Looking for new brake drums

[jdrader2]

Hi all. I’ve tried searching but came up empty. During the full brake rebuild we determined that the drums are too thin to true up. 
 

plan B is buying new drums for a 1950 b2b-108.  Unfortunately the rears were changed out by my grandpa to Desoto brakes for added stopping power while towing.

So first things first, any idea where to buy new drums for our trucks?

 

Second, anyone have a source for old Desoto drums out there?

 

thx all. 
 

 

[lostviking]

Model and year would help people respond.

[jdrader2]

1950 dodge b-2-b 108 truck

[lostviking]

OK, now do a web search for Dodge 1950 truck brake drum. You will see a number of possible sources.

[Los_Control]

Yes sir ladies and gents ,,,, for just the low summly price of $450 you to can be the proud owner a a single Dodge brake drum .... But guess what!!!! For just $900 + shipping you can own a pair..... Are we not excited? ..... Do we think they will mate  & produce offspring for future resale? .... Time will tell.

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/175579858056?chn=ps&mkevt=1&mkcid=28&srsltid=AfmBOoojCRWOkvLwH4-Z9Lvw45PpYMW46O0If29LRbWwwwFGzRGAbczhqi4

 

Yes they are available ..... it is such a stupid price it only makes sense if you are restoring a 100 point show car.

 

For the price of a brake drum, you could do a modern rear end installation. ..... Dodges just do not have a good supply chain of aftermarket parts ... not like Ford or Chevrolet.

 

So if you have a Dodge & need brake drums, either pay the price for reproduction drums .... Find some good used ones .... or swap out the rear end for better brakes.

[Dodgeb4ya]

Good deal Mopar no Pro.

[P15-D24]

Didn't we have a thread a while back where a member got a generic brake drum from one of the big retail auto parts suppliers and modified it to fit? Just got the right bolt spacing and had a machinist cut down the inside edge of the drum so it fit the backing plate. 

[Los_Control]

9 minutes ago, P15-D24 said:

Didn't we have a thread a while back where a member got a generic brake drum from one of the big retail auto parts suppliers and modified it to fit?

You have a memory like a elephant  

I think about many years ago was a guy that bought jeep drums that were 10" in diameter then 2.5" wide ..... Then used a brake drum lathe to cut them down to 2" wide. .... Just saying it is possible ..... I think you need to own the lathe then choose to abuse it ..... not sure others would be happy to help you.

 

 

Same time there was no brake drums available at any price ....other then used. So they did what they could & it worked for them.

 

I know there is a thread on it somewhere in this forum .... I think I looked for it 4 or 5 years ago ..... It was so old then I could not go back far enough to find it.

Totally possible is something newer & I just missed it ....

 

I'm only suggesting there is nothing newer and more feasible that I know of ..... that does not mean it does not exist.

[jdrader2]

Sounds like the shop was able to find the 10” fronts (although the cost will be outrageous) but the rears are the issue. Again, we think they are from a desoto and are 12”x2.5” with a 5 on 4.5 bolt pattern. 
 

If anyone has ideas, I’m all ears. 

[P15-D24]

Here it is, 

 

[Los_Control]

Kinda sounds like the rear end has been swapped then. The B1B would have 10" drums all around, the 3/4 B1C had 11" drums.

You could be right thinking it is a Desoto ..... Might be helpful to post a photo of it so others may identify it. Maybe someone who knows the cars would have a suggestion.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/256080459255

But you need to know exactly what you have first.

 

I'm kinda curious what they did with the U-joints. The trucks have the Cleveland u-joints which are a bit scarce but available .... a few years ago they were about $85 each + shipping. A lot of the cars had a ball & trunion type ... just thinking they must have done something to change the u-joint in order for it to work .... what is the question.

 

My truck has good drums on it so not interested at this time in a rear end swap.

A Ford explorer or Jeep Cherokee rear end fits these trucks really nice ..... the spring perches need to be relocated, about the only welding.

I have heard some people say the Cherokee worked fine without moving the perches ...... I've never seen one in person.

The older ones had drum brakes, stay with drums and would not need to mess with the rest of the brake system.

 

Then the drive line needs modern u-joint installed to fit the rear end.`Did they already install a modern u-joint when they swapped your rear end?

 

So that is my plan when the time comes .... A used rear end with 3:73 gears, modern self adjusting rear brakes .... can get parts at any parts store .... no special tools needed to remove the drums .... good by old tapered axles & leaky seals. Modern u-joints, a real emergency brake ..... cheaper then buying drums and better.

 

car part.com I see them starting out at $150, the drive line shop to weld on a new yoke for the u-joint, shocks, flexible brake line .... whatever it takes to install it talk to your mechanic. your original wheels will work.

Doing the work myself I figure to have $300-$400 into the swap drive line being the biggest expense .... paying someone will be more. You still have to pay them to work on your old Lockheed brakes.

In my mind, adding a new rear end increases the value .... 100% original show truck? Yes keep original rear end.

You have something you want to drive, the modern rear end is the way to go. In my opinion ...... pay a little more upfront, easy maintenance repairs the rest of your life .... many who own these trucks want to do the swap and never get around to it .... If I'm looking at $800 for 2 brake drums, I'm getting around to it.

 

 

[Los_Control]

Just now, P15-D24 said:

Here it is, 

 

 

Thanks I will bookmark it. I see now why I was really interested in it, I had a B1C 3/4 ton with 11" brakes and my drums were not usable.

