Classics65

Trying to find new brake drums for my 65 olds starfire front and rear. Can't find any new drums and curious if anyone makes a reproduction of them, if not do any others fit with the 11x2 drum with 5x5 bolt pattern. I've seen some of the truck break drums with those dimensions but unsure if they actually fit. Any help or info would be amazing as my drums are pretty worn out/ratty. I'll be pushing 550hp and would like to keep it somewhat controlled haha

Charlie Jones

Kanter Auto supposedly has has repro brake drums .
However , they are Chiniesium and the design is nothing like the original.
There is NOTHING else from any other make , car or truck , that fits .

Your best bet may be to go with a Scarebird disc brake conversion .
They use commonly available disc and calipers ( Ford discs and Cutlass calipers).
You will have to go to 15 inch or larger wheels .
They are large enough , however , to stop a large car with a lot of horsepower .

Ozzie

Supposedly '65 & '66 Olds B body (not J88) will interchange on the front.
On the rear, supposedly interchange is possible with Olds:
'59-'63;'64 exc.J-88;'65-'66 exc. J-88,98;'67 exc. 98;'68 Delmont & Delta;'68 98 with frt. disc. The rear part number should be 383026.

Unfortunately, I don't know where to find them, new or used.

oldcutlass

Call Craig, mobileparts.
516 - 485 - 1935 .... New York.

Classics65

from what I've read the scare bird brakes won't work with the stock spindles. I'd need to find spindles from 67-70 delta or other full size olds 65-70 with factory front disc. I may be wrong. Not opposed to disc brakes up front bit I'm Leary on spending money and not fitting.

I'm planning on running 15x7 AR torq thrusts on all 4 corners so wheel fitment shouldn't be an issue. I'm just worried the stock drums having surface cracks is gonna lead to something bad even with getting the car under 4k lbs

Classics65

Wonder if there is a way to get drums resurfaced

2blu442

If you want to make the swap, I've got a 1970 Delta 88 parts car with front disc brakes. They're still on the car, and it might take a week or two before I could get them off. John

https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...r-hardtop.html

joe_padavano

Craig manages to dig up some obscure, hard to get parts. Unfortunately, I think I've cleaned him out of all his rear drums for this car.

The Kanter drums will work but look nothing like the originals. If all you care about is functionality, they are acceptable.

oldspackrat

I have a brake drum I pulled off a 64 Starfire. I don't remember if it's front or rear. I can get pictures and measurements if that will help you out any? We also have a 1970 Delta 88 convertible that had front disc brakes. Would the drums from that work? Also there is a 1970 98 that had disc brakes in the front and those rear drums are available I think?

Classics65

as long as they work properly, aesthetics aren't to important at this point haha. Just need the big ol girl to stop/slow down

Classics65

I do believe the rear drums interchange between 65-70 full sized except the j88 and toro

Charlie Jones

Incorrect , scarebird makes a custom hub that fits the stock spindle .
They use 76 Ford T-Bird rear discs .

Charlie Jones

Here's a little interchange info I was able to dig up . Courtesy of the Olds parts book .

Rear drum; part # 398466 & 7 . For some reason Olds specified separate drums for left and right . I've never been able to tell the difference between them . Maybe others will chime in .
These will fit :
65 - Except F-85 , J-88 , 98 , or police
64 - Except F-85 , J-88 , or police
59 thru 63 - Except F-85

Front hub and drum assy .
Olds did not sell the drum separate from the hub . The aftermarket did .
Early in 65 Olds used a smaller wheel bearing , the same size as the F-85 .
These carried part number 407155 .
Later in 65 Olds went back to the larger wheel bearings that they had used in 62 thru 64. These carry part # 390698 . and fit all 65 thru 69 with drum brakes Except F-85 & Toronado .

Hope this helps .

Charlie Jones

Most auto parts stores have equipment to re-surface drums .
As long as they clean up at .090 oversize or less , you're good to go . (11.090)

Classics65

not for the 65s it looks like. They skipped my year. Has any one actually ran them on the drum spindles though? Seems almost to good to be true

joe_padavano

Not any more. Around here at least, few shops turn drums or rotors. I went to three different NAPA stores in my area and they all looked at me like I was crazy. The one NAPA store that still turns drums and rotors is nearly an hour each way (thanks to traffic). There are automotive machine shops closer, but the nearest one wants $50 PER DRUM to turn them.

I wouldn't trust my unobtanium D88 drums to Autzone/Advance and their free drum turning service.

Classics65

I think I'm just gonna run the kanter drums in the rear for sure. I'll talk to scare bird as as well about their full sized olds conversion kit. Worst case scenario I run the kanter drums front and rear

oldcutlass

I took my drums to OReilly and had them cut mine as they were a bit warped. I had them take off just enough metal to make them true. I stood and watched them do it to ensure it was right. I have a good relationship with the local auto parts stores and never had any complaints for me to watch.

joe_padavano

You're lucky. Maybe it's a function of our per-capita lawyer population here in the DC area, but shops here always cite their insurance regulations if you ask to go in the back.

oldcutlass

Or perhaps because I live in Mayberry, one of the fruits of small town USA.

Charlie Jones

The reason they skipped 65 is because it is such a confusing year .
As I explained before , There were two different hubs used in 1965 .
The easiest way to determine which type you have is to remove the grease cap , nut , and washer from a front wheel . Post the number on the bearing .
If it's the large bearing you will be good to go . Just tell Scarebird it's a 66 .
If you have the early type with the small bearing . Then you will have to swap spindles for late 65 thru 69 drum brake spindles .

Classics65

I'll mic them when I get off work. I'll post the ID and OD. I'll see if there's anything legible on them too

joe_padavano

^^^THIS. Vendors find it is easier to simply say it won't work rather than to try to educate buyers on the nuances. This is also why every A-body disk brake kit says it requires 15" wheels, despite the fact that nearly all of these cars with factory disk brakes came with 14" wheels.

Classics65

Inside diameter is roughly .84"
Stock spindles

joe_padavano

Measure the diameters of the spindle where the wheel bearings slide onto. The first design small bearing spindles will be 0.750" dia at the outer bearing location and 1.25" at the inner bearing location. The second design large bearing spindles (and all 66-76 full size spindles) will be 0.8437" at the outer bearing and 1.357" at the inner bearing.

Classics65

didn't measure the inner but the outer is .8437 so all signs point to the 66-76 full size

joe_padavano

That's it, so just order parts for a 1966 and you'll be fine.

Eman79

hello are these drums still available