I’m feeling like a dope...I can’t get the drums off the front and then I notice the studs look pressed into the drum...

Is the hub and drum ONE piece???
Do I need to remove the castle nut to get the drum off?

Been soaking in penetrant oil, hitting with a torch, a hammer...feel like I’m going to damage bearings if I smack it too hard.
-peter

 

The drum and hub are an assy attached by the studs. You remove it by taking the spindle nut off.

 

Some cars are not made to easily be separated. I do not know which years/styles/sizes/makes/models do separate and which do not, I have owned both styles. Just roll with it. You can do the same maintenance no matter how you get the drums removed, people/ shops who turn brake drums usually do which ever you have.

 

Remove dust cap, cotter pin and castle nut, then wobble it to work the outer bearing out of the hub. Pull the drum and hub as a unit, then remove inner bearing and the grease seal.

While they're off and apart is a good time to clean and evaluate the front wheel bearings and spindles. If they're good, repack and reuse them. A new grease seal is cheap insurance too.

 

yes, our A bodies have integral hubs and drums. Some GMs interchange that use drums that separate from the hubs, and those hubs use the same bearings. Examples are Chevy Nova and its copies from Buick, Olds, etc. from about 68-73. Thus, if you want to use G body rear drums all around on your A body, you can use those hubs. The drums will leave about 1/8" of brake shoe exposed but they work.

 

Actually, it's really easy to convert to slip-off front drums. Just replace the wheel studs in your existing front hub with ones having a shorter knurl length. And the 2.5" wide front drums for later Chevy A-body cars slip on and off just fine. They also work in the rear of a Vista, and there's no brake shoe hanging out. I'm assuming what Joe was really suggesting is using the aluminum G-body rear drums for weight savings, however.