Drum Brakes for front

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Mopar Dude

Mopar Dude

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Fairmount, Ga.
I have a 74 Dart Sport with different lug patterns front and rear. I would like to have matching so I only have to carry one spare tire. I have 5x4 drum brakes on the front and I am looking for 5x4.5 drums to swap out. If anyone has any or knows where else I could look please let me know. I keep wondering what everyone does with there old drum brake kits after they swap to disc. I am located in North Georgia. Thanks
 
Mopar Dude said:
I have a 74 Dart Sport with different lug patterns front and rear. I would like to have matching so I only have to carry one spare tire. I have 5x4 drum brakes on the front and I am looking for 5x4.5 drums to swap out. If anyone has any or knows where else I could look please let me know. I keep wondering what everyone does with there old drum brake kits after they swap to disc. I am located in North Georgia. Thanks
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All A-body front drums were small bolt pattern even through 1976 so if something else would work it would have to come off something else.
 
ive got a set of 1970 B body drum set ups idk if the fit easy but let me know
 
I don't know about 68-70 b-bodies but I do know that 66-67 b's will work I did that on my 71 dart I raced in high school 20 yrs ago to poor to afford wilwoods and to young to know about 73 up disc's..lol..Hope this helps :)
 
I don't know if you have a 7.25 rear but you could get a sbp 7.25 rear for next to nothing and run sbp on the back
 
You can also have a machine shop redrill and install new studs(1/2'') in the drum hubs you have now.
 
you could use drums from a 68-72 b or e body, if i recall, their was some 68-69 coronets with 9" drums or 10" drums big bolt. they normally have a hub that separates from the drum. you will need to check on the wheel bearings to see if they are the same.
 
I have a couple 7 1/4's with the 5 on 4 bolt pattern. one was from a 68 post dart, the other was from a 65 Barracuda... The barracuda had 10 brakes all the way around.

The only problem I see is that Freight from 89701 to 30139 is $288-$320.... Are you willing to pay that in shipping?
 
jferrel said:
I have a couple 7 1/4's with the 5 on 4 bolt pattern. one was from a 68 post dart, the other was from a 65 Barracuda... The barracuda had 10 brakes all the way around.

The only problem I see is that Freight from 89701 to 30139 is $288-$320.... Are you willing to pay that in shipping?
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Road trip!! :burnout:
I found a Mopar Junkyard less than 5 miles from my house the other day. I never knew it was there haha. Im going to check with them and look around here first
 
Mopar Dude said:
Road trip!! :burnout:
I found a Mopar Junkyard less than 5 miles from my house the other day. I never knew it was there haha. Im going to check with them and look around here first
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Just be aware that the availability of 10" small bolt pattern rear brake drums are between slim and none since no one is making them now.
 
Personally I would never swap an 8 1/4 (if that is what you have) for a 7 1/4.

If your rear end is an 8 1/4 you will also need a drive shaft.



If their inventories are current these places may have a sbp rear end.


Charlie's (76 miles from your zip) is showing two sbp rear ends with 10" brakes.

http://www.charliesusedautoparts.com/

Salvage Hunter (42 miles from your zip) is showing one sbp rear ends with 9" brakes.

http://www.salvagehunter.net/


JP's Muscle Cars (76 miles from your zip) is showing one sbp rear ends with 9" brakes.

http://jpmusclecars.3dcartstores.com/


New Dixie Used Auto Parts Atlanta, Ga 1-404-873-2400 (47 miles from your zip) is showing one sbp rear ends with 9" brakes.
 
Oklacarcollecto said:
Personally I would never swap an 8 1/4 (if that is what you have) for a 7 1/4.

If your rear end is an 8 1/4 you will also need a drive shaft.



If their inventories are current these places may have a sbp rear end.


Charlie's (76 miles from your zip) is showing two sbp rear ends with 10" brakes.

http://www.charliesusedautoparts.com/

Salvage Hunter (42 miles from your zip) is showing one sbp rear ends with 9" brakes.

http://www.salvagehunter.net/


JP's Muscle Cars (76 miles from your zip) is showing one sbp rear ends with 9" brakes.

http://jpmusclecars.3dcartstores.com/


New Dixie Used Auto Parts Atlanta, Ga 1-404-873-2400 (47 miles from your zip) is showing one sbp rear ends with 9" brakes.
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Thanks for checking into that. Every time I try to search for parts on the internet or even topics on this website I learn more about how stupid I am when it comes to computers. I have been searching for a 4 speed transmission for the past 45 minutes thatll go behind the slant six. I HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO USE THIS FORUM haha. I have a 7 1/4 BBP right now so swapping to the SBP 7 1/4 wont hurt anything. Itll be nice to finally be able to get a set of matching Cragars :)
 
How hard would it be to find a rear end with the sbp?

