Non self adjusting rear drum brakes on a Dart?

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DLJ

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I've just finished doing some work under my 318 Dart to make it run again and now doing the final adjustments including finding out what may be wrong with rear drum brakes once car pulls to the right when I try to stop fast... left rear drum seems to be missing.
This is a stock 1976 Dodge Dart assembled in Brazil and it has a few different components when compared to the US Darts.
Has anyone ever seen these drum brakes on a mopar? They are not self adjusting rear brakes.
I replaced all hydraulic cylinders including master cylinder. Will be bleeding rear circuit again but... just got curious, if this system was put on in 1976 on Brazilian Darts, where it came from? Thanks for any info on non self adjusting mopar rear drum brakes.

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Nope, they sure don't have that feature.
 
Whoa. Those definitely aren’t self adjusting. They look the same as the tapered axle brakes that came on the pre-65 stuff here. But after that they all had self adjusters here in the US anyway. Not sure what they did on the Brazilian stuff.

Those brakes take a fine touch, the shoes have to have good engagement to the drums. There was a tool used to check the arc of the shoes to match the drums. Then you had to adjust them manually until you had them where you wanted them. And then adjust them manually again every 1,000 miles for wear I think is what the manual said. A royal pain.
 
Whoa. Those definitely aren’t self adjusting. They look the same as the tapered axle brakes that came on the pre-65 stuff here. But after that they all had self adjusters here in the US anyway. Not sure what they did on the Brazilian stuff.

Those brakes take a fine touch, the shoes have to have good engagement to the drums. There was a tool used to check the arc of the shoes to match the drums. Then you had to adjust them manually until you had them where you wanted them. And then adjust them manually again every 1,000 miles for wear I think is what the manual said. A royal pain.
I figured some items like these drum brakes were obsolete in the US by the time they brought them to Brazil, just curious if they are really earlier mopar or some else. Chrysler in Brazil bought Simca a french auto maker and used their facilities to start making the darts in Brazil back in 1969. They shut down for good in 1982.
 
Looks like a Chrysler part no. on that drum.
But exactly how do you adjust them? I don't see the mechanism... or is it just so weird that I don't recognize it?
 
yeah, those are weird. Possible a contractual agreement that mandates that certain parts be home-grown or manufactured. That bottom shoe stop looks like it may have something behind it.
 
The shoes are adjusted by rotating 2 bolts on the back side, one for each shoe, the pins move the shoes on an eccentric base.
I am not sure why the left side is not holding as much as the right, they are adjusted the same.. it seems that adjustment of parking brakes cable can also have some influence in that aspect. Anyway, too old for a 1976 with front disk brakes.

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yeah, those are weird. Possible a contractual agreement that mandates that certain parts be home-grown or manufactured. That bottom shoe stop looks like it may have something behind it.
Maybe that was the case...
 
These are early Chrysler single plane brakes and are adjusted by a "cam" accessed on the backing plate. Chrysler was the last holdout, resisting paying Bendix any royalties. It seems that something changed when they went to Brazil.
 
These are early Chrysler single plane brakes and are adjusted by a "cam" accessed on the backing plate. Chrysler was the last holdout, resisting paying Bendix any royalties. It seems that something changed when they went to Brazil.
Is that right? Chrysler sure sold some of their old version parts as brand new in their cars on other countries but this 76 Dart was top of the line back then, with thicker torsion bars and front sway bar (same as the ones on the 340's), front disk brakes, AC, etc... but that old drum brakes system...
 
Maybe they figured with 80% or so of the braking being done by the front discs, those rear brakes were just not very important? :eek:
 
Take a look through here to see if you can find the tech tips for those.
search by using cntl-F in your browser.
Master Technician Service Conference - Chrysler's Training for Mechanics
1963 Booklet introduces the "servo-contact" (aka Bendix duo-servo) type brakes.
So yours should be in the earlier books/films.
such as 3-Platform (1959), Center-Plane, and Total Contact systems.
 
Sad to say, those service tech booklets bring back memories. The front brakes featured two "half "wheel cylinders in a "dual plane" configuration which were notorious for being hard to bleed because one of the wheel cylinders was basically upside down. Curious what your fronts look like. Your rear brakes are "single plane" which features one wheel cylinder. Good luck. The rest of us are thankful for Bendix brakes which in the beginning where not self adjusting- that came later.
 
What type rear axel? I would scrap that setup for the self common adjusting type it not too involved.
I want to keep this car all stock, except for the wheels and tires I put on P245-60R14s. The rear axle on this car is a 10 bold (GM like) differential, they were using DANA`s too in that year but mine came out with a 10 bolt GM.
 
So I believe it's an 8.25" Mopar rear end (it has a 10-bolt cover). You are highly unlikey to find anything made by GM in any Mopar. Besides, they put the 8.25" in just about everything in the '70s, there would be no reason to buy GM rear ends.
 
So I believe it's an 8.25" Mopar rear end (it has a 10-bolt cover). You are highly unlikey to find anything made by GM in any Mopar. Besides, they put the 8.25" in just about everything in the '70s, there would be no reason to buy GM rear ends.
Take a look, either That or a Dana on some lucky automatics...

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Cobra-sma/Braseixos is a company that makes auto/truck axles today. So what you have there isn't Mopar, or Dana. It's a Braseixos! Maybe a carbon-copy of a GM 10-bolt, or simply made for GM (and Chrysler?). Very unusual.
 
Cobra-sma/Braseixos is a company that makes auto/truck axles today. So what you have there isn't Mopar, or Dana. It's a Braseixos! Maybe a carbon-copy of a GM 10-bolt, or simply made for GM (and Chrysler?). Very unusual.
Yes, we are back to 1970's, Braseixos was manufacturing that same axle for gm light trucks as well. Easier for Chrysler to use them than importing parts and pay taxes or make Braseixos manufacture the US versions, once they never manufactured a substantial amount of Darts in Brazil. I think the whole 12 year production since 69 till 81 never added up to 100k units and after 76 not even 20k were made. Gas became really expensive...
 
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