What does a person need to do to run aluminum Front drums from a GS on the rear of their A body car. Backing plates are same across all models, longer studs would be needed and 2 1/2 " brake shoes. Would you have to change wheel cylinders or anything else? TIA, Korrie
If you look you can find AL drums from mid 80s s10s and gns that are a dire t drop in. I have them on my car, but I did not notice any performance gains
I'm thinking it is inadvisable to run front drums in the rear , if it is indeed possible. Upgrades usually consist of installing better parts to complement existing parts. In this case you are going from an existing 2 1/2" shoe to a smaller drum and shoe with less stopping power. As stated above , rear aluminum drums are available for use with the larger shoes. Keep them front drums up front and purchase the correct rear drums and shoes. My opinion, for what it's worth. Jim
You will need to find a set of the 2-1/2” rear station wagon backing plates in order to run the wider front aluminum drums on the rear. I have them on my 70 GS 455 4-speed. No other special parts needed. Look for them under Olds Vista Cruiser. Marv.
Tada, an answer from someone who has been there, done that. Gutta love the guys from this site and the site itself. Invaluable. Jim
Way back when we ran BIG meats on the rear & especially BIG slicks no matter what we did was no help for the most part. Even front discs weren't common then. Nobody even thought about rear discs. What we did, which made a HUGE improvement, was to install the 11" rear drums, shoes, backing plates, etc. from an A-Body wagon. At the moment the years escape me, but if I remember correctly they were '73'77. For the most part it was a bolt-in. Another option. Tom T.
I have these on my current 69 project. Also running them with the special drums they used to sell on my 65 wagon.
