The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk 53 AD front hubs

I'm going to put Corvette Rallies on the front of my 53 1/2 ton.I was told to use 53 passenger car hubs, they would bolt right on.As these are fairly rare and I'm going to a swapmeet in Monroe in May, I was wondering what other years and makes fit?It would be nice to have a few others to choose from in case I can't find any 53 Chev car ones.Anyone? Thankyou, this may help me bigtime.:-)
Lothar

Its not just '53 car drums that will fit, its from a few years earlier, through I htink '54. You want more than just the hub and drum, you also need the backing plate, and be prepared to do a little parts swapping with the bearings and races to get the right combination.

As for what other makes will fit, I've seen '50s Buick or Oldsmobile front drums used on one of these trucks, but they aren't going to fit your Corvette wheels.

Instead of a drum swap I converted my '55 1st to disk brakes using a kit from ChevyDuty. Classic Performance and others also make kits to do the same thing. If you go the disk approach you'll need new brake lines on the front, and will probably need a dual master also.

1951-54 Chevrolet Passenger or 1953-62 Corvette are the years of hub/drum that you need.

Do I need the backing plates for sure Steve? I tryied a 57 Chev pass car drum, it looked good but the berings were a no go.Thankyou
Lothar

I've not tried every possible combination, so perhaps there is an approach that uses the truck backing plates.

When I did this on my own truck 30 years ago I had to use the car backing plates and create some spacers to make it all fit right.

I believe when I did mine I used the truck inner bearing and the car outer bearing. You might be able to find bearings that will make the '57 hubs and drums work. Take measurements and go to your local bearing supply house and see what they can provide.

If you did this on a AD truck that was older than a 1951 model. The 50 and earlier trucks with the "Huck" brakes require the modifications that you mentioned. The 1957 car drums are the same, the hubs are another story I don't think they are going to work.

Yeah it was earlier than '51, and I'd forgotten about the "Huck" brakes. It was 1973 or 1974 that I did this, so its been a while...

Why not get them redrilled for the 5x4 3/4 pattern and not mess with replacing them? A lot simpler, and if your current brakes are in good shape possibly cheaper. Try moserengineering.com under shop services. The web address my not be exact but you can google it necessary. John