Brake Drum Purchase New vs Old

[1950Meadowbrook]

Over several weeks, cans of penetrating oil, heat, one broken puller, and ripping a stud out with the next puller, I finally cut off the right rear drum (3 hours) of Dad's 1950 Meadowbrook.  Much to my dismay the source I've used to buy brake parts didn't have a drum for a '50 dodge.    I found this on ebay.  It claims to be a brand new 1 piece replacement for 1939-1954.    

 

The second link is for one pulled off a car and reconditioned.  My old drum braking surface measured 11x2 so both seem to be appropriate.  My first thought is new would be best.  However, I've owned and worked on a few classics (Maverick, early Cougars, F100, Apache 3600) and the new stuff can be problematic.   Any thoughts/experience would indeed be appreciated.  

 

New:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/184803718884?_trkparms=ispr%3D1&hash=item2b0728f6e4:g:tFoAAOSwduhggY8j&amdata=enc%3AAQAFAAACkBaobrjLl8XobRIiIML1V4Imu%2Fn%2BzU5L90Z278x5ickk8Fd9si%2FIbtWQr%2BhnlRwjDdGwkSTbbyD1XJ1q7%2BhqVcNOowwk%2Bfz2ll6QCVERKIkgODD7IIRW%2BAx%2Fl645II%2B3hgBeIksMO5wkrBhppBIwUhXV1pgzJhTqrFkVXtX6UlHdx4TE3giN9v7ahbxOoQP3%2Bj2b03rcuMXsDOfgY%2FNKG%2BQrGD7dXc3xLhCDuRIECkeDS6%2FRP6RhQbDuKb67q7%2FMR8RcyyqJhO1IPpg1JdHeOUWlDXSJ49rHVrR9DrfcmdCc%2FccDViwyigdpMeS1llUdRd0BQ7S0ucvA7w%2Bhzm4OpQtgzcCEM%2F38xRR15PLYMPJNMqPB1wmVngV0autki932AaQrqWHCkkKBoNOMxkn16SX1F9yRL6oQPz8%2BJoZuDozUQbzebNJnW5LUCM70sK7fIaVZCw%2B1rniplUOdP3Q7N1%2Bg0S8mRpSwN7hfuNV28c6C3Lw6HzIy5wPEqG%2FjYO7rwchLzwPjFvtXDQSY8auSBF%2FOBMp0YAZ7e9D5axn%2F4SnPzKeyrfGflo5nFOlLFnEku%2BYlTBLlzIyrKaeU4WBuSsTOjmytuMpn%2BK%2FSHjq4xU5M5hBQ9X9K0YTrU8cRu1zPMYGMkn7dDbSjOVlThAWoe1xf8u9UsZsZVeUApdDubz51cP2Rjz2N4yuEXFSvkfjwpWpdshacgD7g2Wwn3jQ%2F3vsGms305lppRjtygZAU0eA5CaAOIoGgOvpDFxhruPiKt0bAgqO2eYGgkBCgun0EdcazpDX0eO4fCeJ6IXwch51HirwXmGIlgrbnOmAvBoca7suEsQ3w38T%2BArGz4C21Hf1nDcLsICzotR6tTwNDJkjQ|cksum%3A1848037188847416462f5ccf4bb999dd5a10469165d4|ampid%3APL_CLK|clp%3A2334524

 

Reconditioned:

https://www.moparmall.com/1118850-1118851-Dodge-Brake-Drum-Hub-Assy-p/sk-65009.htm

[kencombs]

I would first post a parts wanted ad here. Lots of guys swap rear ends to a better ratio and have complete units left, including the brake drums.  Both the prices in your posting seem to me to be overpriced, especially the used one even 'reconditioned'.  that likely means bead blasted and turned.

[plymouthcranbrook]

Before I paid $400 for a brake drum I would do a search and contact salvage yards like Moore’s in South Dakota.  There might still be some useable  ones left. The part I loved about the new one was even at $375.00 they still needed $24 for shipping.

[Los_Control]

Welcome to Mopar ... there is little or no support.

You have to ask yourself, are you going to make a original show car or a car you can drive?

The $400 sounds correct to me for 1 new brake drum ... then a 2nd drum you have $800 in it, now you still need shoes and hardware.

 

This is why many will swap in a modern axle with modern brakes & highway gears.

By all means go original if you want to restore to original, look for used drums ... But yeah, not much support for old mopars ... just used parts when available.

[Plymouthy Adams]

your first pic...these are not correct for the Dodge inasmuch as they do not have studs....that model uses wheel bolts....the second on looks correct....

[greg g]

BUYER BEWARE!  Big time here.  The stock cast iron drum is riveted to a steel flange,  the flange is then, as you know solidly attached to the steel axle shaft.the steel carries the lug bolts and thus the weight of the corner of the car.  These after market pieces are all cast iron.  I don't know the particulars but steel is a lot stronger than cast iron.  So this piece of cast iron will need to carry the car plus the braking stress.  The Chrysler engineers designed the system for the hub to carry the car and the drum just to do the braking.  Don't know who is making,or where these castings are made. Has sufficient stress analysis been done on these  one piece aftermarket replacements?  Use your best judgment and a bit due process before trusting you your family and others sharing the road.  You might be farther ahead to update the rear axle from a later car with replaceable drums than supposing on the safety of different from design replacement pieces.

 

Does anyone on this forum have these installed on you vehicle?  Are you satisfied with their quality, purpose and performance.  Or am I way off in the supposition of using just a cast iron piece is sketchy?

[Dodgeb4ya]

Totally agree...don't trust cheap import  cast junk brake parts.

Use a good usable used MoPar drum before using any offshore poor design cast drum.

[Worden18]

Try French Lake Auto Parts here in Minnesota.

