rvandeven

I posted this question in the "newbie" section (not proper etiquette, I know).

I am having trouble reassembling the front drum brakes on my 1968 Cutlass S. Does anyone have an exploded view diagram of the front drum brakes from a '68 F85 / Cutlass / 442 that can be shared, or direct me to a thread which already contains this information?

Thanks!

tru-blue 442

Posted a few pics on your
other thread. Good luck.

Also if you scroll all the way
to the bottom of this thread,
you will find others related.

rvandeven

Thanks for the reply and pictures. They are a big help. However, I think that part of my problem may be that I am putting the wrong shoes on. I was always under the impression that the wider shoes and drums are installed on the front. I installed the narrower shoes on the rear, and they work perfectly. Also, the wider shoes that I have do not have the hole cut out for the parking brake arm, nor do they have the extra notches for the parking brake strut so I assumed that they went on front.

What am I doing wrong? Do I have the wrong shoes?

Thanks again for the help!

tru-blue 442

The pics I posted for you
are the front left, or driver
side front. Note: short shoe
to the rear. I don't have a
shot of a rear with the E/B setup.
Is that what you needed? I'm not
sure I understand you question completly.

joe_padavano

Sorry, no. The short shoe is the primary shoe, and it goes towards the front. This is because the self-energizing nature of drum brakes. The rotation of the drum "pulls" the front shoe into the drum, so a smaller friction surface is required to balance the force from the rear shoe.

tru-blue 442

Thanks Joe, my mistake.
Those pics came from a parted car
years ago. I think it might have been
from the right side then. Oops.

rvandeven

It's all good. I just needed to know the location and style of the springs. I will attach pictures when I am finished for future reference. Thanks again.

joe_padavano

This photo is a brake assembly from the driver's side of the car, with forward to the left in the photo. The self adjuster arm goes towards the rear of the car. Unfortunately, at some point in the past the shoes have been installed backwards.

rvandeven

Here are the completed front drum brakes on my '68 Cutlass. This is front passenger side.

MDchanic

Looks great!

- Eric

rvandeven

Thanks for all the help. I bought some new spring sets, but as you can see the finished product is a mixed bag. Mostly because I think these spring sets are just a bunch of random parts thrown into a bag.

Anyhow, I am waiting on the front drums to be bead blasted (should be finished today), then I can bleed them out. The fronts have to be bled the old fashioned way due to the location of the bleed valve.

I have also replaced all of the brake lines (Inline Tube - HIGHLY recommended!), hoses, wheel cylinders, master cylinder, and proportioning valve. I filled the system with DOT 5.

Next step, replacing the rear suspension arm bushings.

Thanks again for all the help!

rvandeven

Update: I had a series of leaks on my front drum brake project, especially from the brake line into the wheel cylinder. I bit the bullet, and decided to replace with a disc brake set up from Right Stuff.

tru-blue 442

NICE!

What does that set up
set back a person's finances?
If I may ask...

rvandeven

I bought a Right Stuff conversion kit from Summit for $490.50 delivered. Here is a link... http://www.summitracing.com/parts/RSD-AFXDC14

And I was out another $10 for brake line sections and compression fittings. This kit works with stock 14" or 15" wheels. Everything bolted right up, no headaches. They forgot to include the "long" rod for the booster, but sent it pretty fast after I told them about it.

tru-blue 442

All you needed to use this kit
was a set of disc brake spindles
for a 64-72 A body? If so, I'm covered.
Looks like a good kit. Any one else use
this actual one? My conversion would
be for the 66. Drums all the way suck.

My plan, 455 w/2004r. Rear discs later maybe.
Or sell the Damn thing and do the 69 already.

rvandeven

I didn't have to change the spindles with this kit. I believe that this kit works for a '66 also, but you may have to drill some existing holes out larger.