I have an old rearend I was told is out of a late 50s-early 60s Ford . I pulled the brakes off and measured them at 11"X2 1/4" . Went to the local Oreilly's and they sold me 11"X2 1/2" brake shoes and matching drums . My question is does it make a difference ? I'm not real familiar with the "setback" measurements and how they are taken . It has the small bearing 28 spline axles if it makes a difference . Thanks .
I believe you are fine. Lay the new drum and the old side by side. You should see a wider braking surface inside without the drum skirt being deeper. Just watch for interference when you assemble and look to be sure the drums fully seat on the axle flange before you install the wheel.
You shouldn't have a problem as the backing plates were designed for a 2.36 brg spacing. This was a common sawp to the 57/59 rearends back in the day. They are probably small brg, and the 2.5s were big brg in wagons, rancheros and some high performance cop cars in the early 60s. Just check your clearances.
Place the drums on the axle and the flange on the outside of the backing plate will fit inside the groove on the outside edge of the drum. The backing plate should stick pass the drum about 1/8 to 1/4 inch. Spin the drum and if it is not dragging on the backing plate you should be fine.
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