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MG MGA - Front brake drums

It seems that my two front brake drums have been turned a few times in the past. I measured them to be at 10 & 1/8". The obvious result now is that I have almost ran out of adjustment. I want to replace both drums but to buy them new would cost a small fortune. I will be interested if someone has a good used pair for sale. My drums are the wire wheel type. I have tack welded a small piece of flat bar on the underside of the adjusters, but I feel that's not a good fix. Replacement drums will naturally make a much better fix.

Frank
F Camilleri

Hi Frank... I have a set of Front Drums But off a Steel wheel Car... What is the difference between Steel and wire wheel Drums ??
Ken
k klay

I do not know what the difference is, but the brake drums for the disc wheels and the wire wheels have different part numbers.
See attached image from the factory Service Parts List.

Mick


M F Anderson

If I recall correctly, the front face of the drum is dished inwards because the drum mating face of the splined hub does not protrude as far as the mating face of the steel wheel hub - something like that anyway, so as to get everything aligned and give clearance between the drum securing bolts and the wire wheels.

Steve
Steve Gyles

Apologies for hijacking this thread ,but I amcoming to Malta on 17 may and staying to see the Valetta GP and would like to make contact
Andy
ap lestocq

Hi Ken, S/W drums & W/W drums are not interchangeable, they are different. I think Steve has given a precise explanation of this difference. But thanks anyway and keep looking please.

Frank
F Camilleri

Andy, would love to meet you in Malta when you come over. I shall personally be fully tied up during the whole month of May, but I'll be free on Sundays and I will be looking forward to join you for a chat over a couple of beers. The weather in May is normally beautiful with sunny days throughout. Is this your first visit to Malta? Do you know where you're staying? Drop me an email and I will give you my home & mobile phone numbers.

Frank
F Camilleri

Andy sorry mate I forgot to give you my email address in my last post. Here it is:- fcamill@hotmail.com

Frank
F Camilleri

Hi Frank and All....

Just been looking at my MGOC Parts Catalogue..

It shows the same Drums on the rear for DISK and WIRE WHEELS but different Drums on the front for the Disk and Wire wheel ....???

Andy You will Love Malta ..Loads of Old cars, busses and Tons of History....Oh and they all speak English and use Proper 3 pin plugs :-)
k klay

Thinner brake drum retaining nuts on the rear to give clearance with the wire wheels - certainly the case for those of us who have modified steels to wires whilst retaining the original axle.

Steve
Steve Gyles

On my 1500 '58 coupe with wire wheels, the front drums had 6 holes, while the rear ones have 4 holes. There is no spec for the maximum drum size that I have been able to find just 10 inches as the spec diameter, but my rears were 90 thou oversize and the adjusters would not work. Replaced the drums with used ones that were only 20 thou oversize and the adjusters worked.
I don't know if Barney has this info on his site?
Peter.
P. Tilbury

ThanX ... Im running a "B" back Axle, I cant see any real differences between the "A" drums and "B" drums but will take a closer look when Im next in the Garage ...

Could no find anything on Barneys site but that not to say its not on there...

ken
k klay

Maximum O/S for drums is here: http://mgaguru.com/mgtech/brakes/bt108.htm

MGB uses 1/2" wheel studs where MGA uses 7/16". Drums have matching side holes, so different part numbers.
Barney Gaylord

Can you not get oversized linings... ? I know here in Australia where drum machining is common place, over sized linings are easy to get. The brake specialists will usualy machine the shoes to match the drum's radius.....

Mark.
M T Boldry

Brake shops used to re-arc the linings - grind the lining to a larger radius. This of course reduced the thickness of the lining mid-arc, but it fit the larger radius of the turned drum. The last time I tried to get a shop to do that, they told me I was crazy, they had never heard of this process.

Ken
k v morton

Here goes. As I mentioned in my last post, I tack welded a piece of flat bar 1/8" thick and the size of the bottom face of the adjuster mask, and now the shoes are perfectly adjustable. The adjusters only turn to a maximum of six clicks and the drums are tight. It looks like a good remedy for the problem, but I will be happier if I replace the drums with a good used pair, or, failing that, with a set of new ones.
Ken when doing a conversion from S/W to W/W only the front drums will have to be replaced. The rear drums will fit OK on both S/W & W/W. Our friend Charles is thinking of doing a conversion on his MGA and this is what we discovered when we made a comparison with mine.

Frank
F Camilleri

This thread was discussed between 02/03/2011 and 04/03/2011

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