Just about every 6 cyl A body made before 72 had SBP 7.25 rears. I scrap 3 or 4 a year. I'll have one here in Savannah soon. Count the bolts on the cover of your rear . if there are 9 you have a 7.25. If there are 10 it's an 8.25. As has been said, I wouldn't swap an 8.25 for a 7.25, but if you're running one already, it's a bolt in swap.
 
gregpurcell said:
How hard would it be to find a rear end with the sbp?

Just about every 6 cyl A body made before 72 had SBP 7.25 rears. I scrap 3 or 4 a year. I'll have one here in Savannah soon. Count the bolts on the cover of your rear . if there are 9 you have a 7.25. If there are 10 it's an 8.25. As has been said, I wouldn't swap an 8.25 for a 7.25, but if you're running one already, it's a bolt in swap.
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Mine is a 7.25 Savannah Ga? What else do you have down there? I am taking a trip that way in a month or so...
 
OK, sorry for maybe asking what might be a stupid question, but why would you swap drums for drums? Just use the very cheap Scarebird conversion to cheaply and easily add disc brakes to your car and make it 4.5 pattern at the same time. It's the all-around win solution here. The only reason I can think of to do what you're trying to do is if you can get a basically free or almost free swap with someone else's discarded parts. But even then, for the few hundred that the Scarebird conversion would cost you, why would you not want discs?
 
72Dodge said:
OK, sorry for maybe asking what might be a stupid question, but why would you swap drums for drums? Just use the very cheap Scarebird conversion to cheaply and easily add disc brakes to your car and make it 4.5 pattern at the same time. It's the all-around win solution here. The only reason I can think of to do what you're trying to do is if you can get a basically free or almost free swap with someone else's discarded parts. But even then, for the few hundred that the Scarebird conversion would cost you, why would you not want discs?
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People throw away their left over parts when they disc convert. I dont have the money to buy a conversion or I would. I dont NEED disc because I dont have a race car. I would take them if they were cheap as a drum swap I could find. I have changed my mind and am going to swap the rear end instead. Back to original.
 
Mopar Dude said:
People throw away their left over parts when they disc convert. I dont have the money to buy a conversion or I would. I dont NEED disc because I dont have a race car. I would take them if they were cheap as a drum swap I could find. I have changed my mind and am going to swap the rear end instead. Back to original.
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I gotcha, no problem. Just wondering. I just didn't want someone to haul off and do something without realizing all their options, that's the only reason I mentioned it. I did that, then regretted it later LOL. I get where you're coming from in a budget build. Carry on then!

EDIT: I agree that swapping the rear is probably the easiest/best option. People throw away 7 1/4" rears more often than even front drums, so finding a free/cheap one should not be a problem. Too bad you're not closer, I'd be interested in your 8 1/4"! /6 for the win!
 
72Dodge said:
I gotcha, no problem. Just wondering. I just didn't want someone to haul off and do something without realizing all their options, that's the only reason I mentioned it. I did that, then regretted it later LOL. I get where you're coming from in a budget build. Carry on then!

EDIT: I agree that swapping the rear is probably the easiest/best option. People throw away 7 1/4" rears more often than even front drums, so finding a free/cheap one should not be a problem. Too bad you're not closer, I'd be interested in your 8 1/4"! /6 for the win!
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He said he doesn't have an 8 1/4". Since he has a 7 1/4" the swap is a direct bolt in.
 
Seems like a waste of time to swap the rear to me. Since you have a '74, you should already have the big ball joint UCA's in the front. Which means that all you need for the disk brake swap is the 73+ disk spindles, caliper brackets, rotors, calipers, disk master cylinder and prop valve. The UCA's are usually the hardest thing to find and most expensive, and you already have them.

Disks aren't just for race cars. Even the 10" front drums on these cars aren't that great for stopping power. The worst part about the 10" front drums though is that you can't get them. No one is currently reproducing the drums themselves, so you're on borrowed time. As soon as you need new drums, you'll either be 1. Out of luck, or 2. Spending a ton of money for someone's old 10" drums. And if you go with #2, you're just on borrowed time again. Not that many folks are throwing away the 10" drums anymore, because it's getting around that no one makes them. Prices online have gone up for them, and anything that is getting junked is probably too thin to turn anyway.

You should even be able to sell your current drum spindles for a decent chunk of money. The large ball joint 10" drum spindles are what is needed to do the 11.75" rotor/viper caliper conversion that Dr. Diff sells, as well as a few other aftermarket conversions. You could probably get half the money for new disk spindles out of the old drum spindles.

And then you wouldn't be limited to the half dozen wheel options that still come in SBP.

Just my .02.
 
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