I am wanting to upgrade my 49 fleetline drum brakes all 4 wheels to a early to mid 50s style (bendix). Can anyone tell me 100% for sure what years are a direct bolt on interchange 51 -54?
On the rear IMO It will be easier to just change the whole rear end but the brake drums and back plates you need are 51-54 chevy p***enger car. The fronts are a snap but there again you will need the brake backing plate ,drums, hubs and hardware( bolts and spacers too) from a 51-54 p***enger car. Frt and rear shoes are actually the same but here is the application----The front shoes them selves are the same 51-57 on p***enger car and 51- 70 0n half ton trucks. The rear shoes are the same 51-64 on p***enger car and 51-70 on half ton trucks. You can also make them self- ADJUSTING by adding the adjuster kits for 67-70 half ton trucks. You may want to modifiy the access holes in the backing plate if you do this mod and the kits are available at all major auto stores. Maybe this will help.
paulweldit , thank you very much for the imfo. That clarifies alot for me . About those rivets in the rear end (the big pain). I didnt realize they were there. Any good way of removing them ? And will replacing with a good quality fine thread bolt /nut/ lockwasher be good enough for replacing the rivets ?
I've done the front swap. Just take everything off a 51-54 Chevy, including the bolts and the spacers behind them. You cannot swap on the rearend. I talked with a guy who tried to do this. They changed the way the backing plate mounts so you can't put the Bendix on the 49-50 rearends. Either swap rearends entirely and go to one from a Powerglide car for a more friendly highway gear, or you have to go to a later rearend and open drive, which also is not a bad idea and not that terribly expensive depending on what rearend and trans you choose to run. The actual brake drum interchange is 51-58 front and rear and they used it as the rear drum all the way to '67 or '68, so they're not hard to find at all. Shoes are 51-58, wheel cylinders 51-54 and 53-62 Corvette. Napa had the hoses, Advance Auto had the wheel cylinders, adjusters and hardware; you can probably rebuild the Bendix brakes for around $150 to do everything on both sides except drums.
So it wont do me any good to buy the back 51-54 brake set up then ? It simply wont work ?? Well that is why i started this thread before i go buying parts i cant use . I do appreciate your mfo . Thanks At least i can upgrade the front........... What is the easiest rearend to drop in the 49, of course a 51-54 would be the easiest but other than that ????????????? As far as the engine bolt pattern for the trans , what chevy trans will bolt up to this engine ? Or are all chevy transmissions the same as far as the bellhousing bolt patterns? Wow i went fromt wanting to upgrade my brakes to changing out my drivetrain .............I dont think so at this time . But i do need to do some research on these upgrades. Thanks
I believe you can just just change the front brakes and leave the rear ones alone. I might be wrong, so i hope someone else chimes in. While not optimum, you still get the benefit of bendix on the front. Unless you want to swap to an open driveline, which is not as easy as some people make it out to be, the best thing to do is find a powerglide set up out of a 51-54 that will bolt right on. It will take 2 hours to make the change. In one swap, BOOM, you get the upgraded the brakes, and the 3.55 gears that are better for the hwy. These torque tubes are generally treated like the original brakes after a ***stang II conversion..... They are thought of as trash by people doing the 'upgrades', and they will generally give it to you for next to nothing. Trick is finding the person that is gonna trash it before they actually do it. Ask craigslist.
Agent009 , thats pretty much the page im on now . I have a couple of ads on craigslist at this time . I hope to find a rearend soon . But i will most definatley do the front . thanks
I've done just the fronts on mine and it makes a huge difference! I picked up a powerglide rear and will eventually change it but it works fine for now...PAUL
are the torque tubes interchangable? I found a 51 rearend out of a automatic but the tube has been cut can i just use my tube? tu
I picked up some parts today locally $ 120 for all . From a 51 chevy ,i have swapped the front brake ***emblies for trial . They work, direct bolt on ! Got the rear with the cut tube also, stripped it going to get it cleaned up and ready for a 3:55 / torque tube (replacement) for the orig 4:11 gears/cut tiube. Just need to get the car ready now ... At least now i have the brakes i wanted .
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