Quote:

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heat, penetrating oil, and a BFH you're friends.

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FIFY

If the drum drags on the brakes, focus on getting the brakes released. You may still have to fight it to get it off the brake shoes. If it spins freely but does not come off, focus the hammering/heat/penetrating oil around the center of the drum to break it free from the hub/axle.

drum brake pullers are worth their weight in gold if drums have been stuck on for moons & moons.

With the helf of a friend, I got them off today. Turns out I wasn't "pursuading" hard enough with a heavy enough "persuader."Go figure! The old shoes actually still look decent. My friend is a mechanic and he said that the shoes still look decent, and he would recommend finishing the brake lines first. So I'll probably go back to that. Debating whether to mess with the hard lines or just do the rubber ones now wheel crossing my fingers that the hard lines will do their job. They're pretty rusty...

You get the brakes done yet?

Easy upgrade is adding a headlight relay harness so full voltage doesn't have to travel through the headlight switch. That's my understanding anyways. I have an extra that was sent to me when I ordered one and will give it to you if you want. It helps the headlights stay bright rather than dimming with power fluctuations.

Other starting and charging system upgrades that are good are upgrading the alternator to a 3g and the starter to a mini (pmgr) starter. Some wiring is required but there's a lot of info on the various ford truck and bronco message boards.

ETA: you may make sure these upgrades are viable for your truck. I've done them to a 71 bronco (302) and a 77 f100 (300)

will.mcg said:

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You get the brakes done yet?

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Just finished replacing the brake lines. I'll bleed the brakes this evening and then put the wheels back on tomorr and cross my fingers that it all works properly. If it works, then I'm moving on to replacing the gas tank next.

Well dangit. Started bleeding the brakes and have a pretty bad lead at one place where two lines are spliced together. Hoping its just a bad splice fitting and not one of the fittings on the line itself. More work to do tomorrow!

Question: In the picture, what is supposed to connect to the middle of this fitting? The piece screws directly into the metal to the left of the differential and has nothing to do with the brakes, as far as I can tell.

Goodnight Irene said:

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Easy upgrade is adding a headlight relay harness so full voltage doesn't have to travel through the headlight switch. That's my understanding anyways. I have an extra that was sent to me when I ordered one and will give it to you if you want. It helps the headlights stay bright rather than dimming with power fluctuations.

Other starting and charging system upgrades that are good are upgrading the alternator to a 3g and the starter to a mini (pmgr) starter. Some wiring is required but there's a lot of info on the various ford truck and bronco message boards.

ETA: you may make sure these upgrades are viable for your truck. I've done them to a 71 bronco (302) and a 77 f100 (300)

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Thanks! I'm still a few steps from working on the headlights, but it will definitely be on the list. And I can't turn down a freebie!

Sounds good- shoot me an email at goodnightirenetexags@gmail.com and we will figure out getting it to you. I head up to Austin just about weekly for work.

Nothing happens easily in these projects, does it? Sheesh!

The good news: I finally got all the brake lines installed and bled with no leaks. I was excited to put the drums back on, make some quick adjustments, put it back on the ground, and test out the brakes. NOT SO FAST MY FRIENDS!

Four roadblocks/questions that have slowed the progress:

• When the brakes are pumped, the rear shoes don't move at all. Not sure what that's all about.
• The drums won't fit back on over the shoes. I loosened the adjuster mechanism until it almost falls out,but the shoes dont't retract at all to give more room for the drum to fit over them.
• Two of the drums are slightly deeper than the other two, and I didn't take note of which ones go on the front and which go on the rear.
• I'm still trying to find out what this hose fitting is that screws into the rear axle. Any ideas?

That is the rear axle vent. Should have a tube attached possibly with a one way vent at the end.

Probably runs up and gets attached at the bottom of the bed and hangs there out of the way of high water.

Do either the front or rear have wider shoes? The deeper drums would go over the wider shoes.

***edit to add - 1968/72 F100 2WD's have 11" x 3" front brakes. 1968/79 F100 & 1975/96 F150 have 11" x 2 1/4" rear brakes.

From here:
Front drum brakes - 68 F100 - Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums

I have no experience with these, so take it for what it's worth.

Since the front brakes provide about 70% of the braking the wide drums and shoes go in the front.

I had one !!! Loved it and only sold it because I accepted a job in SE Asia. Mine was used but running very well but I've also owned a '56 Willys PU and brought it to Texas from a New Mexico junk yard

