rear wheel brakes & cylinders

[phils]

I think most of the parts on my rear brakes are 1947 (rear backing plates 42-48?, but not sure, they look like maybe 1949-53). Anyways, I bought a set of shoes in 1993 and the company listed them as 1942-48 shoes. They are 11" x 1.75". (which doesn't make sense as I thought Ford ran 12" shoes on everything until 1948). I have no idea what the drums are. See pics.

Anyways, it's time for the wheel cylinders to be replaced. I believe, 1947 wheel cylinder bores were 1" & 1-1/8" originally? (if they are indeed that), but I replaced the cylinders with a ez to get single 7/8" bore W/C (used on at least 50 different applications from 1965-96). Now I have a new pair of 1967 Galaxie wheel cylinders, which are 15/16" bore and (again) will fit right in.

Can anyone can tell me if this was common to upgrade the wheel cylinders on the old Ford rear brakes to a single-bore, 1960's style like I've been running?

 

[Blue Eyed Devil]

Definitely NOT a '47. Those are late model brakes which is why your late model wheel cylinders fit. If you show a picture of the housing I can point you in a better direction of what you have there, but I can tell by the axles it's not an early Ford...

 

[phils]

axle

B.E.D. - sorry, should have mentioned the axle is a 10 bolt - Dana 44 (a one wheel wonder with 3.31:1 gears....that's what the tag on the diff cover states anyways). See pics, (air shocks are being dumped, too).

I'm probably wrong on all that drum shoe stuff, as my notes from when I did all this in 1993 are a mess and i really don't know much about brakes.....
maybe the brakes that are on it, are from whenever someone put it in the car when it was first put together? The drums do have a small slot to insert a feeler gauge to set the brake shoes? Don't know if this was still being done in the 60s.

 

[Blue Eyed Devil]

OK that's what I suspected. Someone has swapped the rear to an F-1 or early F-100 Dana unit with Pete & Jake's style ladder bars. That should be all you need to know to get your necessary parts. The NAPA website is showing '49 F-1 rear wheel cylinders as part #'s UP9025 and UP9026 - $8.69 each. '55 F-100 shows part #'s UP17507 and UP17508 - $8.49 each. Hope that helps...