Front brake hubs

[jeffs56]

Does anyone know if they still sell the front brake hubs for the 52-54 Chevy cars? I’m wanting to convert my 55-59 to 5 lug in the front but keep the stock brakes instead of going to discs. Thank you guys

[mr48chev]

Since I did my first set in 1973 I have always had to hunt them down in a wrecking yard or find a set that someone was pulling off either a car or a truck that had had them installed to upgrade to disk.
The good thing is that those brakes take a very common drum that is easy to find and isn't expensive. RAYBESTOS 2003R is the drum Front shoes are 11x2 RAYBESTOS 228PG but there are upgrade shoes that size. Simply meaning that if you find a set with good hubs but bad drums that is a bargaining point and not a deal breaker.

I haven't done a TF but on my AD trucks i have had to run an inner race the correct size to fit the spindle. Just a bit of mixing and matching but it can cause a short panic attack until you figure it out.

[jeffs56]

I’ve read only 52-54 Chevy cars work. But not sure. I tried Napa but they don’t carry them. They have the drums but not the 5 lug hubs

[mr48chev]

I have never seen new hubs for 52/54 Chevy cars available since i started in on my truck in 1973 and hunted down a set of drums and backing plates off a 54 wagon in Crawford TX. As far as i know the hubs were never an aftermarket item.

[jeffs56]

O ok gotcha. Are there other years that will work on my truck?

[Clay54]

Jeff56, I'm not a mechanic so I don't know all the correct terminology for all the parts but just bear with me. When I bought my '54 Chevy Pickup in 1968/69 it had a '49 Cadillac engine, transmission, rear axle and a hole bunch of other stuff. The front hubs and backing plates are also from the Cadillac, I think. Now these five hole hubs are what I call the big 5 hole that came on the big GM cars. Not the little 5 hole like on the S10. I must assume these hubes are from the Cadillac as everything else is.

Here in West Texas, it is hotter than you know what so I'm not real crazy about doing any work out there in the heat. Maybe you could cross check something on these Cadillacs. If it cools off a little, maybe I can take off a wheel and pull a bearing to get a number or something. Don't know if the drum or backing plate would have a number or not. Clay

[mr48chev]

Big problem is that that won't get him the 5 on 4-3/4 bolt pattern. No need to swap hubs if he can't get the bolt pattern he wants/needs for the wheels he wants to run.

[jeffs56]

Yep very true. Right now I obviously have 6 lug in the front and my rear is 5 lug. I have matching wheels that’s the way I got it lol. But it does drive me crazy. I guess I could change the rear to 6 lug

[Clay54]

Don't mean to be argumentative, but, I did not see any mention of what the rear axle or wheel bolt pattern was when I posted. I know the '54 car hub is the "little hole pattern".

When I removed all the Cadillac stuff, I replaced the rear with a Camaro rear and it has the "little hole pattern" and to keep the same wheels all around, I used an adapter that bolts to the "big hole pattern" and has studs for the "little hold pattern". Truck was a daily driver for about 10 years when the power steering went and I didn't have money or know how to fix it. Later learned a simular power steering unit was on Corvettes thru '69 would have worked.

The tread width of the tires on the front is about 1/2 inch wider on each side than that of the rear. Clay

[mr48chev]

You just have to get out and hunt and put the word out Jeff. I actually traded a nice set of 5 lug brakes to one of the guys on here for a nice set of huck brakes for a 48/49 as I needed the huck brakes to fit the 18 inch 1930 wire wheels on a roadster (looks like a real old race car) project that I am working on.

[Russell Ashley]

I had those on my truck when I got it and couldn't give them away for free on CL. I finally put an HEI distributor and a 350 oil pan in with the ad provided they take everything and got rid of them. That was about five years ago. Since then there has been a couple of folks here on the forum looking for them. It made me wish I still had had them, but I just didn't think they would ever be needed.

[jeffs56]

Lol yep it’s crazy how it works out. More and more people are sticking to the old school stuff or trying to make the old school stuff work. I’ve taken some advice from some forum members on here. And some other friends, which is leading me to use the stock brakes and dropped axle. But at least I have some options and can change or upgrade stuff as I go

[solidaxel]

Did you find a set 0f 5 lug chevy hubs?

[jeffs56]

Nope not yet. My truck is in snail mode of course

[solidaxel]

Let me look around, I may have a few sets left over
5 lug pass car front hubs right

[jeffs56]

Ok sounds good. Yea I believe those are the only brake drums that will work to convert to 5 lug with the stock brakes. Thank you

[Matt_50]

What hubs/cars work for this little swap? Any 52-54 Chevy car and all ya need to do is get correct bearings?

[jeffs56]

Yep that’s what I’ve been told. They fit perfect

[mr48chev]

I'm finding info that reads both ways. Some say that the inner bearing goes right on the 56 spindle some saying you have to mix and match.

You may have to use the inner race for the truck with the ball bearings for the car. I think the actual ball bearings are the same and the races are what are difference with the surface the bearings ride matching on them.

[Matt_50]

He originally mentioned 55 to 59. What about 47 to 54?

[mr48chev]

On the 48 and 54 axles I have done I changed the drum/hub and backing plates.

On 47/50 you have to to get rid of the Huck brakes and have Bendix brakes. I did it on the 54 axle under my truck now as it didn't have brakes on it when I got it. One of my buddies gave me the whole 54 Chassis and I went to the wrecking yard and got the whole 54 car brake setup. That was in 1989 when they were easier to find.

You do have to drill two new holes in the backing plates for the bolts and replace the bottom bolts along with making some spacers. It's pretty self explanatory when you do it though.

When I did it with the 48 axle in 1973 I think I had to mix and match pieces for the inner bearings. It wasn't anywhere close to rocket science though. One of my friends in Texas had a lot of knowledge on what mixed and matched to make things work and a lot of these things I learned from him. He built a chopped and shortened 48 Chev truck that sat on a shortened 55 Car frame that he had given to him for cutting the body skin off a 4 door for a dirt track racer to use on his circle track car. He is also the guy who showed up at Memphis one year with a Ford powered 27 T that had the turtle deck made out of the cut down back end

[Matt_50]

I'm going to research this some more. I know a guy with only Chevy stuff and he's got a lot of 50s cars..