Riveting front Brake Drums???

[KnuckleBuster]

I finally decided to put my new front brakes on my '54 Chevy, so I got home from work tonight and jacked the old girl up. I pulled the wheel and saw that the front brake drum is rivetted to the hub with three rivets. I checked my shop manual and it says to cut the heads off, drive out the old rivet, replace the drum and install new rivets.

My question is: Do these three rivets need to be replaced? If so, where do I find new ones? The book also mentions a brake drum gasket that fits between the hub ant the drum. Where the heck do I find one of those??

Thanks for the help - damn it's been a long time since I posted,

Later,
Jay

[Bruce Lancaster]

You are just doing new shoes and hardware or what? For most purposes, you want to remove the whole shebang at the hub, not separate drum from hub. You would only separate there if replacing the drum.

[safariknut]

The brake drum gaskets are usually just on the rears;nothing but thin gasket paper that fits around the bolt circle.I had one on my 55 Safari;I threw it away.It might help keep the drum from sticking to the axle but that usually happens because of rust around the center hole.

[KnuckleBuster]

I was going to do drums as well, but the car only has 60k miles on it so I'm thinking maybe that doesn't need to be done...

I had a feeling the gasket was only for vibration dampening or something and not too important.

Thanks guys

[KnuckleBuster]

bttt for the morning crew

Any other thoughts?

[Bruce Lancaster]

If you mean turning the drums, I believe that would be done with hubs in place so all is centered. If you mean replacing, then it's rivet time...

[tommy]

I'd bet the drums are ok with only 60K. Probably turnable. We used to get a lot more brake jobs from the early drums. They started to skimp on the drums and rotors when fuel economy became an issue.

If you do get new drums, get them turned after the hubs are riveted to the new drums. This insures that the braking surface is concentric with the bearings and will eliminate any pulsating.

It may be hard to find a brake mechanic that is familliar with front drum brakes.

[KnuckleBuster]

Thanks for your help guys. I did the brakes on the Chevy last night - piece of cake! For a North Eastern car, there's hardly any rust - I had to replace both wheel cylinders and both came out like a brand new car. The original drums didn't even have grooves in them and there were no score marks on the backing plate. I can't believe this thing.

Anyway, thank you for your input, it sure is nice to have a resaource like the HAMB - saves a first timer like myself a whole lot of trouble and unpleasant experiences.

Later,
Jay