Technical Yet another brake drum fit question

I have a (new to me) 1932 Ford Roadster that really wants new rear brake drums. Unfortunately, there are no markings on either drum. I was told by the shop rebuilding the third member, the axle was from a 1967 Ford F100. But searching around doesn't turn up any drums matching what I have. Here are the physical specs on the drum:
o 5 on 4-1/2' bolt pattern
o 11 x 2 brake shows (drum swept width is 2-1/4")
o Center hole is 2.43" (not the larger 2.77"-ish)
o From flat surface to top edge of the center hole is 3-1/8".
None of the local parts places have anything in stock that I would be able to actually check, and I'm a bit reluctant to order without being fairly confident they will fit.

I need someone to tell me where to go... to get some replacements

- Mark

 

pictures always help

 

'67 F-100 is normally 5 on 5.5 bolt circle.

 

Yuppers, The lug pattern is 5 on 5-1/2 on all F 100 trucks.

These are the specs on a Delco drum that could fit a 67 Mustang with a 390 from Rock Auto.
If you click on "Info" you can get pretty good specs on SOME but not all products Rock Auto lists. That includes the depth that on this one is 2.45 inches and important in your quest.

Then if you click on the part number it gives somewhat of a list of what that part also fits. That list includes several popular 9 inch donors.

 

Is it an 8" or 9"? With that bolt pattern, I'd guess it's a passenger car rear. I'm running aluminum Buick replicas from Speedway on the 8" under my roadster, you should be able to get drums for that from any NAPA, O'Rielley's or Auto Zone.

 

It is a 9". I've posted some pictures here: https://www.n1vqw.net/1932ford/
Yep. I was pretty sure trucks all(?) had 5 on 5-1/5. So I'm suspecting the backing plate and brakes may have been changed.
The combination of 11 x 2 drum, 5 on 4-1/2 and small (2.43) center hole is proving hard to find by vehicle.

- Mark

 

Scroll up to post 4 and check the specs.

 

In the early 80s there were some F100s with 4.5 wheell pattern most 1/2 tonns were F150s

 

> Scroll up to post 4 and check the specs.
Did look at them. The depth is listed as 2.45, which if the swept area is too large. The height is listed as 4.88,, and mine is 3.125 (plus or minus a bit). The photos show a tape measure for reference.

- Mark

 

It's not uncommon to see rigs with shoes a fair amount narrower than the swept width of the drum. I know there are some out there that have a full quarter inch of space on each side of where the shoes ride on the drum but can't remember what they were now just that they took some paying attention when you were turning them on the drum lathe.

Not to throw you clear off track but it makes me wonder if they didn't cut down the back lip of a wider drum to fit the backing plates.

 

The biggest rub, pun intended, is finding a drum which will fit flat against the axle and not rub the rim on the backing plate. The drums don't appear to have been trimmed. But with other things I've seen on this car it wouldn't surprise me. BTW, I've done some poking around on the Rock Auto site (thanks for the pointer) and it looks like a 60's vintage full size ford car with a big block is my best bet.

Maybe I should just convert to disc brakes

- Mark

 

I believe the drums for the earliest 9" rears (1957-59) are no longer available.
That may be what you have.

 

Try ‘70 galaxies. Those measurements sound like what I have and after 10mins of guess and check at the parts store that worked for me.

 

Looked at a few early 70s Galaxies and other Ford full size, and they appeared to have a 3+ inch center hole. Way too large. It looks as though a big block '66 Galaxie is promising. I'm going to try and find one of the drums locally and check the actual dimensions.

- Mark

 

I believe the drums that would wok for you are 60-62 thunderbird rear drums. 11” diameter, small center hole, 4 1/2” bolt pattern. You can use up to 2 1/2” wide shoes with em. Got them at NAPA. I Used them on a 57 ford 9” with original axles and small hole in center of drum. Hope it works out for you.

 

Thank you for the lead on the T-bird drums. They are almost right (same as the ones for the Galaxie I checked out). They are about 1/2 inch too tall. Meaning they would sit on the backing plate before they would seat on the axle.

