'69 Olds Cutlass conv. 350 Rocket. Last time I worked on this was about 12 yrs ago. I needed new rear drums but every where i went I got drums that left about 1/2" of shoe not covered by the drum, ie center of hub is dished deeper than the basic hub. Dont know if this is standard for 69 or if previous owner put a bastard diff. on it. Any Suggestions???

 

What's the width of the brake pads? The Cutlass/442 was 2 inches wide but the Vista Cruiser was 2 1/2 inches wide. Some people swap the Vista brakes over as an upgrade. John

 

Tnks-I'll look into the Vista cruiser option- just drums & shoes, whole brake assy or comlete rear axle assy?

 

A person can pull the backing plates, shoes and drums off the Vista housing and bolt them on a Cutlass/442 housing. Also the Vista has a larger piston wheel cylinder. John

 

Cant remember for sure size between 9-10" dia hub but 2" wide-NOT 2 1/2".
You ref 440 R end. How do you tell diff 442.350,Vista??
Old hubs were defintely double dished.

 

The Vista rear end has different shock mounts, I don't know if the Cutlass wagon used the Cutlass or Vista shock mounts. I believe that's the only difference between the Vista and Cutlass/442 rear ends. Can you post pictures of the brake assembly and new drum that doesn't fit? John

 

Did you replace the shoes at the same time you put these new drums on? As noted, except for the VC, all 64-72 A-body cars used 9.5" x 2.5" front shoes and drums and 9.5" x 2.0" rear shoes and drums. Off hand, I'd say someone gave you front shoes for the back. Did you happen to compare the old drum with the new one? How about the old shoes with the new ones? Rule of thumb when working on old cars is never get rid of the old parts until the new ones are correctly installed and functioning.

 

If he was given front shoes for the rear, then the retainer pins would be too short....I put Vista backing plates, shoes and cylinders on the rear of my convert w/ correct diff to see if it would stop better...it's not on the road yet still in the paint shop..

 

Yellowstatue, at the risk of being called a thread highjacker let me say I've purchased a couple sets of 11"X2" brake assemblies from 1976-77 Cutlass's. I've been told that they can be swapped over just like the Vista brakes to try and get more braking capabilities. BUT... those brake parts are on a shelf waiting for me to actually put them on something

 

You are doubly correct. Yes, you are a thread hijacker and yes the 11x2 brakes are a better choice than the VC brakes.

 

Good point, however if the hardware was replaced at the same time, most kits I've seen come with both sets of retainer pins.