Toronado.org

I've been searching through the Technical Talk and also on various supplier websites. The only source for front drums is Kanter @ $144 per drum. Most other places have the rear drums (11" x 2" inside dimensions) but not the front drums which the Oldsmobile Chassis Service Manual says are 11" x 2.75" inside. Are the front drums actually larger than the rear ones? It makes sense because the front wheels take a lot of weight.

Does anyone have a different source for front drums?

Thanks!
Colin

NAPA lists the '66 front and rear drums as the same at $89 each. When I restored my complete system for a '69, I contacted http://www.brakematerialsandparts.com/. They built new brake shoes for me using a soft composite, non-metallic, bonded brake lining material. They got new drums for me from a local NAPA, arced the shoes to make maximum contact with the new drums and shipped everything to me. The critical thing is to arc the shoe material to match the drums and the shop has to have the drums to do that. If the material is too hard and does not make full contact, you will not get the best performance when they are cool, which is when you use them the most when driving in a classic car mode.

Thanks for the information! I'll have the mechanic do the arcing. Appreciate the response.

I got 4 new drums from Rock Auto. Drums are the same size front and back. The front shoes are wider than the rear shoes.

I will never purchase anything from Kanter. My experience (and that of others I know) is that much of Kanter's products are made in Chimna and extremely poor quality.

Steering and suspension components deteriorated in just a couple years. Rocker arms are low quality, etc. I could go on. My advice is to stay away from Kanter unless there is absolutely no other alternative.