<VV> Brake drums

[mhicks130 at cox.net]

Well coincidently, I did the front brakes on my '65 just today.  The drums came right off.  My rear ones were a little stuck when I did them so I had to pursuade them to come off.  Using a rubber or plastic hammer and some careful prying got the job done.  I put a little grease around the hub where the drum center hole is to make it easier next time.

My star wheel access holes were already opened up.  They're on the drums, they're little ovals about 3/4" long by 1/5 high.  The vendor spring kits come with little plastic plugs to put in the holes.

I don't like working on drum brakes by the way.  They're contraptions.  They're not stabil until every little piece is put together. 

Thank you for spelling "brake" correctly! :) 

mike

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I'm very new to the world of classic cars, and car repair in general. My '65 
corsa needed some front brake work done, so I consulted my shop manual, and 
it said that the brake drums could be easily removed without the removal of 
the hubs. So I ended up sitting there trying to remove the drums until some 
one recommended that I just remove the hubs to access the shoes and wheel 
cylinder. This worked and I managed to do my repair on the brakes, but it 
still bothered me that I had to remove the hubs, whereas the manual said I 
could just pull off the drums. Are you supposed to be able to separate the 
drum from the hub, or not? The shop manual never showed a picture of the 
front brakes with the drum off and the hub still attached.
I was also confused about the access hole for the star wheel. Where exactly 
is it, and how is one supposed to punch it out?
Any advice to a beginner would be greatly appreciated.

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