I have a '57 Chevy pickup and the rear housing it has came out of a '65 GMC pickup (with leaf springs).
I cannot find new brake drums for this. I've got the originals but they are worn out.
I just paid $900 to have this rear all rebuilt (with new gears, bearings and posi unit) so I need to somehow solve this issue.
Evidently, these drums are a fairly rare bird and only came on '65-'67 GMC rears with leaf springs and '66-'67 Chevy P10 step vans with leaf springs.
The only present part# that comes up for those is a Centric 122.66037 but the Centric warehouse has been out of stock on those for quite some time with no expected date. I've been searching for about 6 weeks now and only found one supplier with 1 in stock (for $194) but just 1 doesn't do me any good.
The height is very close and the bolt circle is the same but the hub circle and bolt holes are both too small. I would have to take them to a machine shop to have the hub hole opened up to 3.56" and the bolt holes enlarged to .58". It appears that they would probably work if I had that done. Probably cheaper even after the machine work since these drums cost $28.79 on Rock Auto. It appears if the 122.66037 ever do come back in stock, they will be over $100 a piece.
Hy Roger55, I would buy one of the drums for the Wagoneer application and make some comparisons to the original drum, I thought the spec's looked close enough to work once the machining is done, please let us know how it works out.
"Do not walk behind me, for I may not lead. Do not walk ahead of me, for I may not follow. Do not walk beside me either. Just leave me alone, you're starting to freak me out."
Do a junk yard search for a same rear end and maybe get a better set of drums from that. Pete
Where I live the junk yards don't have any older stuff. I'd have to travel too many miles for a search. Hard to do when these parts are rare in the first place and the likelihood of finding good ones isn't that high.
Hy Roger55, I would buy one of the drums for the Wagoneer application and make some comparisons to the original drum, I thought the spec's looked close enough to work once the machining is done, please let us know how it works out.
That is a pretty good idea. With some precise measuring and comparing to my originals, I should be able to determine if it would work before getting it machined. If not, I could return it.
The Wagoneer drum is actually a better choice- - - -it's got an extra .030" of diameter available for machining. Not a concern right now, but 2 or 3 brake jobs down the road, that extra meat will be appreciated. No problem opening up the hub hole and lug holes to match the scarce one- - - -go for it! Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
The Wagoneer drum is actually a better choice- - - -it's got an extra .030" of diameter available for machining. Not a concern right now, but 2 or 3 brake jobs down the road, that extra meat will be appreciated. No problem opening up the hub hole and lug holes to match the scarce one- - - -go for it! Jerry
Have you heard of a machined Wagoneer drum working for this application? If so, that removes all doubt that this would be the way for me to go.
Have you heard of a machined Wagoneer drum working for this application?
No, I haven't been involved in that specific modification, but we pretty routinely modified drums, caliper mounts, and rotors for racing applications without any serious problems. One of the Super Truck series vehicles I worked with at the Nashville fairgrounds track had the old style 4-piston rigid-mount Cadillac calipers on it, and I modified it to run a floating caliper setup from a Monte Carlo, even made the caliper mounts from scratch. Brake parts don't know what vehicle they're on- - -as long as everything fits and is aligned properly, it should work. The specifications on the two drums you illustrated are so similar I can't see any problem making the substitution as long as a competent machinist gets involved. As always, "Measure twice- - - -cut once!" Good luck! Jerry
Last edited by Hotrod Lincoln; 02/02/20149:57 PM.
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
No, the bearing is pressed onto the axle. There is no C-clip on this. The backing plate goes in between the retainer and the axle flange. If there were a spacer, the bearing wouldn't be retained.
Ok. Well that makes a difference I guess. Next question- Could the backing plate be mounted on the other side of the retainer? Probably wouldn't even need a spacer then.
Don't mean to be a pest, just throwing around ideas.
Ok. Well that makes a difference I guess. Next question- Could the backing plate be mounted on the other side of the retainer? Probably wouldn't even need a spacer then. Don't mean to be a pest, just throwing around ideas.
No problem. The only way I could see a spacer working would be if it were a machined part that would also double as the bearing retainer. But that would mean both the spacer and backing plate would have to go on the axle before the bearing is pressed on. That would trouble for me since my new bearings are already pressed on.
Bottom line is even if that idea would work, it would be a whole lot more trouble than getting drums that are close and having them machined like I'm talking.
I'm assuming this is for the Spicer rear end. That is what I have in my '56. I'm interested to know how this comes out.
No, this is issue is with a Dana 44 out of 64-66 GMC pickup with leaf springs.
Spicer and Dana are the same company, and their differentials were produced under both names, but with the same number designation. For example, a Dana 44 and a Spicer 44 are, other than the name stamped on the cover, the same differential.
I suspected such. Mine is out of a '59 GMC. One drum wasn't turnable and I found out, as did Roger, they aren't reproduced. I found a turnable one on a '60 some GMC.
By the way, I used shoes, cylinders and hardware for the Chevy corporate axle.
"It's just a phase. He'll grow out of it." Mama, 1964
I'm getting ready to order drums and talk to the machine shop.
I want to look at the 2067DGS later model 4WD drum and the '74 Wagoneer drum.
After more studying and measuring, I found there is one measurement that is crucial. The distance from the inside face of the drum that contacts the axle flange to the outer edge of the friction surface cannot be less than 3 1/16".
If anyone wants to measure the 2067DGS they have for that measurement, it would save me a little time and trouble. If anyone is running that drum and that measurement is less than 3 1/16", I suspect the shoe is hanging out the back of the drum some.
Hy roger55, thank you so much for including us on your quest for brake drums, I'm glad to read that you now have functioning drums, and you saved money in the process. This should be a "Tech Tip", thanks again!
