Going through the 57 Olds rear end in my 57 chevy and converting to self adjusting brakes. Seems like there a rather generic 11x2 drum setup so I'm adding self adjusters that I originally bought for a 63 Chevy. Napa United # 80659 and 80660 (R & L) includes the self adjusting hardware and I don't have the box for the # but the other bag was all springs, anchors, etc. for all four wheels on a 63 Belair. This looks to be a simple swap but I'm not done yet. The anchor pin? on the 57 Olds backing plates are eccentric (see pic) both are offset to the rear of the car. I don't recall ever seeing this before and wondering if anyone knows the reason this was done or if there is any adjustment to be had here. Sorry for large crappy pics...
there is a slot in the brake drum that you can put a feeler gauge into,that way you can make sure the shoes are the same distance from the drum surface. you only have to do the adjustment when you install new shoes,after that the star wheel is all you need. that self-adjuster is a good idea,but since i have to jack up the car to grease it anyway i might as well adjust the brakes
Cool, makes sense to me and just by chance there is a slot at the edge of the drum just wide enough for a feeler guage.I'll post again after I'm done to see how much its off with new shoes. Thanks for the reply,I just had to know why they went to all the trouble of providing that adjustment.
Found this tread on adding self adjusters to GM cars. Good stuff. http://www.chevytalk.org/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/248702/
Maybe that anchor pin is adjustable for some purpose. Looks to me like loosening the retaining nut would allow it to be rotated. Have you checked an Olds shop manual brake section? Sometimes there is more than meets the eye to proper initial brake adjustment. Ray
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