I have a 1968 cutlass with stock drum brakes. The wheels are 14”x7” SSll. No idea how old the brake components maybe. I did have them inspected and adjusted recently with new spring kits. The shoes passed inspection. The initial issue was the brakes had a slight pull to the right plus, even though these are power assist, it doesnt feel like im getting full assist. After driving for awhile around tights turns on a country road, the brakes pulled noticeably more. I assume from getting heated up from braking. My mechanic did say the right side drum was slightly warped but he was hesitant to resurface it or replace them. Either way i realize i need to do something because its a bear to stop. Options are 1. Resurface the drums and get new shoes. 2. Get new drums and shoes. 3. Convert to disc brakes.
i personally would like disc brakes but have t found any for 14” wheels other than a kit by RightStuff. Also havent seen any front drums anywhere either which is puzzling although i seen rears. Any advise or experiences about this would be helpful thanks.

 

Rock auto lists front drums fyi. There are also 2 threads w 5% off rockauto.
https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/...+hub,drum,1744

if it were me i would just goto disc at this point, although properly set and maintained drums are fine

68 is a little funny but joe p has a thread about using original replacement components rather than a sourced kit. The advantage is the sourced kit may be incompatible w OE parts and future maintenance could be affected.

14” ss1and 2 of a certain style can accomadate front disc brakes. You could also source a set of 15” ss2/3 rims or go aftermarket.

 

Heres some reading on disk brakes

https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...k-brakes-6873/

 

This pic says ss1 but ss2 is similar

 

Thanks for the info. I think at this point i will forget about disc brake conversion, too many variables to get it right and sourcing OE parts assuming there are any for 14” wheels i think may not be worth the effort. Replacing all the wheels and tires to 15” also is more than i want to spend on it, theres other things the car needs first. I checked the rock auto site, and as long as i can source drum parts i will have everything replaced with new, drums, pistons, shoes, etc. The brakes should be fine if operating as expected. Just one thing, the site doesnt specify any specific wheel size application for the drum. Does that have any bearing as to 14 or 15 inch wheels for drums? Or do the fit eithee?

 

Despite what the aftermarket brake companies say, except for the 1969 H/O, every single 1967-1972 Cutlass/442 that came from the factory with disc brakes also came with 14" wheels.

 

Thats good information thanks. You would think disc brakes and parts for 14” wheels would be available as NOS or reproduction or rebuilt components, being thats the case, But doesn't seem the case as everything I looked at is new and recommended for a minimum 15” wheel. I only found one kit by Rightstuff for a 14” wheel. Its pretty inexpensive, includes a booster and MC and PV and brake lines for about $650. Compared to other kits its really much less and i’m concerned about the quality of it. Besides its not a manufacturer im familiar with. Don’t want to put something on that may be more problems than its worth.

 

The repro parts are duplicates of the factory brakes. The problem is that the vendors don't want to take the time to explain the differences between the drum-only and disc-compatible 14" wheels, so they take the easy way out.

Again, the aftermarket parts that replicate the factory 10.75" rotors and matching calipers (which is pretty much all of them, despite the fact that they round up the rotor size to 11") will clear 14" disc brake wheels. That includes every single SuperStock II/III wheel ever made by Olds.

 

As Joe states, all SSII/III wheels will clear factory style disc brakes. I used the RIGHT STUFF kit on my 69 Cutlass S Convertible with no issues using 68 SSII 14 X 6 wheels. I changed out the.booster and master cylinder as they were in need of rebuilding, but if you have power drums, you can keep them. You need to either add the correct hold off valve or switch the distribution block to the newer style proportioning valve mounted on the frame.

Switching does need to expensive. That right stuff kit usually can be had for around $500 give it take $100 depending on options.

 

The right stuff kit is what i looked at. It specifically says for my 14” wheels. Most others indicate for 15” wheels or larger. I know Joe P said that they all should fit with ss ll wheels but i rather not be the unlucky one where it doesnt. Thanks for letting me know you had success with their kit, i’ll go in that direction i think. The kit i looked at comes with new booster and mc +the pv. I want to get all new anyway other than reuse the old stuff which im not sure is working up to par anyway. I know front drums arent the greatest but mine are a bear to stop, i swear they have little power boost plus the pull to the right when they get hot. Not sure where the problem is and dont have forever trying to figure it out anyway.

 

Just one other thing, the rotors on the right stuff kit i looked at are 10.5”. The size of stock rotors are supposedly 10.75”. You think that 1/4” will make any difference? Thats jist an 1/8” off the radius so I dont think so but maybe someone has an opinion on that

 

If you decide to stay with drum brakes measure your current drums to see if they can be resurfaced. If they can be resurfaced find a shop that is willing to measure them and cut them both to the same diameter. This will provide the same size contact surface between the shoe and the drum on each side to reduce brake pull. The difference in drum diameter used to be accounted for by arc grinding the shoes, the chance of getting shoes arc ground today are slim to none.

Good luck!!!

 

Thx

 

If your brakes are pulling to the right and not over heating, then the left side needs to be adjusted.

 

It's been well tested and documented that a disc conversion shaves a huge distance off the stopping distances. This has been over-covered in every car magazine for the last 40 years. There is a lot to be gained from a disc swap, suggesting otherwise is simply not correct. I will agree that there are plenty of sub-standard conversion kits out there, buying cheap *** parts always leads to cheap *** results, that goes for everything.. waaaaaayyyyy too much junk in the aftermarket these days.

Driving is a funny thing. It is certainly wise to drive as safe as possible, but the reality is that you are only in control of yourself, and you are just a tiny player in an equation of a million parts.. you rarely, if ever, panic stop or swerve by your own decision, its usually a reaction to something out of your control. A significant decrease in stopping distances is a great way to drive even safer. Discs are vastly superior in any kind of emergency maneuver.