The Crusty Cuda: Whole lotta Shakin' (N96) Goin' on!

[njsteve]

Got the drums cut last night. It took about .020 to get them clean of the bell shape from sitting for 42 years with the shoes rusted to the insides. Probably had the parking brake on all that time. My buddy has a 1970's era Bear brake lathe that I donated to him. I found it at an old garage that was junking it!!!! So I dragged my trailer down there, got it loaded up and brought it to his garage.

Got the mirror glass made at the local glass shop. Dropped the broken pieces off on Monday and they had it hand cut and beveled by Friday. Cost me $20. The old broken pieces came out with the use of a heat gun and small screwdriver. Turns out the factory used RTV or something similar back then to glue it it. You have to be careful with what glue you use to mount the glass to the bracket because most glues will attack the silvered back of the mirror and ruin it.

[njsteve]

I cleaned up the front drums and scrubbed them well. You can really see how much of the factory brushed on red paint is still intact on the drums. They really slopped it on there. And the outside of the hub had a green and white paint daub on both drums.

After that I painted the drums with some cast iron high heat paint and then found a 30 year-old can of FE5 Rallye Red enamel I had in my cabinet and used an old paint brush to slop on the red paint in the same finely trained assembly line technique as used by the artisans at Ye Olde Hamtramck Assembly Plant in April of 1970.

[njsteve]

I then mock assembled the drums (waiting on front seals to arrive) So I could bleed the brakes. Went through 4 bottles of Dot 5 purple silicone brake fluid just to make sure everything was flushed after I bench bled the master cylinder and reinstalled it. Also waiting on the little $3 rubber grommet that goes on the end of the brake plunger rod before I can final assemble the pedal setup.

[Billohio]

Any reason they used red? Seems like something subtle would have blended in better?

[njsteve]

That is subtle (For a Mopar). ;-)

[njsteve]

It was a 1960’s and 70’s fad to have some bright red color flashing behind the rim openings. Kind of like the various optional bright colors the manufacturers offer now, for brake calipers.

Back in the day it would look kind of like this:

This single 15x7 Keystone Klassic rim and G60x15 Polyglas tire was something I found while cleaning out junk tires out of a culvert by the side of the road many years ago. It's a GM bolt pattern, but you get the idea of the look.

(This is exactly what I want to put on this car - some Keystone Klassics and Polyglasses. Too bad I cant find a set of 14"s that would fit the F70x14" Polyglasses that Dave bought. Cragar makes brand new 15" Klassics but no 14 inchers.)

[Lee Stewart]

[njsteve]

I like how their directions say to keep the paint off the hub area...but the red was obviously there on these drums front and rear, and most of the others I have seen. Quality control is #1.

Google "mopar red brake drums" and you get dozens of photos of the red all over the place, even up to the tips of the studs on the front drums. The only theme that runs through them all is that none of them followed the 2" of red "suggestion". LOL

Here's a guy selling NOS set of rear drums with a whole lot of red on them...for only $1,050.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/NOS-1970-CU...5.c10#viTabs_0

[PLATINUM6BBL]

Originally Posted by njsteve

(This is exactly what I want to put on this car - some Keystone Klassics and Polyglasses. Too bad I cant find a set of 14"s that would fit the F70x14" Polyglasses that Dave bought. Cragar makes brand new 15" Klassics but no 14 inchers.)

Did you ask Gary Thomas out in Youngstown? He seems to acquire these type of rims as he believes stock rims are boring.

[njsteve]

Is he a dealer or a normal person? Do u have his contact info?