Correct Way to Mount Wheels on Drums???

30Tudor

30Tudor

Senior Member
I have heard that the wheel is supposed to contact the brake drums in two locations. Firstly – the inner ring just outside the lug nut holes and secondly where the outer wheel flange contacts the drum (I think this location is referred to as the hub?). I was told to make sure there is no clearance between the hub and the drum using a feeler gauge on the outer rim portion. I had a no clearance situation until I switched over my steel drums to cast iron and now I am having problems getting the outer rim to contact. Sorry if I haven't got the terms/descriptions right here.

My questions are: 1) am I thinking about this the right way and 2) has anybody else had similar problems? Thanks for your help.
 
If the cast iron drums are there as a result of converting to hydraulic brakes using '40-'48 drums you need a special spacer designed for that situation.

Charlie Stephens
 
I thought the interference is coming from the raised rim on the hub where it meets the drum (the raised ring on the inside of the studs in the picture below). I have ground that area back a bit on the wheel where there is normally a notch. I have no idea whether the ring on the wheel (outside of the bolt holes) is mating properly with the drum but assume it is.


 
Here is a picture of the back of a wheel to show the parts I am talking about but have no idea what they are called...
 

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30Tudor said:
Here is a picture of the back of a wheel to show the parts I am talking about but have no idea what they are called...
Click to expand...

Long shot. It is hard to tell from the picture but has there been a ring glued or welded to your wheel? Check some other wheels to see if they have this ring (they probably won't). This may have been done to allow the wheels to be used on the later hydraulic brake drums, on the other hand it may just be a bad picture.

Charlie Stephens
 
Thanks Charlie - I believe by wheels are stock and have not been modified.

Still wondering if my assumption about the two contact points is correct?
 
Your assumption about the two contact points is correct. I'm wondering, and I can't tell from the pic of your drum, if the studs got swedged completely. If the shoulder on the stud isn't fully compressed it can hold the wheel out from the drum a little. I can't think of anything else it could be.
 
The drum assembly (drums and hubs) were bought from Bratton's (rears) and Bert's (fronts) and they were swedged by them. I recall checking the nuts for depth and I believe they were OK. I will check again. I think part of the interference issue was with the raised rim on the drum and where it contacted the wheel. On the wheel there is a little slot cut out just inside the lug nut hole. When I ground the slot out more, the wheel contacted better, however, I am scared to grind that part too much/deep. You can see where I ground it out on the photo of the wheel. On the outer contact point if I can't get it to contact the gap is less than 10 to 20 thousands. I was wondering if anybody else had dealt with this before...
 
"I was wondering if anybody else had dealt with this before...[/QUOTE]

I've put on a lot of cast drums, and never had this problem.
I used one set from Brattons several years ago...the rest have been from Mel Gross (the reason being proximity, hence far less shipping.)
 
Make sure yor lug nuts have the first two threads machined out, otherwise the nuts will hang up on the shoulder of the stud where it is swedged over.
 
the ring outside the wheel studs is what supports the wheel. The lug nuts tighten the wheel down on this ring. If you don't have this ring the wheel is not supported right and will crack.The outside flange does not matter. This is why 40 ford drums have to have a piece added to make the support ring for wire wheels.
 
30 tudor, Glenn C. I believe nailed your problem.I had the same thing happen with the cheap lug nuts.I purchased new ones from A&L and problem was solved. :D
 
Thanks everybody for your help. Car is in the garage for the winter now. I did check the lug nuts and they were OK. It seems to me that there should be two contact points on the drum but I'm not sure now. I'll try again in the spring.
 
Could someone post a quick definition of 'swedged'. Does it have to do with metal expanding(lug studs in this case) at a certain point? Or is it another way of saying 'pressed'? Thanks
 
Brubaker said:
Could someone post a quick definition of 'swedged'. Does it have to do with metal expanding(lug studs in this case) at a certain point? Or is it another way of saying 'pressed'? Thanks
Click to expand...

A tool with a circular sharp edge is pressed into the stud at the shoulder. This pushes the steel outward and locks the stud in place. A 30 ton press or larger works best to do Model A studs.
 
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