FE/FC Drums

[RET]

Seeking feedback from the hivemind following an interesting discussion I had today.

Long story short - I had a call from a bloke concerned at the unavailability of FE/FC drums, and that the letter of the law of the NSW VSI6 light modification regulations meant that using later model drums would necessitate getting an engineer's report, and registering as a modified vehicle.

I must be honest I haven't had to buy a set of drums in a long time, but I haven't heard anecdotes about drums being hard to get through the usual channels - members of our club, wanted ads on the forum, facebook supplicants etc.

I said I would get back to him after doing some research, so he emailed me the following:

Re: Conversation on fc brake drums.
I contacted RDA brake component manufacturing in Melbourne about availability of brake drums for the FC and was told only EJ onward drums were available and have never been manufactured by them for the FC .I then rang several brake companies to see if brake drums were avail. and was told  that no new drums have been made since the mid 80's when Girlock was taken over by PBR. I asked if later drums could be used but was told yes by means of changing the back plates,wheel cylinders,linings and possibly piping(an expensive option). I was told that the same stub axles were used up to the all drum brake version of the HR. I was also told that because the EJ onward drums are wider that attempting to fit these drums solely causes binding when the wheels are fitted. I rang Martin's trailer parts supply in WA as their catalogue showed 9" blank drums. The sales guy there was very knowledgable in regard to old vehicle drums and basically said that as the other brake people said 'no brakes have been available since the eighties.
My main issue is eventually all Fc's in NSW will need to go on modified plates due to the 'vsi6' rules. Note in Victoria that FC's can have Upgraded brakes and remain on club rego.
Hoping you can have some positive input
Cheers Rod

So, what do people think? Are good ones really hard to come by? I know that EJ ones aren't a straight swap over, you need different backing plates, slave cylinders etc. Would it constitute a modification under VSI6?

Appreciate any useful feedback.

cheers
RET

[DCE80]

Ret
I put a post on the SA club FBook page looking for good drums and it would appear they require a bit of ground work to find. Mine have flogged out mounting bores which I suspect would be common given the thin contact area and the exposure to the elements. It is however the only FC brakes I have ever touched. All four are a tad oversize. I'm guessing the narrow market for FE FC dedicated drums would be a now prevent anyone putting in the effort to manufacture. I'd buy a set if they did. Guessing FB EK guys would share same problem with their slightly wider drums.
On a side note a local brake guy tells me he has a small stash of second hand drums but has yet to have a look for me.
Daniel

[Errol62]

I have a front end from a very early FB which has finned drums whereas the EK ones are not finned. You have me wondering if the early FBs had carryover brakes. I was told the firewall is carried over from late FC.


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[DCE80]

Not sure the fins dictate a model fairly sure I looked at finned FB drums recently. Shoe width 1 1/2 FC 1 3/4 FB

[RET]

Yeah, I'm fairly certain finned drums were an aftermarket product - manufactured by Repco, perhaps?

[ardiesse]

I have a copy of the Wheels 1964 Hot-Up Guide No. 2 on my shelf, and it says, "Repco's transversely-finned brake drums, for all models through to and including the FB, are a satisfactory alternative to discs for most normal motoring purposes.  The Repco drums are more fade-resistant than the standard components, because the fins assist cooling, and cost L5/8/- each."

ABS also made replacement brake drums.  I had a pair on the rear of my HD X2 (with 2-1/4" rear brakes), and one member of the NSW club has a set of EK front brakes, with finned ABS drums.  These drums fit inside a standard FE-EH wheel rim, and look like they'll take linings 1/4" wider than the standard.

Rob

[Errol62]

Great information thanks. Rob I'm wondering if this means these could be used on FE FC with 1-3/4" linings with stock backing plates.
Pretty stoked about these. Would be great for a period touring car with toey grey, fats etc


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[DCE80]

From what Rob has posted I have ABS drums as they are exactly as described. I didn't measure mine but there was about an extra 1/4" beside the shoe contact area.
As for putting FB shoes in there the wheel cylinder and bottom pin offsets likley wouldn't allow it.

