11" brake conversion

I am going to convert my 56 CJ5 9" brakes to 11". From other threads I've heard that 72 to 74 CJ brakes will work. I was curious as to what other brakes would work also. I was at a junkyard this morning and asked the guy to tell me what 11" brakes interchanged. Here is what his Hollander manual said:
72-73 CJ, DJ series drum only, front
72-73 CJ, DJ series, rear
72-73 Jeepster, drum only, front
72-73 Station Wagon, drum only, front
72-73 Station Wagon, rear
72-73 Truck, 11" rear
74 CJ series, welded, rear

From this I gather that on the CJ's, DJ's, and Station wagons, The front and rear drums are the same. Correct?

He had a 72 Wagoneer (station wagon?) with the 11" brakes and self adjusters all around. I bought the 4 backing plates, cylinders, shoes, hardware, and drums for $140 total. Good deal or not?

I didn't get past the drums because I left my front wheel lock nut wrench at home. (I was there looking for 51 Ford and 58 Chevy parts) Also, I have to pull the rear axles to get the backing plates off. My question is: Do I need to get into the punkin to remove a bolt or snap ring, or can I just unbolt the axle at the wheel and pull it out? Do I need a slide hammer to pull the rear axles? (I've got one if I need it) I've never worked on a 72 or later model and I haven't worked on my 56 in 21 years, so I'm kind of looking for some expertise from those who know.

It's supposed to turn very cold tomorrow, so I have a couple of days to get ready for this job. I also need to find the guy on this forum that has the drilling template as I plan to drill these 11 inchers.

One last thing, since I didn't take any parts, I didn't pay any money yet, so if I'm all wet and this setup won't fit my 56, I'm not out anything. any information is greatly appreciated. Thanks, guys. (and gals)

 

$140. is a good price for all of that. Even with buying new shoes, you're way ahead of the game

 

While you're looking for 51 Ford parts, I seem to remember that a heater from that era was a good score for a CJ. Just a thought, if you're in cold country and don't already have a real heater. You'll love the brakes, by the way! And welcome from SW OR!

 

Steamer,
Thanks for the welcome. I've got two or three heaters for my jeep. The one that was in it when I bought is is supposedly from a 6x6 truck. The core is about a 5" cube and as I remember it would keep you toasty warm in a snowstorm with only a cloth top. I've got one from a 63 CJ5 that I'm thinking of using. With the Chevy V8 it's kinda crowded under the hood. The firewall has about a 4" setback in the center to clear the engine so that presents a challenge in running the under dash ductwork across the tranny hump. What the heck, it's just another step in getting it roadworthy.

 

Not current on my Bible studies. Had to look up the Proverb. True, duh?

Where ya at? (in his best meet-the-company-English-manners)

Oh, and forget any heater that came stock in an early CJ. They're known as placebos here. I was SOOOO impressed with Dad's new 61; it had a real heater, with a two speed fan and everything!!!! First winter trip, I thought we'd all be found in the Spring, froze stiff.

 

The drums are the same but the front backing plates should have larger diameter wheel cylinders than the back

JB

 

Since I haven't worked on my Jeep for 20+ years, I thought the proverb was fitting. I'm just outside of Golden, CO about three miles east of the Coors Brewery. Where are you in OR? My brother and his family live in Bend. He works for the forest service and used to live in Silver Lake. Too far from civilization for me. I've marked the plates and drums as to which wheel they came off of so they shouldn't get mixed up. I'm thinking of getting the brake master cylinder too. The one I have now is from a 60 T bird. I think the Jeep one has two mounting bolts instead of the four on the Bird. It might make it easier to get around the setback in the firewall. I'm not too keen on that funky clutch setup though, where the link goes through the floor to a pivot rod.

 

the flanged axles are easier to remove than the tapered. remove drum, take off the 6 bolts keeping the shaft in place then remove the axles. might have to redrill the top 2 holes (at least i did on the bronco ones to mate to a '71 flanged axle) the other 4 match up.

 

You will need a "axle hub puller" to be able to remove the 9" backing plates off the '56. Search the forum for a recently posted pic of the tool.

$140 is a good price.

 

First, I want to thank everyone for the helpful information. Second, I have to say the removal job was a snap. Thanks to the dry Colorado climate, I didn't even need a puller to get one rear axle off. It just slipped off by hand. Did have one scary moment, though. The other rear axle had a rubber plug in the access hole for the bolts behind it. With all the dirt and crud on it, it looked like solid steel. There were two marks that looked like they could be a hole. I tapped on one with a wrench and it was solid steel. Didn't know how the heck we were going to get to those bolts. While I was taking off the front backing plates, my buddy was working on the rears. After a few minutes he told me that he discovered the rubber plug. No sweat after that.

Also, I picked up the set of Warn manual lockers from the vehicle since they were in such good shape. I don't know if they'll fit my 56 CJ5 or not. If not, you'll see them posted in the items for sale section.

Now on to cleaning up the parts, drilling the drum od and assembling.

Thanks again for the help. Great forum

tommy b

 

I'm in the middle of the "drilled drums" search when I came across this post. 20 sets of holes in 3 rows. Are the holes in each row across from each other, or staggered? From other posts, I'm going with 1/8" holes.

tommy b

 

Continuing with my search, I found a thread that had a pic of the drilling pattern. It looks like a row of 3 holes is offset from the axial direction and then the first hole of the next row is offset by an equal amount from the third hole of the previous row. 18 spaces around gives 20 holes per row. Hole spacing varies a tiny bit between rows since the drum surface is slightly tapered. I think I got it. I'll sit down and figure it all out some evening when it's too cold to work outside. First job is to clean the rust and grease from the drums. That I'll do this evening. Now I see in your post that you actually have 5 rows with 3 holes in each row. Whew! I'll have to think awhile on that one. Thanks for the help.

tommy b

 

Tommy...here's some pics that Billy gave me of his drums, looks much simpler. Two rows of 18 holes each. Again, he did them on a Bridgeport mill with a dividing head. Could be done with a drill press too, but a dividing head will make it much simpler. Know anybody that works in a machine shop? How about at the vo-tech school?

 

Ron,

It sure looks to me like 2 rows would be sufficient. Especially since there's only 1 3/8" of width under the brake shoe after you go outboard of that rim on the drum. I've got an indexing head on my lathe but the lathe capacity is 12 1/8" dia. while the O.D. of that rim is 12 3/8". Oh well, time for some SH engineering.

 

Maybe you can rig up a way to clamp or attach an electric drill to the toolpost of your lathe, and crank it in and out horizontally. If you can get it to work, I know where I'm getting my drums drilled when the time comes!

 

Just checking but is the reason for drilling to dissapate heat.

 

I don't know, I have no experience with it, but it seems there's a lot of guys here that have done it. I think it has something to do with heat dissipation, and I guess it helps a lot when you drive through water...you still have brakes when you come out the other side. I'd never heard of it until I came here, but my brother says the dune-buggy folks he hung out with did it too.

 

I saw a TV program on racing cars. and they said the reason for the holes in the front rotors was to generate more heat. and that heat caused the shoes, or pads in this case, to grip better. Again I don't fully understand the concept, It's just what they said.....

Jay