As others have said … get some air to the tires so you can get it to a shed or barn. If the tires leak … get rid of them and acquire some used tires that will hold air, You don't want the hassle of reinflating every few days. Once you are in a place to work …here's where others may disagree-
1$ Take off the carb and install a new kit or have it rebuilt
2) take off the starter, generator (alternator)) and have rebuilt
3) take off coil, wires, plugs, points, cap - discard and buy new ones. You'll need new belts and probably water pump and gasket , thermostat and hose after you flush the cooling system.
4) get a bucket/large pan that will fit under the oil pan. Get 2- 3 gallons of diesel and fill the engine trough the oil fill and spark plug holes. Let it soak for a few days then drain. Pour more diesel through the engine a couple of times or more until the diesel comes through relatively clean. Take oil pan off and clean it then give it a rest for a few days to let the diesel evaporate.
Put the oil pan with a new gasket on. Clean valve cover and put on with new gasket. Put new oil in (cheap 30wt cause you're still cleaning) … Put everything else in the new ignition system back on plus the rebuilt carb. Get a new battery and wires - cheap9
Here's the fun .. rig a small tank / I used a 6 gal boat tank with squeeze pump and over the course of a morning I got the flathead six of a 1956 Willys engine to fire and run the fuel I squeezed in the carb
The fuel tank probably needs cleaning( radiator needs cleaning: replacing but you have an engine that can run.
Simple ,,. Fuel + spark+ air
Now the real work begins…have fun.

aggiebear69 said:

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I had one !!! Loved it and only sold it because I accepted a job in SE Asia. Mine was used but running very well but I've also owned a '56 Willys PU and brought it to Texas from a New Mexico junk yard

As others have said … get some air to the tires so you can get it to a shed or barn. If the tires leak … get rid of them and acquire some used tires that will hold air, You don't want the hassle of reinflating every few days. Once you are in a place to work …here's where others may disagree-
1$ Take off the carb and install a new kit or have it rebuilt
2) take off the starter, generator (alternator)) and have rebuilt
3) take off coil, wires, plugs, points, cap - discard and buy new ones. You'll need new belts and probably water pump and gasket , thermostat and hose after you flush the cooling system.
4) get a bucket/large pan that will fit under the oil pan. Get 2- 3 gallons of diesel and fill the engine trough the oil fill and spark plug holes. Let it soak for a few days then drain. Pour more diesel through the engine a couple of times or more until the diesel comes through relatively clean. Take oil pan off and clean it then give it a rest for a few days to let the diesel evaporate.
Put the oil pan with a new gasket on. Clean valve cover and put on with new gasket. Put new oil in (cheap 30wt cause you're still cleaning) … Put everything else in the new ignition system back on plus the rebuilt carb. Get a new battery and wires - cheap9
Here's the fun .. rig a small tank / I used a 6 gal boat tank with squeeze pump and over the course of a morning I got the flathead six of a 1956 Willys engine to fire and run the fuel I squeezed in the carb
The fuel tank probably needs cleaning( radiator needs cleaning: replacing but you have an engine that can run.
Simple ,,. Fuel + spark+ air
Now the real work begins…have fun.

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I have it running now. I've been working on replacing brake lines and brakes. I'm hoping to finish that up today or tomorrow, then move on to replacing the gas tank. I've never heard of putting diesel in the engine before. I'll have to look into that. Thanks!

The diesel thing is for engines that have sat for very extended periods and may or may not be stuck. Now that you have had yours running and gone through a couple of heat cycles (and doesn't look like it blows blue smoke), I wouldn't worry too much about that.

Just when I think I've reached a milestone, ol' Wilbur throws a curveball at me. Hoping y'all can help me figure this out.

I replaced the master cylinder, brake lines, and wheel cylinders. The springs and shoes were still fine, so I put them all back in. All that was left was to put the drums back on, bleed the lines, and feel satisfied that now I can both go AND stop. Well... I got the rear drums back on, but the front ones won't go all the way on no matter what I do!

If you notice in this picture, the large center hole in the drum won't sit flush against the wheel hub.


Another interesting thing is that the two front drums on this truck are different. These are the ones I took off and I'm pretty sure they were never changed in the past.

1 = Notice the different sizes of the bevel on the hole
2 = This one has a "female" channel going around the edge
3 = This one has a "male" insert going around the edge

Is this normal?

Dumb question, but did you try to swap sides with the drums? Or did you swap front and back (probably unlikely since the shoes are different widths)

Based on some of those casting marks, I am going to guess the one with CENTURY on it is probably not original. Shouldn't matter anyway. If they came off they should go back on. You might make sure the brake shoes went back on properly.

post a pic of the wheel hubs.

Is the pic of the one above the drum with the bevel? Are you sure it isn't sitting flush and what you are seeing is the bevel?

Did you have to press the hub to get them separated from the drums?

I posted our questions in a facebook group about fixing up 67-72 f-100s. Here is the feedback I got:

The drums are not seating properly because of the drums' design. Apparently they were designed to be pressed into the hubs as a single unit. The wider unthreaded portion at the base of the wheel studs secures them to the hub. It is not standard practice to separate the drums from the hubs, but to remove them all as one unit. This means they require significant force to reinstall if separated. At least one of the drums is probably aftermarket, which is why they look different (no surprise there). Non-original drums or prior improper repairs could contribute to fitment issues.

To reattach, they recommended using the lug nuts to gradually press the drums back onto the hubs. If it still won't work, they said that the studs may need to be pressed out and reinstalled with the drum to ensure proper alignment.

Of course, these are just strangers on the internet, so I dont' know how good this advice is. Thoughts?

TexAg1987 said:

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post a pic of the wheel hubs.