 

It may be possible for @jdrader2to do something similar with his 12" x 2.5" brake drums. Certainly is a more user friendly number when searching for a drum.

 

Sad part is, it sounds like the work is being done at a shop which is fine .... Seems it would get costly paying the mechanics time experimenting & learning.

They want parts that work and they have 6 other jobs waiting ..... they really do not have time to mess with this.

I keep thinking of @Lorenthey may have a good solution for the bigger brakes, I remember reading about her converting one of her cars to the bigger brakes.

 

I also feel this thread is about a 1950 B1B in the truck section of forum sounds right ..... seems they have a Desoto? rear end with the 12" brakes. Maybe some big Chryslers also had them?  ..... I just feel the question with a photo to make a positive identification would get better response on the car side not here in the truck section.

[PT81PlymouthPickup]

Anyone know if the 39-47 truck rears (differential and housings) were the same used in the 48 and up trucks? Or are they different? I have a complete (39-47) rear with brakes and drums in perfect condition. Hoping to see it go to a worthy project.

[jdrader2]

Just for fun, here are some pics of the rear drums.  The thread on modifying something off the shelf was really interesting. Just doubt I’d get a shop to do it. The costs are already getting high and I have a long list of things to work through. 

Edited September 23, 2023 by jdrader2

[Los_Control]

46 minutes ago, PT81PlymouthPickup said:

Anyone know if the 39-47 truck rears (differential and housings) were the same used in the 48 and up trucks? Or are they different? I have a complete (39-47) rear with brakes and drums in perfect condition. Hoping to see it go to a worthy project.

I'm sure it would work .... problem is that there was already a rear end change done on the vehicle.

Without pictures we are all only guessing what was done for the swap. ...... Did they change yokes on the rear end and run the Cleveland style u-joint?

Or did they change yokes on the drive line and run a different style u-joint?

 

Here is a photo of the 1950 Cleveland u-joint .... It has straps and bolts that hold the cups in place. I think the 39-47 would use the same style.

 

A modern u-joint uses a C clip or a snap ring to hold the caps in place. ..... I have no idea what u-joint the 57-62 Desoto used .... I doubt it was the Cleveland because only seen them on trucks not cars. .... Did they use a modern style u-joint in 57-62? I have no idea ..... Why I feel this question could get better answers on the car side not the truck side of forum ...... They may have a well know source for these drums.

 

Something with the u-joint was modified to make it work in the truck, could be the yoke on the rear end, or the yoke on the drive line .... If we are talking about a rear end swap that would be important to know.

 

 

[Los_Control]

Here is a set of u-joints for a 59 Desoto .... $190 for the pair.

 

 

I guess I'm just a cheap old fart, and I need to be to live on my retirement wages. When I started messing around with my B1C I quickly figured out a rear end swap was cheaper then doing a brake job with drums at $425 + shipping .... My drums were not available at that time ... not sure they are to day 11" drums.

 

Here is the typical car u-joint says 33-54 on cars, 33-45 on trucks $105 each to rebuild 1 u-joint .... plus labor if you're paying a mechanic ... another $95 if you need a new housing. ..... I wonder how many modern mechanics even know how to rebuild this style?

 

Mopars had crazy stuff back then they do work fine ..... cost a fortune to replace. Very few people re-create them and priced accordingly.

 

And thats all I'm going to say.  Modern brakes are safer, self adjusting you can have a real emergency brake. A nice driving experience with the 3:73 gears, seals that do not leak ... parts readily available. .... Changing the u-joints eliminates a future problem  .... The driving experience does not change .... still a bouncy old straight axle truck with a flathead 6 and a 3 on the tree ..... You just upgraded the rear end, brakes & u-joints and IMHO the value of the truck ..... any future issues will be easy peasy to deal with.

And the upgrade is actually cheaper then fixing what you have. ....

[Kilgore47]

There is a seller on ebay that has reproduction drums for about 100 dollars.  Don't know if they have ones for trucks.  Wouldn't hurt to check.  I haven't bought anything from them but I have the site book marked for reference.

 

Old Parts Source.

[PT81PlymouthPickup]

I agree with Los_Control. It's why I have a stock differential and housing along with brakes and drums sitting under a shelf in my garage. This original housing with a 3.90 ratio low mileage differential had the ball & trunion u-joints.  I installed a Jeep Cherokee posi-traction rear end in my truck. Very happy with it. Easier to service and get parts, better ratio choices. 3:73 being the best in my opinion, and emergency brake that works much better. That said, for those that are not experienced in such transplant endeavors or not having access to fabrication equipment would be frustrating and if having a pro do it, cost prohibitive. I spent many hours doing this conversion. Cut off spring perches, weld new perches at correct angle, fabricate custom bracketry for parking brake cables. Custom length brake cables. Custom drive shaft. Just pointing out that some often touted easy projects can be a can of worms especially if not accustomed to doing such things. Anyhow, the original differential I have would be a bolt in for any 39-47 Mopar unmodified 1/2 ton trucks. Not sure about 48 up? I know the Yoke could be changed for later model u-joints, but not sure the housing and perches would be correct? Perhaps someone here knows? I'm hoping to see this original rear put to good use again. If you (jdrader2) were close I'd give it to you if it fit. Until I find a good home for it, I won't scrap it.

[Plymouthy Adams]

I like seeing the rubber meets the roads mods put into place....