[barrierblue66]

Decided to go through brakes/tires/drums on my '66 GP before anything else. Rims were blasted and I primed/painted them. Have a set of 225 70 R14 red lines to mount on them. Doing some reading/talked to some folks about 8 lugs, totally new area for me, it seems I need to get the fronts relined as I see the corrosion in between the liner and drum.

I see 2 companies that do relining. Can anyone suggest from personal experience with one? J&G or Z&L. One talks about arcing the brake shoes to make better contact with the entire liner. Any opinion on this?

I'm set to do what is needed for me to run 8 lugs on the car so please offer any other suggestions or comments to help me along, as this is totally uncharted territory for me.

Thanks!

[mechanickeith]

Have no experience on company's doing relining, But,,, A big yes on having the shoes arched to match the drums. That way from the git go, the shoes have a full contact with the drum.

[stevep]

Originally Posted by mechanickeith

Have no experience on company's doing relining, But,,, A big yes on having the shoes arched to match the drums. That way from the git go, the shoes have a full contact with the drum.

X2 on the shoe arcing!

[ho421]

Z&L relined mine. Night and day difference between those relined and the set i have on my daily driver. No pulsation/shudder even after they've warmed up. Pricey but worth it if you want them on your ride.

[barrierblue66]

Thanks all!

ho421, I talked to J&G today, Don impressed me very much with his knowledge, their process and variety of applications their drums get used in. Price is $350 each + shipping. That includes a total rebuild/refurb of the entire drum, races, whatever is needed, painted. I believe I will give them a try. What does Z&L charge?

[ho421]

You'd have to call larry for an update but if my memory serves me, around 230/per hub plus the ride. Included bearings and races but he did not touch the front side of the drums. I beaded them myself. Im sure you will be pleased with the results regardless who you use.

[barrierblue66]

I'll ring him. Curious to know the detail of his process. Thanks.

[Ragtop Man]

If anyone in the thread would have a drum they could donate to science, please send an email to me at redchief66@sbcglobal.net.

A very close friend of mine is a muckety muck in the remanufacturing industry. (He is a nut job car freak as well, with a pair of 442's - one a drop dead survivor, so he is solid.)

We have discussed some new technology in the business that is a bit pricey as we speak, but only from a 'volume' (vs. collector/restorer) perspective.

The idea would be to identify a Detroit area vendor, present the evidence, and discuss what could be done and the cost. No promises yet - it is feasible but far from funded.

But even little businesses start somewhere. Thanks in advance!

[Engine-Ear]

Originally Posted by Ragtop Man

But even little businesses start somewhere.

...I think I am going to add that to my signature! (Mine was in my basement)

BTT, I wouldn't let $ drive the decision. I haven't (yet) used either company - (if I can push a couple dozen PY-ers to the RediRad-buying side of the fence, that will change) - Anyway, I suggest that you ask each place:
- HOW they do what they do,
- what their failure / return rate is today (growing pains don't count, IMO)
- How many customers do they have
- how many REPEAT customers they have
- Do they have high-mile references available?

And FWIW, my sincere plan is to order both a front and a rear from each of these shops for my '62 Bonneville, drive the tires off it and report my experiences. One vendor's product on one side, the other on the other.

[barrierblue66]

Originally Posted by ho421

he did not touch the front side of the drums. I beaded them myself. Im sure you will be pleased with the results regardless who you use.

Don said painting is part of their default process. Opting out will not save you much, but will do whatever you want (or don't. The shot blasting is done by default so they can start off with a clean drum.

[ho421]

Originally Posted by barrierblue66

Don said painting is part of their default process. Opting out will not save you much, but will do whatever you want (or don't. The shot blasting is done by default so they can start off with a clean drum.

Guess i should add... they liked the patina on my drums so i only did a light bead cleanup on them at 30-35psi. Since mine are on a 63, natural aluminum was the way they came. No paint = no chance of paint peel.

[barrierblue66]

Originally Posted by ho421

Guess i should add... they liked the patina on my drums so i only did a light bead cleanup on them at 30-35psi. Since mine are on a 63, natural aluminum was the way they came. No paint = no chance of paint peel.

Gotcha. I would also like to leave my drums as is and not paint them. They are currently painted silver and even though on a '66 I like the look.

