Search the Community

Just picked up a '54 Job rated 1/2 ton truck. Rear wheel cylinder was leaking... Took some serious effort to get the rear drum off the passenger side. (RHT) Switched to the Drivers side (LHT) having issues because I have to use the lug bolts on the puller and they are not quite long enough and pop out.. Priced LHT bolts (1/2-20) AND WOW!! $35/ea if you can find them.. Anybody have any other sources for these LHT bolts that are less money? Anyway, I'm going to try some serious heat on the drum to see if that helps.. If not, I'll have to buy the longer bolts. OK, 'nuff of that... So, I am striking out on the drums.. I THINK mine are OK, but it seems these are very hard to find (11" x2 rear, 10" x 2 front) AND the wheel cylinder for the rear have a few different options.. ALL the pics I see show the uppers with the housing cutaway/recessed for the brake supply line. (I will attempt to post a pic of this) Mine have no recess in this area.. I do not see this being a big problem but would prefer to have the ones without the recess to insure they lay flat and no dirt can enter .. It appears the '52 Plymouth Cranbrook front brakes MAY use the same wheel cylinders as my rears. This is what I am trying to determine.. Will the '52 Cranbrook fronts works for me even with that recess or are there other differences? The pics from those places selling the "correct" uppers also show this recess.. So, I am guessing that they are using the same ones.. I have not been able to find good pics of any of these that do not have this recess. The Centric part numbers are such: Upper (supply):CENTRIC 13463040 and CENTRIC 13463043 and then the lowers are CENTRIC 13463041 and CENTRIC 13463044 Have any of you guys used these parts numbers successfully , if not what are the correct parts numbers? Any help or thoughts on ANY of the novel above would be great!! Thanks in advance

I have been struggling for some time to fix the brakes on my B3C. Today I got them to the point where I was adjusting the brakes and found that one of my rear drums is not quite perfect. When I spin the drum it always rubs in the same spot on the rear brake shoe even when I have the shoes adjusted all the way in. I have a couple 1/2 ton drums and I slid one on there just for kicks and it fit fine and spun without rubbing. I'm guessing my original drum is out of round. After putting that 1/2 ton drum on there I got to wondering why can't I just use half ton drums and put different wheels on? Is there any reason not to do this? The axles look identical up to the drums and wheels. What am I missing here?

Okay my fellow restorers. I want to let everyone know that Craig Studnick from Mobile Parts is not someone I would do business with. He and some other guy own a company named Mobile Parts out of West Hempstead NY. I ordered a set of drums for my 49 Wayfarer and when they got here they didn't fit. Told him I would modify the rears to fit the hub and send him an invoice for the modi and send the fronts back because those were the wrong size as well. He reluctantly agreed. He told me he was going to be out of town at some shows and to get back with him later. Well later is right. After several calls over several weeks he answers the phone today and says " I thought you were going to be a man and just go away". This guy is something else. STAY AWAY. Terry Hancock

This topic has probably been done to death but i can't seem to find an answer in my searches. i found the wheel bolt/stud conversion link for the pre 65 mopars. it breaks it all down for the rear axles. i guess the point is to be able to not have to use the special puller on the tapered axles. it gives you the part number for the replacement drum. i get that. i have the tool and it's not exactly convenient but it works. what i can't find here is the best way to do that to the FRONT wheels (without a disk brake conversion) so i can put on a set of cragar rims or supremes and use the lug nuts and washers that come with them. is it the same process? but then what replacement drums would be used?

I wrote earlier about my brake issue last Friday. I called the brake shop and they have two hours labor into trying to remove that left rear drum with no luck. They are concerned they may have to break the drum to get it off. As if that isn't bad enough the four front wheel cylinders with less than 1500 miles are leaking. I spent $1300 on a brake job in 2011 and at the time the brake shop told me the wheel cylinders I bought were Chinese knockoffs and junk. Clearly they were right and they were right in saying I should have re-sleeved the NOS ones in the car. Any thoughts other than putting heat on that drum to get it off? They have fried it and tried to pound it off. I suppose it is so grooved it won't come over the shoes. Are used drums that hard to come by? I hope my Wayfarer uses the same rear drums as Plymouth's. They don't want to break the drum without my "blessing".

Hi all, A couple of months ago I picked up a 3/4 ton that's pretty straight, complete and original for $1800. It's got a rebuilt engine (receipts, looks and sounds good), though most of the "peripherals" need attending to. I'm rebuilding the carb, new fuel pump, rebuilt starter (old one would sometimes grind). No rust to speak of, but it's been sitting for over 20 years (fuel tank being cleaned/repaired). Keven's been very helpful and did a beautiful job on my speedo and gauge cluster. This is my eleventh old pick-up ('25 Dodge - '57 Ford), and while I've done all kinds of work on these old timers, I am to a large extent still a "learner." I've also been without a truck for 20 years while in family mode (though I've had dreams about my '27 Chevy and my '35 Dodge). My dad's been coming over once a week and helping on various projects. Today we pulled off the front wheel to take a peek at the brake situation. I'm familiar with the basics, but my dad had a concern about what we were looking at in terms of the spindle. There's some torn thin metal surrounding the base and a bit of a groove as well. I'd be grateful for any comments regarding this. I'd also be grateful for suggested resources for new cylinders (front and rear) and possibly drums, bearings, etc. I'm also including a shot of the rear drum. I'm used to seeing some gap between the drum and the rear plate, but this seems a bit much. Any thoughts? Attachments: 1. Front spindle showing torn metal and groove in spindle. 2. Drum with rear spindle in place (pressed?). 3. Rear drum showing gap between drum and backing plate. With thanks, Ralph San Jose, CA

So bottom line is I had the front brake drum turned and it still doesn't fit over the new brake pads? Any help is appreciated! Didn't know if this would make a difference but does a 49 B-1-B and a 52 B-3 have the same size of brake drums and pads? Both are 1/2 tons. Thanks

I have a 1948 (registered as '49) D-24 4 dr sedan that needs two rear 10" brake drums. Mine have to be cut off as they WONT come off! Anyone have anything? Thanks!