I quess the drum is lug-centric too..............

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Ed
64 Valiant 225 / 904 / 42:1 manual steering / 9" drum brakes

I guess in Ooltewah screwups try harder

Thanks

Not hard to do at all; I've done it. I've used two different models: an ancient ANCO (sp?) machine and a relatively new Acu-Turn.

On rear drums, both of them simply rely on a springloaded cone to center the drum on the spindle (through the hub), and then clamp it between two shells that actually do the holding. Especially if the front of the drum isn't perfectly flat (not terribly uncommon), it's very easy to get the drum in a tad bit crooked and you end up w/ some runout.

Front drums are a little bit better about centering themselves because you actually put cones inside the bearing races and crank it down tight, but I've seen guys use a cone that's "close" to fitting, chuck it in and call it good. The end result is the same.

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Used to own:
'82 Dodge D150
Erson 270 Cam, O/S valves, mild port work, ~9.5:1 compression

Currently fighting with an '85 VW Cabriolet

My other passion

It may be that the casting shifted or it was initially machined off center and now that it has worn, you are noticing a problem when it warms up. Are there a lot of counter weights on the outside of the drum? This may indicate a problem during manufacturing.

Actually I don't know as I've ever noticed it when starting out. I drive 2 miles before I brake. I don't remember if I've heard it there or not. I always hear it when I come down the slope of my driveway on my way home - very pronounced. At that point it often has a double clunk per rev. I'll have to check on that. I'm imagining I remember seeing two weights. If so, and with my luck they're on the heavy side!

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I have seen a few older cars that have grooves worn into the backplates from the edges of the brake shoes. On one of my cars the shoes would snap in and out when they were applied. I touched up the edges of the grooves with a file and used a little brake grease on it and the problem went away. I suppose it would be even worse if the drum is off center or out of round.

OK, I found out about the weights. There are 2 1.5" weights right in the center of the thinner side, so it seems you hit it right on. It was screwed up at the factory.

It hasn't got into the backplates.

'Bout time I go through the whole front end. I've got various parts on the way and more to order, including, probably, front drums.

Thanks