Is the pic of the one above the drum with the bevel? Are you sure it isn't sitting flush and what you are seeing is the bevel?

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I'm not home right now, so I can't post a picture of the wheel hub. But I know it isn't the bevel because it is supposed to look like this:

TexAg1987 said:

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Did you have to press the hub to get them separated from the drums?

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I put a 2x6 on top of the studs and whacked it with a sledge a couple of times. I had assumed they were rusted together, but apparently they are supposed to be swaged together by design. Oh well... now I know.

kinda what I was concluding too.

Should be able to verify by looking at the lugs on the hub. There should be a shoulder that needs to be pressed back into the drum.

jaborch99 said:

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TexAg1987 said:

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Did you have to press the hub to get them separated from the drums?

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I put a 2x6 on top of the studs and whacked it with a sledge a couple of times. I had assumed they were rusted together, but apparently they are supposed to be swaged together by design. Oh well... now I know.

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If you can't get them to pull together, you may need to replace the studs or file the lip down a little bit so they can seat back into the drum.

jaborch99 said:

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TexAg1987 said:

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post a pic of the wheel hubs.

Is the pic of the one above the drum with the bevel? Are you sure it isn't sitting flush and what you are seeing is the bevel?

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I'm not home right now, so I can't post a picture of the wheel hub. But I know it isn't the bevel because it is supposed to look like this:

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You can see the lug seated in the drum. You are going to need to pull them together like you were told on the other forum.

Half of this sounds like bulloney. But I'm no ford expert. I've worked on plenty of drum brakes before on different makes & haven't heard of taking the hub & drum off as a single unit. Once you are positive you have the drums in the right place try the lug nuts & stacking washers to pull them back on or whack them on with a very large hammer.

will.mcg said:

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Half of this sounds like bulloney. But I'm no ford expert. I've worked on plenty of drum brakes before on different makes & haven't heard of taking the hub & drum off as a single unit. Once you are positive you have the drums in the right place try the lug nuts & stacking washers to pull them back on or whack them on with a very large hammer.

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This was a picture they provided as reference, FWIW.

And to think ... after all that, all I had to do was tighten the lug nuts to get it to seat properly. Unfortunately, I also discovered that one of my lug studs is mangled - probably happened when we were beating on the drums with a hammer to try to break them loose. So now I need to get a rethreading die before I can FINALLY finish this phase of the project.

Might be easier to put beat that stud out and just replace it. That would require taking the hub-drum assembly off, but now that you know it should go pretty fast.

FINALLY ... Got the brakes working and wheels back on. Much to my neighborhood's pleasure, I have moved it out of our driveway and into the backyard again. I even drove it around the block ... First time it has been off this property in 30 years.

I noticed two things:

• I still need to adjust the brakes some more because, while they worked, I had to floor the brake pedal to get them to stop the vehicle. They're not power brakes, so I'm not sure exactly how they are supposed to feel, but I know they're supposed to be more responsive than they were.
• When I drove it around the block, I couldn't get it into second gear. It would just grind. When it is sitting still, I can cycle through all the gears. Any thoughts on what I need to address?

My planned next steps (open to suggestions if you think I should take a different approach):

• Adjust the brakes some more.
• Paint and reattach the front bumper (just because its easy and will improve the cosmetics)
• Replace the gas tank
• Fix whatever is preventing it from shifting into second gear.

One thing I'm considering .... since replacing the gas tank will require pulling out the seat anyway, I'm wondering if I should just address everything inside the cab at once... rust, sound-proofing, paint, dash gauges. It'll make it a much bigger project, but I'm wondering if it is worth it to get some sound proofing behind the gas tank and to avoid another disassembly later on.

Brakes should slightly and evenly, drag when spinning the wheel by hand.

What a beautiful car. I wish you the best on restoring it.

Please post pictures.

jaborch99 said:

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FINALLY ... Got the brakes working and wheels back on. Much to my neighborhood's pleasure, I have moved it out of our driveway and into the backyard again. I even drove it around the block ... First time it has been off this property in 30 years.

I noticed two things:

• I still need to adjust the brakes some more because, while they worked, I had to floor the brake pedal to get them to stop the vehicle. They're not power brakes, so I'm not sure exactly how they are supposed to feel, but I know they're supposed to be more responsive than they were.
• When I drove it around the block, I couldn't get it into second gear. It would just grind. When it is sitting still, I can cycle through all the gears. Any thoughts on what I need to address?

My planned next steps (open to suggestions if you think I should take a different approach):

• Adjust the brakes some more.
• Paint and reattach the front bumper (just because its easy and will improve the cosmetics)
• Replace the gas tank
• Fix whatever is preventing it from shifting into second gear.

One thing I'm considering .... since replacing the gas tank will require pulling out the seat anyway, I'm wondering if I should just address everything inside the cab at once... rust, sound-proofing, paint, dash gauges. It'll make it a much bigger project, but I'm wondering if it is worth it to get some sound proofing behind the gas tank and to avoid another disassembly later on.

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2nd gear synchronizer's probably bad. They're not hard to replace if you can find one.