Can't get the front brake drum on

California Charlie

California Charlie

Senior Member
Hi Guys, My Model A Front End Restoration has been fighting me tooth and nail.

Here's the latest I would appreciate some input on:

Front Brake Restoration:
I Used the original car's brake drums, backing plates, and installed new linings on the brake shoes.
-I Installed Flathead Ted's Brake Floater Kit
-I Used the Diablo A's Instructional DVD for the installation of the Brake Floater Kit. Everything looked pretty good as it should according to the DVD.
-I've got to the point of putting on the brake drum to make further adjustments and the drum won't go on.
-I did not arc the shoes to the drum, but even without doing that the shoes seems to be positioned really close to the drums.
-I used the brake centering tool I purchased and that did not help the matter.
What could I possibly be missing??
Thanks everyone for their help with this matter.
I may have to give up my backyard mechanic title.
 

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Is the adjustment backed all the way off?? Are the linings oversize?? Are bthe leading/trailing edges chamfered??
Paul in CT
 
Are the brake adjustment shafts installed correctly?
The ones in the picture above need to be flipped to match the wedge taper.
 
The brake adjusting shafts are correct in the picture. The roller pins are reversed from their normal position, but this is correct for the Flathead Ted modification since the roller pins do not ride on the tracks like stock.
 
I agree with Lindy. The brake adjusting shafts are correct in relation to the roller pins using the FHT's floaters IF they are installed on the backing plate correctly. That picture is very misleading...:p:p
 
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The picture is misleading because we are looking at it from the wrong side. The adjustment shafts are in backwards.
 
I'll get some more photos of the brake installation and perhaps someone may see something obvious that I'm missing. Thanks so far you all those who have provided their input.
 

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lindy williams said:
The brake adjusting shafts are correct in the picture. The roller pins are reversed from their normal position, but this is correct for the Flathead Ted modification since the roller pins do not ride on the tracks like stock.
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Gentlemen, I believe Lindy is correct. Flathead Teds does not use the track for the shoes to ride on the roller pin head. Normally the heads would be in riding on the tracks. So in this case he is correct. I'm not really a fan of doing the FHT's floaters as a well restored stock setup works very well. I do them all the time.

I do agree that arcing the shoes is important. Make sure the wedge is backed all the way out ( so the shoes do fall in a recess on the wedge) and you might use a centering tool to see where you are at. If your drums are not much oversize you could have an issue getting them on. They have brake gauges with ears on them to use internal for the drum and external for the shoes. You might try checking your circumference.

I use a .007 feeler gauge as I like for the shoes to fit the drum tight with full contact at all points.
Larry Shepard
 
If they are 3/16 they should go on without arcing. Make sure the rolers are in the arched thing that FHT provides and the adjustment shafts are oriented correctly to the floating wedge adjuster.
 
wmws said:
If they are 3/16 they should go on without arcing. Make sure the rolers are in the arched thing that FHT provides and the adjustment shafts are oriented correctly to the floating wedge adjuster.
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Thanks, I'll double check things and see if I've missed something with the brake installation. Perhaps take some more photos if all appears Okay with the install and the drum still won't go on.
 
:) After about the 10th time of taking everything apart I'm managed to slip on the brake drum, but still with all the adjustments backed off the drum is dragging against the linings.:mad: The drum is not free wheeling and because of this I can't proceed forward with the adjustment.

I guess my next step would be to have the linings arced to the drum. I've included some more photos of this project work in case someone else may see something else I don't see which is currently making my life difficult. Are there any known national parts house chains which may arc the drums for me? Thanks again everyone, I'm certain down the restoration road I may have some more questions.
 

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Have you measured the drum inside diameter. That looks like a cast iron repo drum. I know the Plasmeter cast iron drums had extra meat on them that needs to be trued up in a lathe after they are mounted to the hubs to make them concentric. Also the hub flange should be faced before installing the drum on the hub. Then arc the shoes. Not sure about the Mel Gloss drums, are they undersized also for truing. I still have 2 sets of Plasmeters on the shelf, no need for the Gloss drums yet.
 
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