hi i have a 1968 mustang with a 289 in it that i am doing the rear brakes over to. but i have a problem a bunch of books that i have looked in say this car takes a 10" x 1 3/4" drum. but the drums that i took off of the car now are 10" x 2". what should i but back on, also what size shoes should i put back on right now there a 1 3/4" thanks
1968 mustang rear brakes
- Thread starter 1968mustang
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It looks like you got it handled which is good. for what little it's worth, if the items that are currently on your car are larger than stock I might be inclined to go with that size. Bigger shoes and drums = better braking which I'm a fan of. Carroll Shelby was a fan of larger brakes on the rear of his cars as well, so much so he used station wagon rear brakes on them. Ford Motor company sometimes(not always) ran larger back brakes on Mustangs as well if they were heavier models like convertibles.
One final thought, if for some reason your car has a different size than stock backing plate and you go with narrower shoes and drums.Once the drum is against the axle hub,you may leave the inboard side of the brakes open to the elements and such.
One final thought, if for some reason your car has a different size than stock backing plate and you go with narrower shoes and drums.Once the drum is against the axle hub,you may leave the inboard side of the brakes open to the elements and such.
When your current drums are installed flush against the axle hub does the open side of the drum sit close to flush(obviously not touching) with the backing plate? If yes and you go with a narrower drum you could have a decent 1/4" or so opening back there which will let dirt and such in. I'm merely curious as I've seen a lot of variables over the years with this stuff ,and my thought was that if your shoes aren't as wide as your drums, you could possibly step it up a bit wider on them and get a little better braking.
No sir. The shoe is usually a little smaller than the drum to make sure there is no interference with the drum face or overhang. A 2" drum with a 1 3/4" shoe is a a good fit. I didn't see in your original post that you had measured the shoe at 1 3/4" already or I would have told you just to leave it.