Tearing into my front pass. side brakes to get at a leaky wheel cylinder, I discovered that my drums do not have the outer bearing, and slid right off the studs. Is a '71 Cutlass Supreme convertible different? If not, how do I identify what the hell I have? Maybe a different GM setup grafted on?
Thanks to the gurus in advance for any help!

 

I don't know what you mean by "do not have the outer bearing". Are you saying that the drums slide off of the studs on the hub? If so, that's likely a replacement drum. Don't lose a lot of sleep over it. All Chevy cars came that way.

 

Yes sir, the drums slide off the studs. The bearings remain undisturbed on the spindle. I'm getting really confused, because a quick check on Rockauto for replacement drums all show the style I have. The Bendix brand replacements are even described as "loose drums". I want to order new drum hardware, new soft lines, new wheel cylinders, etc., But definitely don't want to go through the hassle of getting the wrong thing. I found a video on YouTube, where a guy is tearing down a '72 Cutlass Supreme's front end and it had the type with the bearing pressed into the drum!
I get that it's not a big deal if they've been swapped, I just want to know what I have...

 

There are far more Chevy cars than Olds. The replacement parts are all for Chevy. They work just fine on an Olds. This is no different that the back drums.