Discontinued Brake Shoes

[SapperJoe]

I am still working on my wife's '49 Coronet and am trying to locate parts before I put things back together. I can only find shoes from Andy Bernbaum and they are spendy. Ebay has some but they look used and I would rather have peace of mind knowing they will be good for a while. Anyone know if there are any other years that would work? Could I replace the whole rear drums with something newer that still has available brake shoes? Any other options? I don't want to spend a lot of money but will if there are no other options. The front is a '93 s10 clip so those brakes are discs and not a problem.

 

[offroadrolls]

How about swaping out the whole rear axle assembly with something that's about the same size and ratio out of something newer?
Also, if you have the old shoes I think you can get them relined...google it. That is if your drums have enough steel left.

 

[SapperJoe]

thanks for the quick reply. I was trying to look up relining them but figured I would check my options first. I have the rear axle from the s10 that I was going to put on and decided against because it would require a custom driveshaft being made, but it is starting to seem as though that would be the cheaper route. Any idea how much it would cost to have my two driveshafts grafted into one so the the transmisison end is from the coronet, and the differential end is the s10? All i can find googling is newly made driveshafts, or else it is very expensive to have one modified. Even if it costs a couple hundred bucks, it would be cheaper than possible having to replace shoes, wheel cylinders, and such. I do still have the brake master cylinder from the s10 as well, would it look out of place to mount that on the firewall of the coronet, as opposed to under the floor? I try to picture it but cant. I think I will plan on swapping out axles, now that you mention it. Thanks a lot!

 

[offroadrolls]

google drive shaft repair. Here in Colorado I can think of 3 places. One in Denver, one in C. Springs and one in G. Junction. Not sure were you are, but there are many places that cut weld, build, balance drive shafts. They also have a whole selection of u joints that'll alow you to mix yoke sizes etc.

 

[SapperJoe]

could I just replace the part coming out of the transmission (yoke? not sure the nomenclature) and use the s10's driveshaft?

 

[Blue Eyed Devil]

No, the S-10 yoke will not work. Forget "google" for a minute and do things the old fashioned way. There is bound to be a driveline shop near you. They are all experienced in this type of work. Pick up a telephone, call them up and let them know what you are wanting to do. More than likely you can have the job done cheaper than rebuilding the brakes on the old Mopar axle, plus you will get rid of the poor tapered keyway axle design and left hand thread lug bolts.

Not sure where you are located, but I can throw a rock and hit 2 different shops here in Dayton - American Driveline and Dayton Clutch & Joint. They have both built custom driveshafts for me before, relatively inexpensive and great results...

 

[old man dave]

I agree with BED on contacting a local shop. I have had many drive shafts made over the years and it does not cost a fortune.

 

[GJunktionMike]

I had to have the driveline in my 51 done. I took the dodge driveline down and they found a yoke for the other end, cut, welded, new u joints and painted. I was under $170.00 out the door.

 

[SapperJoe]

I had to have the driveline in my 51 done. I took the dodge driveline down and they found a yoke for the other end, cut, welded, new u joints and painted. I was under $170.00 out the door.

That's not bad. I have both drivelines (s10 and coronet) still and thought thats the route I may have to take.

 

[jmlcolorado]

I've had a few driveshafts made and am about to have another made.
It's worth the change as far as I see so if something happens down the road with other components, you can replace them easier if you swap the rear end. Just make sure the width is what you need and the bolt pattern is the same or close (I've used adapters too)
Plus, with having a driveshaft made, you have a brand new yolk, new u joints and it looks perdy

 

[26tub]

I needed shoes for a 40 Ford that I have in my tub. I went to a place called Friction Specialties (I think) in Eugene OR. It was about ten years ago now, but it cost around 10 bucks a shoe, so it was really cheap. For places that specialize in clutches and brakes, this is very straight forward. Good luck!

 

[SapperJoe]

If I could find a place here (Boise, ID) that could re-shoe for cheap (im sure 10 bucks is a little too cheap now days) then I would just replace brake components and use what I have as far as driveshaft. The front brakes are from the s10 and are discs so already i will have better stopping power. The rear axle from the s10 is a few inches narrower than the coronet's so I would need spacers in order to make it look right.

 

[26tub]

I just bought some wheel spacers for the camaro rear end in my truck for $56. Might be the same ones for your s-10 rear. 1" spacers out of t6061 aluminum. Plus they are hub-centric. I never felt comfortable with spacers that require much longer studs and do not have the machined hub locator. The seem to be pretty good quality. Might have to get a bit longer studs and grind of a small bit. Just look on ebay for hub centric wheel spacers. Tons of them. I can also give you the part number for the slightly longer studs (assuming a similar diff) if you want. They stock them at oriellys but I had to spend time looking through the boxes myself.