I scored a small bearing 57 Ford rear housing the the shop truck. The backing plates and drums were missing, and that is an expensive endeavor. So, I rounded up a set of Maverick backing plates and installed the original 57 axles. My plan was to use the maverick brake shoes etc which are really cheap. The question is, can I use the drums as well? They are kinda funky looking. I have the small Ford center hole on the axle 2.43" I believe. I heard that some of the early 80's F100 pickups would interchange, but they have the larger hole. Anyone done this swap?
What rear end is under a 57? If it's a 9 inch, how could rear axle/brake parts be cheaper than 9 inch? I'm not understanding something here, I switched my F1 backing plates over to 9 inch parts because they are cheap and easy to come by. I'm with George, this will be interesting to follow! As a side note, bought almost all of the brake parts from RockAuto, old stock USA parts at extremely low prices. Spring kits for like $2-$3, wheel cylinders for $5-$10 and brake shoes for under $20. These were top name and grade parts. I think the new drums were around $40-$50.
I believe the '57-'59 rears used backing plates with a different offset and different drums, that the later rears...
Could be, I am not very familiar with the real early years of 9 inch rear ends. But it was fairly easy to figure out combinations for my F1 plates. Most of the parts were from mid 70s to 80s years and a lot of them fit Dodge and Chevy models as well. As with most things parts will interchange over a lot of models if you research it.
The 57 does have a 9", however the drums are about $125 each and that is ridiculous in my book. I bought the Maverick 8" backing plates which have the later styled self adjusters on them. The problem is, I am trying to research how much spacing etc the axles require.
Just looked up some prices, well everything is dirt cheap except the drums! To bad it's not a truck, they run from $20 to $40. Guess that's why I converted everything to truck parts. I ran a sprint car in the 70s with a banjo rear end converted to Maverick 8" axles, easy to come by then. So does the distance from the axle mounting surface to the backing plates work out for the stock Maverick drums?
I am hoping so. I want to make sure before I mail order a bunch of stuff that doesn't fit. I can get the drums as cheap as $20 ea on the net.
Anyway to get some junk drums to check with? Are you friendly with an older salvage yard or brake shop that might have some junk drums?
on the ford maverick brakes i believe they used two different size center holes , with the change around 72/73? i have some original 1975 maverick rear drums here if you need measurements
All ford small bearing rear housing have the same offset for the axles 2 1/2" it can be a bronco , mavrick ,mustang ,fairlane and it can be 8" or 9" you can turn the center hole in the drums to what ever you want if you are using them on a pu just redrill the pattern on the drums . Clay
The small axle uses the same hole size as the early Mavericks, pre 74 I believe. 2.43" Clay, can I use the 2.5" brakes on the 8" backing plates? I don't think I can.
Don't think the backing plates would be as big an issue as the drums. 2.5 inch shoes would require a 2.5 braking surface on the inside of the drum and most likely spacers at the axle hubs.
Rear Drums – Wagner BD60543 (80 Ford F100 Ranger 10” rear brake 2.775" center hole, car bolt pattern) fit a Maverick with the 2.775" axle opening. Considerably cheaper than the replacements being sold for the Maverick if you can get them. The smaller hole Maverick drums are still readily available for a decent price. Great if you are using a Maverick axle with the small end. Canuck
If you have both the Maverick backing plates and drums, give 'em a fit check. If you don't have both, opt for something in an 11" since the Mavericks are only a 10". Look under an older Galaxie or LTD, possibly some big Mercurys too. I just did my '59 Ford brakes over, fortunately the drums were virgin. The best I've seen on a '57-59 drum was $119. The rest of the parts were super cheap at Rock Auto.
The truck only weighs about 2700 lbs , so the 10" should be plenty big. I think the Mavericks weighed in around 2800#.
If the Maverick drums are easy to come by, you should be fine. I did see someone selling the works new, backing plates, drums, all the innards, definitely ***y and complete but big $$.
Yeah, I'm cheap. I'll source it all locally. I have the Maverick backing plates installed so, I just need everything else.
sorry they aren't going to fit i just researched it because i have a 57 9" to install brakes i ordered 11"x 2 !/4" and will have to offset the backing plate to get the drums to fit as the offset is unique to 57-59 the backing plates aren't the problem it's the drums i couldn't locate any new ones.
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