Brake Drums

F

fiftychev

Junior Member
I plan to buy new cast brake drums. Is there any reason why I can't install my current hubs on the new drums? The hubs are fine but the drums are a little thin. Will the normal studs work?
 
Hey fiftychev, you can use your current hubs for the cast iron drum conversion. You will need to purchase Model A wheel studs. Keep in mind, they need to be swedged on with a minimum 20 ton press. Hope this helps. Jeff
 
IN answer to your initial question , "Will the normal studs work?". NO. you will need studs that are made for th new cast iron drums. The metal on the cast iron drums is thicker than the original steel drums, thus you need studs with longer shoulder.

I use a 40 ton press, but only about 28-30 of the tonnage is used for the studs. A 20 ton press will not give sufficient swedge.
 
Unless you have a 20 ton press, a swaging tool, an undercutting tool, and a bunch of other specialized tooling, not to mention the know how, you stand a good chance of warping the hub flanges and cracking the new cast iron drums. New studs are out there in a number of diameters and if you use those that are too large you will definitely crack the new drums.

The art of swaging is a lost art. Those that knew how to do it retired with the greatest generation years ago. Best let Randy Gross do the job for you. He knows what he is doing, has all the tooling, his prices are reasonable, and he is a nice fellow to do business with.

Tom Endy
 
Bert's in Denver, CO did my new drums with original hubs. He also replaced
all brake shoes with new woven linings. And arched the shoes to each individual drum. Money well spent!;)

Bob-A:D
 
You can buy a good straight cut swedge cutter, you are not needing to save the drums anyway. You also should have the flanges check for flatness. Most need a little clean up. Most dealers carry the tools needed to swedge the studs and yes there is a different length stud when using the cast iron drum.
 
I got new drums from Randy Gross with new studs. I took the old ones to the local automotive machine shop. They cut the old ones off the hubs and swaged the new ones on.

That particular machine shop is the "go-to" machine shop in town for us who have old cars. He know his stuff.

I am very happy with the drums.
 
I would have the old drums removed and the new drums installed by the person I bought the drums from. That way if anything goes wrong you know where to go to get it fixed. You should add your general location to your profile.

Charlie Stephens
 
Even if you ship the hubs and drums to Randy you could still use the swedge cutting tool and remove the drums. The savings on ship to cost should out weigh the cost of the cutter.
 
Ace hardware has a 9/16 in steel hole cutter. This costs about $10. The ID is 1/2 in. You should use a drill press to do the job. Use the cutter to the proper depth and drop the drum flat on a concrete floor and the hub should just pop off. You can send the hubs for a lot less money in a USPS flat rate box. I recommend Randy Gross for the drums and new molded linings by Gross also. His phone number is on the "Sticky" section of this forum.

Vic
 
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