OP hasn't checked in lately so.....
Front Drum brake troubles on a 1964 Dart
- Thread starter schlockfink
- Start date
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Yah I know, by now he probably fixed it .
I found it interesting that nobody said anything about adjusting the brakes as the first place to start .
I found it interesting that nobody said anything about adjusting the brakes as the first place to start .
With the OP having a 'professional' mechanic actually working on it, We'd hope adjustment was already adjusted/corrected, but these days......
As far as being 'hub-centric', they are, but I've seen real butcher jobs wafer-wheeling/chiseling/hammering/etc. to remove the swaged stakes. Then They slip the drums over the studs & crank down the wheels over them, but the drums get deformed & may be centered, but they're not square.
I fought and fought and fought aftermarket crap on our '63 9" front drums. They would drag, warp, get hot, go out of round and on and on.. I tried 3 different brands/style of drums and 3 different designs of shoes (yes if you look carefully shoe backing plates are designed differently). I FINALLY got a combo that worked and got in an emergency stopping situation and decided if the wife was driving she could have never pressed on the brake hard enough to stop as fast as I did and put disks on it. I still have the setups that worked on the shelf (with spindles). I am going to Spring Fling in Van Nuys next month and you can have them if you want them.
schlockfink
Active Member
Thanks! If I was close to so-Cal I'd be totally grabbing those from you. What was the final combo of drum brands and shoes you found that worked?
Thanks,
Paul
That was too long ago, I wish I could remember but I am sure nothing is the same today as it was 4 years ago.
schlockfink
Active Member
My mechanic is still messing around with it. It had the cheapest drums available on the front. So he found some Dynamic Friction company brand Drums that look pretty good and is installing them on today. Hopefully these new drums don't suck, because this is getting frustrating.
schlockfink
Active Member
Aren't these brakes automatic adjusting?
junkyardhero
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64+ should be self adjusting.
however, it's possible somebody adios'd them because they either didn't know what they were doing or couldn't get the parts at the time.
Leanin'Dart270
Member
Later 9 in drums are finned. I think they started in 70. Heavier and I would think less likely to warp. I put a set on my 64 and they work fine (for 9 in drums anyways). You can also use 67 or newer shoes and adjusters but have to get a matching set, the shoes have the posts for the adjusters where shoes for early cars are identical but missing the studs. The newer style is more reliable.
19DART66
Well-Known Member
A buddy of mine went through a similar problem with the 11 inch drum brakes on his GTX. What he found was the same as some others have said, new drums out of round but with a twist. He also found that the new shoes were only touching at the very top of the front shoe and very bottom of the back shoe. So he took the long strips of sandpaper with the glue on the back for body sanding boards and lined the brake drums, spun them as he tightened the adjusters till he got an even wear pattern on both shoes and this fixed the rest of the problem of the brakes getting hot. Turns out that the taper that brake shoes use to have at the top and bottom of the friction material is either not there or not enough for full contact on the new junk shoes that are being sold.
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