Brake Drums

[Dan D.]

57 - Front brake drums are riveted to the hubs. Do they need to be, or can they just be drilled out. I believe later years eliminated the rivets, but were there any other changes in doing this? The rivet heads interfere with custom wheels mounting surface.

Also, the wheel studs are too short for full thread on the nuts. Is there a remedy for this?

Thanks,

Dannnn

[Joe L.]

Re: Brake Drums

57 - Front brake drums are riveted to the hubs. Do they need to be, or can they just be drilled out. I believe later years eliminated the rivets, but were there any other changes in doing this? The rivet heads interfere with custom wheels mounting surface.

Also, the wheel studs are too short for full thread on the nuts. Is there a remedy for this?


Thanks,

Dannnn

Dan------

The rivets can be removed without causing any problem on a drum brake application. In fact, the rivets have to be removed if one needs to replace the brake drums. As far as I know, brake drums with riveted hubs have not been available in a long while.

If your wheel studs are too short for your wheels, longer studs are available from aftermarket sources like Dorman. They may also be available from GM but I can't look up a part number right now as I'm out-of-town.

[Dan D.]

Re: Brake Drums

Thank You Joe,

That's what I thought about the rivets. I will remove them.

I will check out Dorman's for the studs. I suspect they are pressed in very tight. Not sure I can muscle my old mechanical press with enough force to get them out, but I have pressed Chevy wrist pins in and out with it before. If not my Son-in-Law has a modern heavy duty hydraulic press that would be able to do it. I will have to make up some tooling to fixture it.

Dannn

[Rod K.]

Re: Brake Drums

Just a suggestion, try a heavy hammer with nut on stud to protect threads, they may drive out without too much effort. They're not pressed in that tightly, I don't think.

[Dan D.]

Re: Brake Drums

I tried the hammer method using a brass drift and it still did not want to break free. So with the rivets out I just left it alone. Wont hurt anything if it is frozen. With the rivets out the wheel fits flush to the drum, should be good to go.

Thanks for the help.

Dannn

[Joe L.]

Re: Brake Drums

I tried the hammer method using a brass drift and it still did not want to break free. So with the rivets out I just left it alone. Wont hurt anything if it is frozen. With the rivets out the wheel fits flush to the drum, should be good to go.

Thanks for the help.

Dannn

Dan------


The studs are splined and are pressed into the holes in the hub wheel flange. The thus achieved fit "locks" them into the hub to prevent them from rotating when the lug nuts are tightened. For this reason, I do not recommend reusing a stud after it has been removed as some of the splines will be slightly worn from the initial installation and the "loose stud syndrome" may ensue.

I've never tried to drive the studs out with a hammer but I believe it could be done. However, an arbor press or hydraulic press, even a small one, will do the job with no problem. This procedure holds true for any Corvette wheel stud, drum brake or disc brake applications.

[Dan D.]

Re: Brake Drums

Hi Joe,

I was not trying to remove the studs, just shock them into releasing the frozen drum/hub. I agree, pressing them out would be best if that was the intent. However, I may have to replace the studs with longer ones. Hopefully not, the new lug nuts should have extended threads. I have to wait until I get the new lug nuts to tell. Right now it meets the rule of nut engagement being at least equal to the stud diameter, but I just don't like the idea of some of the stud threads not fully within the nut.

However, I gave up trying to break it free. There is nothing wrong leaving it frozen, so; "if it ain't broke, why fix it".

Thanks for your help with this, I appreciate it.

Dannnn