're riveted and that the lining doesn't extend as far around the shoes as do the bonded brake shoes. I believe Bendix is the OE brake shoe manufacturer for Ford and likely their brake shoes will work fine too.