[mgarblik]

I talked to both of the companies at Norwalk. It's interesting to note that they each have a very different way of performing the reline process. J & G mechanically attaches the liner to the aluminum drum with screws and then machines them off of course. Z & L glues them in with a special Locktite product. J & D have some of their drums actually out there racing in vintage road racing, (non-Pontiacs), Not sure if all or most of the ones Z & L have done just move the car off the trailer and on to the show field. If the used drums you have still have lots of original liner material, you may want to have them carefully machined, have a new set of shoes arched and give them a try. You never know, you may be one of the lucky ones with a good set. I have owned probably a 4 sets of 8 lugs and finally I have a nice set on a car. They are still original. If you decide to try and machine your existing drums, I recommend machining them with the steel wheels torqued to specs. while machining. It really makes a difference. Please post up what you decide to do.

[barrierblue66]

I am going with J&G. I liked the fact that they will do a total inspection and rebuild of the 50 year old drums. I have the classic corrosion in between the liner and drum, and the symptoms to go with that. A few times around the block and the shuddering was nasty. I can see where there are hot spots forming on the liners because the heat is not transferring to the drum. Nothing to do but install the arced shoes and bolt on the drum. New races, bearings and seals. The rear drums do not exhibit the corrosion, probably because the front supplies so much more braking to the car.

I drive my cars, and want to be comfortable doing a 1000+ mile trip. Hopefully I will have a good experience. Stay tuned. I'll have an update in about 4 weeks.

[mgarblik]

Please report back. I think you are really going to love them once you get a good set on the car. My 62 Catalina has a good set and 15" wheels and radial tires. It really stops well, probably the best 4 wheel drum brake car I have ever owned. Much better than my 68 Firebird with 4 wheel drums.

[barrierblue66]

My 8 lugs are back on the car, and it's on the ground Thanks to everyone who commented, SteveP for the spare rim, JohnH and my club members SteveV and Gary Anderson for suggestions and concerns, things to look for.

Had the old tires unmounted and the rims glass beaded. Then self etching primer, and Rustoleum gloss black paint. Sprung for 225-70-14 redlines from Summit, they had the best price and free shipping. The tires that were on the car were the same size and I liked how they filled the wheel wells.

While I had the wheels off I cleaned and painted the backing plates, undercoated the wheel wells, and replaced brake hardware. The brake shoes were all in very good condition and the fronts were sent to J&G to be arced as suggested. Sanded the insides of the skirts then painted with black Rustoleum rust inhibitor paint and greased the locking bars.

Sent the front drums to J&G for relining, which had the classic rust layer in between the liner and drum, had them back in about 3 weeks. 32 lbs each, shipping was about $45 each way using my wife's UPS account. The rears were fine, just had them turned to clean the liners up and painted them with VHT Ford argent silver wheel paint which SteveV said looked real to the Rally silver. I know that these should be black but I really liked the way they looked silver so I left them. The front drums came back sprayed silver as I had wanted.

On one of my relined drums, I had an issue where I couldn't tap in the bearing seal. Seems the seat area lost the ridge that holds the seal in. I talked to Don at J&G right away, he suggested a few ideas (wrong seal, burr in the seat area) which I had already checked and found to not be the problem. After a few days and several emails, he said he will just send me another relined drum, no problem, which I had in about 4 days. He was very quick to remedy my issue. Drums also had new races installed and came with new bearings and seals.

I installed the arced brake shoes, then the drums. I then sanded each spoke with 320, then 800 sandpaper then used Mothers wheel polish and I think they came out great. Polished the trim rings, lugs and caps also. Bled the brakes and then off the lift for a test ride. Braking is great, new rubber is always a treat. No more pulsating and shaking after once around the block prior to relining.

Now I'll move on to the replacing the carpet. The interior is all out and I'll detail the dash with some polish and oil the wood as well. New package tray also, came with the car, thanks Bruce. I have the '66 dealer accessory Pontiac compass to install, as well as the '66 hazard flasher which I was able to remove from my GTO before it went off into the unknown.

Took alot of pix, here are some.

[barrierblue66]

A few more. Oh yeah, polishing the spokes is alot easier to do with the drum mounted on the car

[marxjunk]

wow..nice car...i just bout a 66 GP in that color..wow..makes me want to paint it......

[mgarblik]

Great looking wheels and great looking car. Love the color. 8 lug wheels when working right are a great addition to these cars. Being a unique option to Pontiac only, makes them even cooler.

[Hitman]

I walked away from a 65 Bonneville yesterday and part of the reason was the shuddering when hot with the 8 lugs. $350 a pop plus shipping is a lot to swallow but you are right. They look great on the car.