m37jarhead wrote:
Given that, I give them plenty of room ahead because there's always some moron that slams on their disk brakes, 10 feet in front of me to make a turn. One of these days they will have an LU-4 sticking into their rear window.
Jerry
Here in Michigan, that would be sufficient evidence for you to get the ticket for the accident.
Maybe we should all get dash cams?
Around here, having a dash cam probably wouldn't matter. The presumption is that if you hit someone from behind (and they weren't moving in reverse) you were following too close and the accident is your fault.
For those of us who regularly drive older vehicles with levels of braking that are significantly different from modern automobiles, this presumption is worrisome.
“When a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, IT IS THEIR RIGHT, IT IS THEIR DUTY, TO THROW OFF SUCH GOVERNMENT...” -Declaration of Independence, 1776
TAK824 wrote:I'll take the M-37's brakes over the ones I had on a 1930 Model A sedan. Totally mechanical brakes, and very small linings. Reason I sold it was because with the crazy drivers around now, I knew it was only a matter of time.........at least with the M-37 you've got some "protection" around you........!
At one time I had a '38 Ford For-Door with suicide doors in the back. It had CABLE linking the brake pedal to
the brake drums. No amount of adjusting and tightening of the cables kept the cable from stretching in a panic
stop.
Finally sold it when one of the "morons" that I mentioned above slammed on their brakes in front of me.
With both feet on my brake pedal, I finally stopped 6 inches from the other guys rear bumper.
Two of my kids in the back; no seat belts, no one hurt. That was enough for me. Sold it.
At least the Model A's had steel rods instead of cable.
Jerry
I put juice brakes on my Model A. Was a great street car. Tonight, I don't have to worry about the brakes on my M. It is sitting broke down 23 miles from home and a borrowed 68 cornbinder is dripping in my driveway. I LIKE the brakes on it. Good feel and good stopping power for 4 wheel manual drums.
My brake overhaul has certainly paid off-I don't tailgate and leave plenty of space when pulling up behind someone at a red light. However, that doesn't stop all the left-turn fools from whisking in front of me as I'm going straight thru MY green light. I'm going to add the loudest railroad air horn I can get once I do my combat resto this year....
Gary
Cal_Gary wrote:My brake overhaul has certainly paid off-I don't tailgate and leave plenty of space when pulling up behind someone at a red light. However, that doesn't stop all the left-turn fools from whisking in front of me as I'm going straight thru MY green light. I'm going to add the loudest railroad air horn I can get once I do my combat resto this year....
Gary
Gary:
A friend of mine has a real train horn on his Strata Blue military truck. Besides normal traffic warnings, he uses
it to blow up skirts of co-eds on the college campus near him. Not literally, but I bet more than one of them had to
change their shorts.
You would be amazed at the difference a booster in the drum system makes. If your M37 has the stock engine and running gear, and you have a vacuum booster, GOOD DRUMS, and properly adjusted shoe to drum clearances on your truck, I'd have to say your braking ability should be just fine in practically all situations.
However with the availability of good drums almost impossible, and upgrades to trucks that offer better compatibility on today's highways, a 4-wheel power disc system is far and away the better and SAFER option on trucks that have been highly modified with more engine power, torque, and higher geared drivetrains. We have done much with upgrading to disc systems, have consistently incorporated upgrades into our own disc system designs we use on our rebuilt trucks with 75+ MPH top end speed capability. The latest we have done incorporates a hydraulic booster into a very precision built, dual circuit, 4-wheel disc system. I'll be the first to tell you that even the very best 4-wheel disc system is woefully lacking in good stopping ability unless the system has a good booster system added. I get calls regularly inquiring about the disc systems we have built and offer for DIY installation. The simple truth is this; installing a 2 or 4-wheel disc system; regardless of whether it is one of our precision designed and built systems or someone else's system, if a booster is not incorporated into your system, you will be highly disappointed in the actual braking ability a disc system can provide; in fact I would go as far as to say this. In a 4-wheel disc system without a booster, the braking ability is about the same as with a good condition, original non-boosted drum system.
52PLOWERWAGON wrote:will the stock flathead have enough vacuum to power that booster?
We install a vacuum reservoir on all the ones we build using a gas engine. If you do the set up as it should be done with a reservoir, check valves, etc., there is enough reserve vacuum to offer 3-4 boosted brake applications after the engine shuts down. Our thinking here is for safety sake; in the event the engine unexpectedly shuts down while driving, you have plenty of reserve vacuum to apply brakes and get off the road safely. As long as the engine is running, there are no issues at all the way we design ours. I can't speak for other designs. Our diesel trucks get a hydraulic booster system, we have done one that had an air boosted system. My preference is the Hydro-Max system; actually this can be used with either gas or diesel power, although we have not yet used this system with a gas burner.
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