[ardiesse]

Guys,

You'd need to use FB/EK front brake backing plates with the wider shoes.

This getting off-topic a bit, but - the ABS finned drums for HD/HR front(all) and rear(ute/van) had a flat front face.  The ABS FB/EK drums also have a flat front face.  So I am thinking that if you got a pair of HD king-pin front brake assemblies and steering arms, you could use the ABS HD/HR drums, get 2-1/4" wide front brakes into the bargain, and be able to use the standard wheel centres.  Although I remember from a master parts catalogue that the upper outer pivot kit for king-pin HDs and post-HD-launch EH commercials was different from the earlier models' kit.  Probably revised dimensions so that the HD backing plate wouldn't foul the upper outer pivot on full lock.

But then I also believe you can use EJ/EH drums with FB/EK brakes.  Can anyone confirm this?  The same wheels are used, and the lining width is the same, even though the brakes are of different design.

Rob

[Errol62]

In regard to the EJ EH drums I believe you are right. There has been some discussion about this on the FB EK site recently but I don't believe a conclusion was reached.


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[Errol62]

Here is a Tapatalk link
https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?share_fid=25355&share_tid=3584&share_pid=220036&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Efbekholden%2Ecom%2Fforum%2Fviewtopic%2Ephp%3Ft%3D3584%23p220036&share_type=t


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[Errol62]

Took me a while but here is conventional link
http://www.fbekholden.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3584

[Gary C]

I looked everywhere for decent drums suitable for for racing for my fe and ended up getting some made.

[fcwrangler]

EJ drums will fit onto the FB/EK stubs. I have just done a test fit on the rusty old FB van and had no rubbing issues at all. I am in the middle of doing a comparison of  the brake drums, backing plates and stub axels for FE/FC, FB/ EK and EJ/EH as I have all three front ends. My plan is to use the EJ brakes front and rear on my FC sedan, so everyone can benefit from the findings.
I know that fitting the EJ brakes means you have to use the backing plates as well and change the rear end due to the different axle plates, but maybe the FB/EK brakes could mean less work.
Will post results when completed.
Regards, Jim

[ardiesse]

Jim,

Had a bit of a think -

To put EJ/EH brakes onto an FE/FC front suspension, you need to change over the entire brake assembly (backing plate, shoes, cylinders) plus steering arms to EJ/EH.

To put FB/EK brakes onto an FE/FC front suspension, you need to change over backing plates, shoes, hold-down pins to FB/EK. Cylinders are the same.

EJ/EH rear backing plates won't fit an FE/FC rear axle, as you suggest.

But putting FB/EK rear brakes onto an FE/FC may not be as easy as changing over the backing plates and shoes, because the rear wheel bearings were changed at FB launch, to the type used all the way to HG.  The outer race is wider on the later rear wheel bearings.  You *just may* be able to fake it by inserting spacers between the
FB/EK backing plate and the FE/FC rear axle.  Of course, you could also swap over to an FB/EK rear axle, but that's almost as much work as slotting in an EJ/EH rear axle.  Bump stops and brake hose position are compatible FE/FC/FB/EK though.

My two cents' worth:  FB/EK front brakes with EJ/EH drums on the front and original rear brakes would be the least effort to set up.

Rob

[Fraze]

I just fitted a set of the repro EH brake drums to an FB, couldn't be easier, no issues at all. I can't see why you would not be able to fit these repro drums to an FE FC either, only the narrower brake shoes of the FE FC wouldn't wipe the full width of the EH drum, but that wouldn't matter, Cheers, Fraze

[RET]

I agree the EH repro drum fits FB/EK, but won't fit earlier models. The narrowness of the FE/FC shoe is not the issue, but the width of the drum - it will bind on the backing plate before you can seat the drum properly on the wheel bolts.