The 1963 rear drums on my Valiant are not the self-adjusting type.
Can I rebuild them using self-adjusting hardware from another year?

You certainly can. Somebody probably removed the self-adjustors from your '63 along the line. No matter, the '69-up self-adjustors are more dependable than the '63-'68 variety, anyhow. Note that mixing and matching shoe and hardware brands can occasionally run you into trouble; the pin that holds the self-adjust cable pivot guide can be different diameters relative to the hole in the shoe's webbing. I've had the best success with genuine Mopar hardware.

You'll need four P/N 4313069 shoe-to-shoe springs and two or four P/N 4636771 hardware packages, from the Dodge dealer (can't remember if 4636771 does one wheel or one axle's worth of brakes). You will also need EITHER:

Two Raybestos H2526 and two Raybestos H2527 self-adjust parts packages,

OR:

four 2944586, four 6027559, two 2944692, two 2944693, two 2881686 and two 2881687 (components from the dealer to assemble two left and two right adjustor ratchets).

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

Are you sure 63 Valiants originally had self-adjusting brakes?
The factory svc manual shows the self-adjusters on the full-size Plymouth,
but no self-adjusters on the Valiant.

I am going to feel dumb if I have been doing periodic brake adjustments only because there are parts missing from my rear brakes.

No. I thought it was '63, but it could've easily been '64 when they were made standard equipment on the A-bodies.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

64's are definitely self-adjusting...................

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

The 1963 owner's manual advises to watch for extended pedal travel as a sign the brakes are in need of adjustment. So the 1963 Valiant did not come with seld-adjusting brakes.

The 1963 parts catalogue does list the needed parts for self-adjusting brakes, though. So they may have been an option, or at least a dealer-installed item.

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Bill
Vancouver, BC

Am I the only pre-64 owner who hasn't upgraded his manual-adjust brakes?
Someone should do a self-adjust brake article for road toads and weird 63s.

This may be a dumb question, but my 64 has the star wheel adjustment on the front drums, if the 64 is self adjusting, what is the star wheel adjustment for? Getting the shoes in and out?

The reason I ask is that my brakes are pulling to one side, so I've been trying to use the star wheel adjustment to even it out. I've checked the usual suspects... the shoes are all at about 70 % (even on both sides) No fluids leaking etc....

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1964 Canadian Valiant Convertible.

All Bendix-design drum brakes (the kind Chrysler used on A-bodies from 1960 and all other bodies from 1962) have the starwheel adjustor. A different starwheel (w/coarser & larger teeth) is used with the manual-adjust setup, but the overall configuration is the same. As the shoes wear, the brakes require periodic adjustment.


Even a small imbalance in adjustment can cause pulling. Remember that unevenly-adjusted rear brakes can cause a pronounced pull towards the tighter-adjusted side on brake application. There are also non-brake causes for pulling on braking: Bent or broken strut rods, dead strut rod bushings, etc.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.