Hey all. Pulled the drum off my 1967 cutlass project and noticed a slight rattle as I pulled it. Seems someone had welded the hub to the drum. Not a good weld either. (See attached) I would think this is not very safe. Ever see this? Also where the heck can I find a already attached hub and drum? Drums are easy to find, hubs-expensive and hard to find. Together? Impossible. Someone said leave it. What is your all's opinion?

 

They probably did it because the studs were loose in the hub. You could grind the welds and then put in new studs but if the holes in the hub are worn you might have to be creative in finding studs with the correct spline size to get a press fit.

If you think about it the drum cant go anywhere once the lugs are tightened so there really is not a safety issue.

 

Yup, the welds are just the studs to hub, not hub to drum. It's steel to cast, so no surprise it doesn't look great. Like Bill said, common quick-fix when studs are loose. If the holes are wallered out then the hub needs replaced - or finding oversized suds.
The potential safety risk is if the holes are really bad then the studs can wiggle when tight, make the holes worse, and eventually pull through.

 

I've done this myself when the knurl stripped out in the hub. Those tack welds only prevent the stud from spinning when loosening or tightening the lug. Don't lose a lot of sleep over this. I've also found studs with larger knurls that can fix this problem if the hole isn't enlarged too much.

 

Ok, I feel a bit better about it now. What you guys are saying makes sense. Seems like when I fix one issue, another opens up! But that's what I signed up for and am all for it! (Recently retired, kids gone, saved for 35 years for this) This forum rocks.