Aftermarket brake drums & shoes ?

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acarlson
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Aftermarket brake drums & shoes ?

Post by acarlson »

Any recomendations for replacing my drums and shoes ?

Alec
Alec Carlson
Dahlonega, GA
1965 Regal Red Corsa 4 Speed Turbo Convertible
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Jerry Whitt
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Re: Aftermarket brake drums & shoes ?

Post by Jerry Whitt »

Most local parts houses can obtain the shoes and drums. When ordering, make sure the with of the shoe is noted.

If you use Clarks, they already know the specs.
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acarlson
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Re: Aftermarket brake drums & shoes ?

Post by acarlson »

I looked at Clarks but their drums are 2x as expensive as other parts stores. I was hoping to get some reviews of aftermarket parts that others have used and liked (or disliked).

Alec
Alec Carlson
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1965 Regal Red Corsa 4 Speed Turbo Convertible
Restoration "In Progress"...
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County98
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Re: Aftermarket brake drums & shoes ?

Post by County98 »

You'll have to do the research, but I THINK someone was talking awhile back about using finned drums from a chevelle and swapping them front to back. Not sure if I'm remembering correctly though...

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64powerglide
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Re: Aftermarket brake drums & shoes ?

Post by 64powerglide »

Got any Advance Auto Parts stores around you???? They list finned drums front & rear for $45.99 each. :my02:
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Wagon Master
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Re: Aftermarket brake drums & shoes ?

Post by Wagon Master »

I also use Advance for my shoes on ALL Corvairs. Their lining material does however vary. Order the shoes. When they arrive in the next day or 2 if they're light tan or brown, kindly say no thanks. If they're dark grey like new cast iron, grab um and go!
66vairguy
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Re: Aftermarket brake drums & shoes ?

Post by 66vairguy »

The Chevelle brakes were used on the LM Corvair, but larger front Chevelle went on BACK of Corvair. Rear smaller Chevelle brakes went on the Corvair FRONT. One issue - The Corvair rear brake shoes require slots for the emergency brake parts. Now most vendors sell the same shoes for Chevelle/Corvair so ALL the shoes are stamped to work on front or rear. All this has been covered many times - see other forum.

At one time you could get the non-finned Corvair drums, now they are finned and HEAVY. Also I've heard complaints about the newer drum material. I located a good set of original drums that had enough material to allow being turned, went with a softer brake shoe re-lining and my Corvair brakes work.

Another issue I had is it seems the aftermarket brake shoes are oversized to allow for old brake drum wear. With the new shoes and drums I literally could not get the drums to fit over the new shoes with the adjusters turned all the way in (shortest). Others have had this issue.
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Re: Aftermarket brake drums & shoes ?

Post by 64powerglide »

My local NAPA store shows non finned for the rear.
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SyntheticBlnkerFluid
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Re: Aftermarket brake drums & shoes ?

Post by SyntheticBlnkerFluid »

I have '68 Buick Skylark rear finned drums on the front of my '68. I have yet to see aftermarket replacement drums look like these.

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1968 Monza 140 4-Speed Posi

Rob
Chebanse, IL
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acarlson
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Re: Aftermarket brake drums & shoes ?

Post by acarlson »

66vairguy wrote: Another issue I had is it seems the aftermarket brake shoes are oversized to allow for old brake drum wear. With the new shoes and drums I literally could not get the drums to fit over the new shoes with the adjusters turned all the way in (shortest). Others have had this issue.
Interesting... I bought new rear drums and shoes today. Will try the upgrade in the next day or so and let you know how it goes.

Alec
Alec Carlson
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66vairguy
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Re: Aftermarket brake drums & shoes ?

Post by 66vairguy »

SyntheticBlnkerFluid wrote:I have '68 Buick Skylark rear finned drums on the front of my '68. I have yet to see aftermarket replacement drums look like these.

ImageImage


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Are those cast iron or aluminum outers on the front or your 68GS? In 64-66 Buick intermediates got aluminum front finned drums with a cast iron liner on the performance cars. I believe in 67 disc brakes were optional and the high cost aluminum front drums were discontinued, but I'm not sure what year that occured. Anyway ---- Those aluminum front finned drums are ONLY reproduced in cast iron (with fins).

Based on what others have posted -- during the early years of racing LM Corvairs the aluminum drums were allowed on the rear of the Corvair because they were a GM part considered as stock to replace the non-finned drums on the "A" body cars (the same part used on the rear of the Corvair) with larger engines. A bit of a stretch, but legal and the Corvair racing guys scoured the junk yards to find good aluminum "A" body front drums to avoid brake fade during racing. Several years ago I looked around and found only ONE set for sale. The asking price was about half what I paid for my Corvair!!
notched
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Re: Aftermarket brake drums & shoes ?

Post by notched »

The 78-88 GM rear drive A/G body rear drums will fit on the front. They were all finned but some were aluminum. Some of the 82-92 F bodies were the same way.
1966 Corsa turbo
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SyntheticBlnkerFluid
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Re: Aftermarket brake drums & shoes ?

Post by SyntheticBlnkerFluid »

66vairguy wrote:
SyntheticBlnkerFluid wrote:I have '68 Buick Skylark rear finned drums on the front of my '68. I have yet to see aftermarket replacement drums look like these.

ImageImage


Sent from my iPhone using Corvair Forum mobile app
Are those cast iron or aluminum outers on the front or your 68GS? In 64-66 Buick intermediates got aluminum front finned drums with a cast iron liner on the performance cars. I believe in 67 disc brakes were optional and the high cost aluminum front drums were discontinued, but I'm not sure what year that occured. Anyway ---- Those aluminum front finned drums are ONLY reproduced in cast iron (with fins).
These are cast iron. I know, I had to beat one off with a hammer because it was stuck on. If it was aluminum I would have mangled the hell out of it.

My dad was the one who installed them on my Monza (since it was his prior to my ownership) and he said they are off a the rear brakes of a '68 Skylark.

Like I said, I have yet to see a replacement set look like these. All the new ones have subtle fins that don't look like they'd do much.


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64powerglide
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Re: Aftermarket brake drums & shoes ?

Post by 64powerglide »

Ya the ones Advance Auto sells has fins half the size you have there, cheap ones that don't disperse much heat.
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