 

Also Elmer's Auto Salvage in Fountain City, Wisconsin.

 

[James_Douglas]

Others have asked the important question. What is the usage of this car going to be?

 

If it is occasional then go find a good used drum. One thing to keep in mind is that often the "drums" can be the same front and read while the axle flanges were different. I have run front drums, with the rivets drilled out to remove them on the rears and bolted them together. I have also done this on the fronts in the past without any issues.

 

On the subject of cast iron drums, I do not agree with one comment on them being less strong than steel. The 1963 to 1970 C body Chrysler cars had bimetallic drums as standard. However the Police and Heavy Duty drums were all cast iron. I used a 1968 set on the front of my 1964 Chrysler 300-K and did a number of hard stops from over 100 MPH without any problem.

 

Now that said, those drums were made in the USA and with our product liability laws you can bet that they watched the Q & A. In Asia, for get it.

 

On my Desoto's that is one of the reasons I went to discs so I did not have to hunt down drums.

 

I know someone who needed new drums for his 1958 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz Convertible. He got a new manufacture set. They had to turn them to get them both round and to get them to the same ID. So far so good. 

 

I see used ones on ebay all the time. They never post what the ID size is so you could buy a pig in a poke.

 

********** Caution *********************

What I am going to say next is to be taken with a grain of salt and may or may not be accurate.

 

In the late 1980's I was introduced to a man who was an Engineer at Chrysler from the 1940's until the mid-1970's. We talked brakes and drums in particular.

 

He told me that when they designed drums that they came up with the maximum oversize. Then then cut that in half mostly at the insistence of the risk managers. He said that for a car driven occasionally he would feel fine going past the recommended 60 thousands oversize up to 100 thousands or so. He did say if the car is going to be driven daily and or in the mountains down big hills he would only go to 80.  For hot rodding he said stick to 60.

 

I asked about drilling and venting. He said that the feedback from racing in the early 1960's was starting to filter into their testing of new designs. In particular the drilling of drums for out-gassing. Also, placing little screen with forward facing vents to push air into the brake cavity. He said those things work when pushing drums hard.

 

He then said that all that work stopped as it became apparent that Discs were going to be the future as they provided so much more benefit.

 

It was and interesting set of conversations and I learned a lot about drum brakes. His one big issues was to get and learn to use a drum shoe arc machine. He said 90% of the drum brakes out there were not properly set up or adjusted. That was the largest reason to go to discs --- to get rid of the human factor.

 

************* Caution on the above ********************

 

James

[Frank Gooz]

Not sure but i have seen post of guys using " Turners " They are in Fresno Ca. 

Good luck

 

[Sniper]

7 hours ago, James_Douglas said:

On the subject of cast iron drums, I do not agree with one comment on them being less strong than steel. The 1963 to 1970 C body Chrysler cars had bimetallic drums as standard. However the Police and Heavy Duty drums were all cast iron. I used a 1968 set on the front of my 1964 Chrysler 300-K and did a number of hard stops from over 100 MPH without any problem.

 

Wasn't the drum at issue but the hub.  I'll take a steel hub over a cast iron one any day.

[kencombs]

Are we sure it is cast iron and not cast steel?   I encounter cast steel a lot on old garden tractors from premium brands.  Welds just like any other steel but looks like iron.  If you had one in hand the old grinder spark test would tell quickly. 

 

If it is iron I'd be concerned with cracking at the keyway from the taper wedging action more than load.

[1950Meadowbrook]

Thank you all for the feedback!   My immediate plan for the car is to get it roadworthy for my dad to drive around town.  I've replaced the master cylinder and all the wheel cylinders (surprised to see double cylinders on the fronts but I've limited experience with 4 wheel drums.) and shoes. The passenger rear was a bear and stopped my progress for quite a while.  This old Meadowbrook is a first for me in many ways:  It's not a muscle car or a classic truck, it's 6 volt,  6 cylinder, flathead/l head, positive ground, fluid drive, etc.  It stopped running and was stored in his pole barn for the last 10 years where rodents ate nearly all the under hood  wiring and made a hotel out of the interior.   I really appreciate this forum and the knowledge you all are willing to share.    I busted the exhaust manifold having overlooked the two central bolts so I went with the cast iron headers mentioned here and will likely use dual smithy's.  It runs again with a new starter, carb,  and electronic ignition, but I've some real wiring to do to make it drivable.    I'm not terribly excited with the single reservoir master cylinder.  Last summer, I switched his truck from a single to a dual, but that's a Chevrolet and every part imaginable is available, except possibly period correct 3/4 ton hubcaps.   Regardless, I'm now a fan of these old mopars and am excited to be getting closer.  Dad's face lit up when he heard it run after so long.  Pretty great.  

[Marcel Backs]

The rear drums on my D14 coupe were totally pooched and opted to replace them with NOS ones. They were easily obtainable on the web for 275 US each. A good quantity of these still exist in NOS since brake drums were produced in volume and used the same design for many years on the old Mopars. I would never use cheap repro garbage from across the big pond to replace such a critical part. Period parts in good nick are always my first choice. M

Edited June 7, 2021 by Marcel Backs

[Dartgame]

for 375, I'd replace the entire axle and update the drivehsaft to spicer design u joints. But thats just me. I'd be careful about checking the diameter of the drum. Seems to me they should be 10 inch ?

[Plymouthy Adams]

the Dodge would only  have the smaller 10" brakes on the models built on the smaller Plymouth chassis....full size Dodge was 11" standard application.  

[Young Ed]

On 6/5/2021 at 8:54 PM, greg g said:

.  Don't know who is making,or where these castings are made. Has sufficient stress analysis been done on these  one piece aftermarket replacements?  

I believe these are being make by Michael W

[greg g]

Having them made where and by whom?

[Dodgeb4ya]

China.