Re: Re-installing rear brake drums

Posted by ScottG On 2023/7/26 20:04:19

Don - It's a '55 Clipper Constellation. The junior brakes for that year measure 2" wide with 3/16" thick friction.

Mine are definitely not original but do fit the car. I took a variety of measurements on both shoes and they vary in width between 2.000" and 2.053" for the primary shoe and 1.996" and 2.055 for the secondary shoe. At least to my eye the width in excess of the 2.000" specified by Packard seems to be the small "lip" of the steel backing that extends outboard beyond the actual friction width. I will say the shop that turned the drum suggested I might have to consider carefully removing that lip with a grinder to ensure full clearance.

I also measured friction depth on each and found the primary shoe ranged between .176" and .210" and the secondary between .145" and .224." While I don't know the exact age, they definitely do not have much wear on them.

Also, because I noticed that the end section of the primary shoe displayed a slight trapezoidal shape, and in an effort to drive myself completely mad, I compared friction thickness at various points of each shoe at both the inboard and outboard edges of the shoes and found deviations in thickness (side to side) on the primary shoe from .008" up to .020" and, on the secondary shoe, from .008" to .017". So they were not wearing evenly but I don't think the uneven wear was great enough to cause any problems...although I'm happy to hear what others might think.