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EFV-8 Club Forum / General Ford Discussion / Brake Drums

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Posted By Discussion Topic: Brake Drums -- page: 1 2 3     TomO 12-07-2010 @ 7:31 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 7250 Joined: Oct 2009 Dansford, you made a good choice. It is always better to not fix something that is not broken. Your car will be 75 years old next year and they did not manufacture cars with the tolerance that we expect in today's cars. These cars were not perfect when new and trying to make one perfect is an exercise in futility. Tom 51f1 12-07-2010 @ 12:55 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 573 Joined: Oct 2009 I've never seen drum brakes that didn't drag a little when rotated. That's not unusual. Also, when turning brake drums, turn all 4 at the same time. Richard 39Tudor 12-07-2010 @ 5:04 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 4 Joined: Nov 2010 Anyone know of any reproduction brake drums? trjford8 12-08-2010 @ 8:53 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 4214 Joined: Oct 2009 To my knowledge no one repops the wide 5 drums. You might find them NOS, but it's a long shot. You might try Louis Cote in Nevada at 775-867-2729. NOS drums will not be cheap if you find them. You can use the drums from 37-39. Stroker 12-10-2010 @ 3:41 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1460 Joined: Oct 2009 Here's a thought for those who sell stuff to those of us who own 36-39 cars and pickups: Why not make an adapter plate, similar to the one's that are sold for wheel balancing purposes that have both bolt patterns? It might have to be "domed" (convex dish) to accommodate the slightly different bolt circle planes between 32-35/40-48, but it wouldn't take a lot of tooling to manufacture. The inner bolt circle would have tapered holes, and the outer bolt circle could have the wheel studs pressed in place. This would allow the use of currently available aftermarket drums, and even Bendix brake conversions. If I were younger, and could afford the liability insurance, I'd consider doing this on my own. Personally, I have several sets of drums for my 38, but there are, I'm sure some early V8'ers that want to keep their wide-fives, but have paper-thin drums. trjford8 12-10-2010 @ 8:23 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 4214 Joined: Oct 2009 Actually, Speedway Motors sells those adapter plates. Stroker 12-11-2010 @ 12:09 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1460 Joined: Oct 2009 trjFord8 Well, old "Speedy Bill" has beat me to the punch! Actually, those plates are really designed for open-wheel racing applications that use the alloy wide-five rears, where maintaining proper backset isn't quite the same issue as a car with fenders. I was sort of envisioning a similar plate, but stamped, or hydroformed with a negative offset so the vertical plane of the outer bolt circle would hug the 5 on 5 drum. You would still have a slight difference (the thickness of the plate and stud heads), but it wouldn't be as pronounced as simply using a flat plate. I guess the only "correct" solution is for one of the many Chinese foundries to clone the front and rear drums trjford8 12-11-2010 @ 7:32 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 4214 Joined: Oct 2009 Stroker, send a note to Speedy Bill and he just might do it. He's an interesting guy. I met him last year when we made the trip from California to Auburn, Indiana. A trip through Speedy Bill's Museum is a real treat. Stroker 12-12-2010 @ 4:39 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1460 Joined: Oct 2009 trjford8 Good advice: Actually, I have dealt with "Speedy" since the 60's, and for those of you that love flatmotors, Bill and his associates built a record setting streamliner that ran at Bonneville in the late 80's with a flathead engine, with Don Garlits doing the driving. Given that 36-39's are numerous, and given that not only the brake drums are an "endangered species", there is also the question of wheels. For every 2 front, and 2 rear drums produced during that 4 year period, there were also only 5 wheels. Also given that some of those wheels were the narrower V8-60's, the wheels are also an "issue". Perhaps the most logical approach would be to design a center for 16-inch wheels that incorporates the little "spyder spokes", the wide-five hubcap clips, and a 5-on-5 bolt center, with the correct backspace. This way, two problems are solved; the lack of good 36-39 drums, and the lack of 36-39 wheels. Stroker 12-12-2010 @ 6:11 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1460 Joined: Oct 2009 trjford8: Well, I passed my latest on to Bill Smith, so we'll see what happens. As some point in the future, something will have to be done to address the lack of wide-5 wheels and drums. I'm sure that some enterprising type will fill the void long before I run out of drums. Stroker

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