Brake Drums. What to Keep

[72Bob]

I am helping clean up an old's friends place, and there is a pile of front brake drums and spindels, and Rear ends with Brake drums.

I have read others talk about drums that are hard to find, or they are not reproduced anymore. What should I keep, what should I scrap?

I am looking at 8 lug front drums, 6 lug drums, both front and rear, 2wd and 4wd.
I will try to take pics, but any thoughts on which model years are the ones to save?

[NO LONGER DISTURBED KONCEPTZ]

I would load it up and scrap it all. Drum brakes suck for stopping.

[woodchip]

Drum brakes stop all right in 1968 and they still stop alright.
By the way they are still being reproduced.

[Longhorn Man]

However, if you have a one ton with single rear wheels... you are stuck trying to locate used drums. The one ton daulies are impossable to find, but I think I may have located a source. Rod will be looking into them and telling me if in fact we have found our pot of gold.
The 6 lug stuff is avalible at any parts store for 25 bucks each. IMO, they totally suck. There is no hole for adjusting the shoes up or down, and there is no lip for the spring that is supposed to go on there either.
The Dana rear on 3/4 tons are avalible,
4X4 stuff... I have no clue.


So in my opinion, if you have located drums that are still thick, I would grab them now, sort out later, and scrap what is worthless.

The statement on drum brakes suck for stoping...
I can list a few reasons as to why that statement sucks.

1 a correct restoration, 70 and older would need drums...period.
2 3/4 ton and one ton drums, stop quite well when assembled properly.
3 Even the little whimpy girly drums on the front of a 1/2 ton are perfectly fine for normal driving, and when done up properly, are perfectly fine.
4 Not everyone has the money, and/or the know how on doing a disk brake swap.
5 using aftermarket shoes like that of prariedyno (I think that's the name of the place) will make drums perform just as good as disk brakes, and with no fade.

Drums don't suck, if they did, then the big over the road trucks would not use them, they would not be located on the back of new trucks and cars, and, if they were as bad as most ppl think they are... then they would be out lawed like the old mechanical brakes.

[Robert1970C20rstbukt]

Let me know if you find any 8 lug drums for the Eaton rear ends. I still have the original front drum brakes on my truck and I don't see a problem with 'em. I have pulled dual and even triple axle trailers, fully loaded, and it stops like it should.