The Henry J was the chassis of choice for many Specials of the '50s & '60s...

Below is portion of a La Dawri Coachcraft announcement introducing the new 1D kit for the Conquest, which uses the Henry J. chassis in lieu of the fabricated tubular chassis of the 1C Kit no longer available.  It is believed that this document was released during late 1958.   (This announcement was part of the larger Quest Q.T. factory release announcement not included below.
-- John Edw. Gulow -- 27 August 1981

NEW 1D KIT:  FOR THE CONQUEST BODY.
No doubt you will be pleased to learn that we have reduced the price of the assembled kit unit.  This new kit DISCONTINUES AND REPLACES the 1C unit and will be known as Assembly Kit 1D which includes the 1B body, its included features mounted on the extremely light and sturdy Henry J. tube type frame which incorporates independent front suspension.  In the case of V-8 motors, the Henry J. rear-end is replaced with ’49 and later Ford rear-ends, and adapter plates are supplied to convert the front Henry J. backing plates and brake system to Ford. - $23.00 extra.  The extremely lightweight of the 1D unit gives a much higher percentage of braking and power to weight ratio.  When the motor is placed rearward in the 1D unit, an increase in torsional rigidity is accomplished thus giving the 1D unit high torsional rigidity at extremely lightweight.  The stiff spring rate on the front suspension and the low weight transfer of the semi-elliptic rear results in extremely agile cornering abilities.  The fiberglass body kit 1B, with all its cost free included features is mounted on the frame utilizing our cantilever method of mounting thus supplying the floorboards.  The 1D kit unit is approximately 935 pounds, and is priced at $895.00.  100lbs. Lighter and $100.00 cheaper than the former kit 1C.  A good buy for the home enthusiasts.

Henry J and 1949-'53 Ford Front Suspensions

"The Henry J front brakes may be interchanged with 1949-51 Ford.
Ford backing plates are adapted with a plate to front spindles."
- La Dawri Coachcraft Instruction Manual -

Ford Front Suspension Parts

From John Gulow:
The Front end change....wow, that was done over 30 years ago now.

The La Dawri Daytona that we bought came on a "Z'd" 1949-54 Ford chassis, in fact the car was titled as a 1954 Ford [the donor chassis?]. We bought a really nice Henry J rolling chassis and did the front spindle swap....put the Ford ones on in place of the Henry J ones.
The "trick" with the installation, as I recall, was to invert the spindles swapping R with L. It was a simple swap installation, no new parts were needed...off with the Henry J parts...and on with the Ford parts. Thus, the Ford hub, bearings, backing plates and drums were all used in the swap. The Ford spindles replace the Henry J's like they were made for the use!!
We didn't make it up...it came right from an outline description done by La Dawri.  I'll take a look thru the records and post something more about this.

In looking over the Henry J and Ford front end parts diagrams, here's what I seem to recall that we did to our Daytona to install the big Ford front brake assemblies.
1. We disassembled each spindle assembly from their Henry J A-frames.
2. We drove out the King Pins so each steering knuckle was free.
3. We discarded the Henry J knuckles.
4. We reassembled the spindles...putting the original Right side on the Left side, but inverting it to effectively lower the front end. We did the same to the Right side, inverting the original left side spindle.  Inverting the spindles is a "trick" shown in one of the later issues of the La Dawri assembly manual.
5. We installed the Ford steering knuckles in the Henry J spindles!!!  The King Pin diameter was the same!!!! These fit like they were made for the job....I don't believe we even needed any more washer shims to keep the spindle from excess up/down play.
6. The backing plates bolt [as original] to the Ford Knuckles...and all the Ford brake parts are used. I believe the original length Henry J flex brake lines also matched up too.
7. I am a little "fuzzy" about the steering drag linkage setup...but I seem to recall that it all connected to the existing Ford parts as is. I believe there was enough adjustment in the inkages to accommodate the slightly different geometry using the existing Henry J steering box, etc.
The rear end we used was a Ford 9 inch from a 66 Mustang auto V-8. We had planned to use a rebuilt Ford 289 4bbl engine with the Mustang C4 Automatic [makes for an easy shifter setup]. The car now sits on the Henry J chassis, unfinished and in storage in northern NJ....a "someday" project. 
John Gulow
 

From Harold Pace:

For vintage racing you will need some sort of period brakes. The pickiest
groups (HMSA) would prefer drum brakes. The best by far were the 1959-up Buick
drums with Aluminum Alfin drums. They were used on the front of many Buicks
until they went to discs in the late 1960s. My old Bocar had them all the way
around. Don't get the 1958 version, as the drums came apart. Or you can use the
Ford drums with drilled backing plates and good linings (probably OK if you
don't go too fast...a friend of mine runs Monterey every year in his Kurtis with
these brakes). If you use discs use Triumph TR-3/4 or Jaguar solid rotor discs
(both are early discs...the Triumph ones are cheap and you can still buy new
calipers/rotors for them). The Jag brakes can be found on Mk.10 sedans (the
biggest) or Mk.II sedans. They are basically the same as 6-cyl. XKE (but the
Mk.10 ones are larger in diameter and cheaper). What will get you bounced from
most any race group is vented rotors and aftermarket calipers (Brembo, Wilwood,
etc). You can get drum brake linings replaced with race stuff by Porterfield (I
think) and others. The first Old Yallers ran Buick drums, then they switched
to Jag discs up front with Buick drums on the back.
Best wishes,
Harold

From Jon Greuel:
I bought the set up below because they would be safe and effective without having to change my stock suspension.  I have a Henry J chassis with Ford uppers, King Pins and Henry J spindles.
1949-53 Ford Front Disc Brake Kit
http://hotrodsusa.com
All you early Ford guys have been waiting for this. We made up a front disc brake kit using all Wilwood components. Uses 10.75" rotors so 14" rims can be used with this disc brake kit. High quality Wilwood aluminum hubs with Dynalite 4 piston calipers. Comes complete with bearings, seals, pads, calipers, rotors, hubs and hardware. Moves the wheel base out 1/2" on each side.

From Dave Perry

Elwin Holmes, who originally built my Daytona, used the Ford conversion.
He told me he also changed the arms to quicken the steering.  I will get some pictures.
Another choice for pre ' 60 discs is the 59 Healy.   VSCCA cutoff also is Dec 31, 1959.  But really guys, drums are ' IN ' for Vintage...and more than adequate.

From Jon Greuel:
The setup I had when my car came to me was not safe or mechanically sound.  The pitman arm was longer than the standard Henry J to quicken the steering.  It caused binding through the suspension travel.  I replaced it with a stock Henry J arm and ended up with the standard 5 plus turns lock to lock.

Hot Rod Henry J Page

Henry J Cars.com