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Is it ok this brake shoe and rear end?

Posted: Mon Feb 15, 2021 1:44 pm
by Quickm007
Hi, one of my braking rear end plate on my speedster 1914 is bent as you see in the pictures bellow. The new brake shoe look it will do is job I thought. Did you think I will have a brake security issue or it will be fine? Just not esthetic but look it will work as supposed. Any thoughts, comments or suggestions?
rear 1914 1.JPG
rear 1914 2.JPG
rear 1914 3.JPG
rear 1914 4.JPG

Re: Is it ok this brake shoe and rear end?

Posted: Mon Feb 15, 2021 2:05 pm
by RajoRacer
It will just let "road crap" in !

Mario - let's see a photo of your disc wheel - I had the same brake drum on my racer wheels - best I could research was that they were manufactured by Motor Utilities Co. - they also manufactured "peddler's" boxes for Runabouts.

Re: Is it ok this brake shoe and rear end?

Posted: Mon Feb 15, 2021 2:07 pm
by Quickm007
1914 fev 2021.JPG

Re: Is it ok this brake shoe and rear end?

Posted: Mon Feb 15, 2021 2:47 pm
by John Warren
Just take a big Cresent wrench and bend it back. Easy

Re: Is it ok this brake shoe and rear end?

Posted: Mon Feb 15, 2021 3:23 pm
by TWrenn
I'm certainly no expert, but I say leave it be. Not hurting anything, more cosmetic than anything.
Bending it just MIGHT cause it to crack. My luck, it would for sure!! :lol:

Re: Is it ok this brake shoe and rear end?

Posted: Mon Feb 15, 2021 3:41 pm
by RajoRacer
I wouldn't attempt to bend it back without heat - I've seen them cracked !

Re: Is it ok this brake shoe and rear end?

Posted: Mon Feb 15, 2021 3:50 pm
by John Warren
Guys, I have done it several times. Not going to hurt anything. It is just cos-medic in many cases , but can easily be fixed without heat. In his case it has the brake cam out of line.

Re: Is it ok this brake shoe and rear end?

Posted: Mon Feb 15, 2021 4:58 pm
by Allan
I'm with John. That is a minor bend in the scheme of things. With a great big crescent wrench, correcting that bend is only a minor tweak. The bigger the wrench the better, not just for the extra leverage. Hauling on the handle will load the outer edge. The other jaw will be deeper so that the pivot point is closer to the centre of the backing plate. This will allow the correcting bend to be made within the depth of the backing plate rather than just on the outside rim. It should help to bring the brake cam back into square also.

Hope this helps.
Allan from down under.

Re: Is it ok this brake shoe and rear end?

Posted: Mon Feb 15, 2021 5:28 pm
by Charlie B in N.J.
I think I might pull the shoes lay a good heavy piece of steel across the outside of the plate and use a C clamp to finesse the bend out.

Re: Is it ok this brake shoe and rear end?

Posted: Mon Feb 15, 2021 6:23 pm
by RGould1910
I've never seen or heard of one breaking by either bending or hammering. I've straightened a bunch with and without heat by hammering. Makes no difference. I also tried heating and bending against a solid piece of steel. It didnt work. The bend returned. At first I was scared to use a hammer so I tried it on a couple junk rear ends. I was pleased to see by careful placement of the blows, you couldn't tell there was ever a bend. Thanks to Kim Dobbins for the tip!

Re: Is it ok this brake shoe and rear end?

Posted: Tue Feb 16, 2021 9:12 am
by Quickm007
Thank you all for the advices. I am still nervous because is cast not steel... I successful be able to correct bend steel in the past but I heard cast could broke without any advices when happen... For that reason I'm asking if any have experienced success with cast... I will probably leave it be it is more cosmetic and to do not affect the break efficacy. Maybe I'm too chicken to try with big crescent wrench. I do not have other left 1914 leg back up if I broke this leg... lol

Re: Is it ok this brake shoe and rear end?

Posted: Tue Feb 16, 2021 10:30 am
by John Warren
Mario, It is steel, not cast iron. Like many have said, most of the time just cos-medic. Good luck and happy travels.

Re: Is it ok this brake shoe and rear end?

Posted: Tue Feb 16, 2021 1:53 pm
by Quickm007
Thank you John, I thought it was cast because it is 1914 rear axle.

Kind regards,

Re: Is it ok this brake shoe and rear end?

Posted: Tue Feb 16, 2021 3:03 pm
by Jerry VanOoteghem
Quickm007 wrote:
Tue Feb 16, 2021 1:53 pm
Thank you John, I thought it was cast because it is 1914 rear axle.

Kind regards,

It IS cast. It's cast steel, (or maybe malleable iron), but not cast iron. It should bend okay.

I like Charlie B's heavy plate of steel and large c-clamp method. That way you're not pulling on the whole flange, axle tube, etc.

Re: Is it ok this brake shoe and rear end?

Posted: Wed Feb 17, 2021 3:47 am
by Wayne Sheldon
I have straightened several model T backing plates, including 1913/'14 ones. Usually no problems. I have done some cold, several hot, and my feeling has been that hot worked better and more smoothly.
The only one I ever had serious problems with, and basically I destroyed it, was an early Hall-Scott casting. It had been previously repaired, and badly so. It didn't take much to see it was probably actual cast iron, and practically fell apart when any attempt was made to straighten it. It also had some casting flaws that would have required welding or brazing (at this time, it is pointless to debate which method would be better).

Otherwise, real Ford OEM backing plates? I have welded repairs, brazed repairs where I felt it was appropriate, and straightened several of them.