I did find an on-line Raybestos application catalog (part number for model and year) that I'm using to check out the actual drums. They only list about 160 drums for Ford applications, so it will take a bit. Fortunately, I can ignore 4, 6, and 8 stud hole drums.

- Mark

 

Drums can be trimmed on a lathe.

There are enumerable machine shops around New England (I'm from there).

 

Well, after a lot of searching, I am still no closer to finding replacement drums. (While drums could possibly be machined to fit, it would leave the next owner in my predicament Although I did gather a bunch of useful information. I found: http://squarebirds.org/Manuals/1965/1965-72FordPartsTextCatalog/05-1965Text-Brakes.pdf which gave me the dimensions of some brake shoes along with the ford part number. Using the Ford part number I was able to get an idea of when it was first used. From there, I went to Rock Auto's site and looked through all the Ford vehicles for that year to see if I could find a match for the drum I have. Unfortunately without success, but this may help someone else.

- Mark

 

Some other things I did discover: it appears the F100always used the 5 on 5.5 pattern and 11" drums except for 1980 where one option had the 5 on 4.5 pattern but with 10" drums. Sigh. The axle offset I have is 2.36" not 2.5". This, with other clues seems to tell me this axle was a real hybrid; or mashup of (available to the builder?) parts.

So I think I'm going to try and find a complete kit (drums, shoes, backing plate, etc.) for an axle with a 2.36 offset or see if it is possible for a 2.5 offset kit to work on a 2.36 offset axle. The other possibility is to convert to disc brakes where I know there is a 2.36 offset offering available.

The saga continues...

- Mark

 

Try contacting Quick Performance. https://www.quickperformance.com/Brake-Kits-Parts_c_680.html These guys are super knowledgeable about 9" Fords and they carry all the parts. I have used them on several occasions and am a happy customer.
Warren

 

this is exactly what I was thinking....

but is this what he needs?

https://www.amazon.com/Replacement-Brake-1957-1968-Lincoln-Mercury/dp/B0DHPM2M3W?gQT=1

 

Warren: I've seen the Quick Performance kit, but it looks like it requires a 2.5" offset. I'll give then a call to see if they can help me.
Jim: I took a look at the Amazon listing, but there aren't any specifications for the drum so I can't tell if it might work.

- Mark

 

might want to look into the return policy, and see if they're worth buying, and returning if they don't fit.

 

How about a 1/8" spacer between the drum and axle?

 

if the axle is 57.25 inches outer drum to outer drum
a 9'' early round back style with early bearing retainer/housings
it maybe a 57 to 59 ford ranchero axle
if so, these are them
Rear Brake Drum 1957-1959 Ford Convertible Ranchero NEW | eBay

by the way
10 inches is 254mm
add
25.4mm to that to get the
280mm for 11 inches
i thought it was 279.4
hmm

 

I seem to recall that the normal 57 cars use 1-3/4 brake shoes, the 57 ranchero and wagon use 2" shoes. Messed me up when I was building a rear out of a couple parts donors years ago.

 

yes, you cannot for example
run a 10 by 1 3/4'' shoe on a 10 by 2'' ford backplate
they will not sit in the pivot pin correctly
there maybe bendix part numbers stamped on the back - -10 by 2 and 10 by 1 3/4''
are different numbers
i have done diddlied that before
and THAT was taking a 57-59 axle case 'just for the smooth 9'' round back case' - -fitting 8mm cds and new small bearing ends, running stock 57.25 5 stud small bearing mustang shafts, with 10 by 1 3/4'' backplates/drums, just to run the smaller brakes - -and fitting a WAR centre/pumkin, with a stock 28 splined open diff......... looks great!

 

BJR: I was thinking of the possibility of a spacer. The only question would be if the studs are long enough to hold the wheel safely on. (Although longer studs could be a possible solution for that.) Now to take the caliper out and measure

- Mark

 

Well, I think I may have found a solution. I talked to one of the folks at Quick Performance, and he said while their kit is designed for a 2.5 axle offset, he knows of several people running them on axles with the 2.36 offset. The kit is based on 1979 Ford F150 parts, with a brake drum blank drilled for what ever is needed.

Should be here next week. I'll let everyone know how it goes.

- Mark

 

Could put the spacer on the axle, between the flange and the bearing.