Tire Size and Improving Rear Brake Drums

[vette]

We have been discussing engine rpms and ride smoothness in a previous thread. As the OP I am shifting the focus of my origianal thread so I thought I would start a new thread for future readers.
To Bob McElwee, what size tires are you running now? I also have Minilite Like wheels which I have just had rebalanced.
HealeyRick, one of the reasons that I have not sent my drums to Hendrix is because of a personal paranoia. I fear letting major parts of my Healey to be too far out of my sight. If they are lost or damaged in shipping the car sets on the jack stands indefinately. But having said that, I see that there are aftermarket drums available for the big Healey. I wonder how well balanced they would be? And the price is probably comparable to what it would cost to have them shipped and fixed at Hendrix. HEY, I've got a great idea. I'll make an appointment with Hendrix and drive the Healey down to Virginia at a tick under 3000 rpms (just to save the motor) have them do the work same day and drive home to Pa. Should be fun right? Dave.

 

[Bob_Spidell]

My dad had my BJ8's drums and driveshaft balanced by an 'old salt' at a local machine shop. I suspect any medium-large city would have a shop capable of doing it.

 

[RAC68]

Bob,

Although I can't say you are incorrect, I can say that knowing whether the shop is equipped to handle and knowledgeable about OUR drums is definitely an open question. If you are confident and sure the shop can handle your specific balancing issues, the I would suggest going for it. However, most (including me) do not have the contacts or ability to validate if the shop can actually do a proper job other than by taking the risk and evaluating the result. I would rather use a proven vender to provide this type of service and, in this case, go to Hendrix.

Again, Drum Balancing is the topic of this discussion and there are many things I have done on my Healey myself because I could not find a reputable (my evaluation) vendor or could not afford the prices charged. In this case, I borrowed a motorcycle static wheel balancer from a friend and constructed a fixture to mount the drum. I then ground the external ribs (not used on the Healey but used to secure heat reduction springs on some English cars) until I felt I was taking off too much. I then created a fixture that allowed the drum and wheel to be mounted on a friend's spin balancer and all came out fine. However, balancing the wheel, tire, and drum as a single unit requires that the wheel+tire and drum must be indexed so that, if removed, the wheel+tire can be remounted in the same location, relative to the drum.

Yes, this is a pain and all is lost if the tire is moved on the wheel or you loos the index mark on the drum. No, I don't recommend anyone go through this procedure. But, it is working for me and my ride has definitely been improved.

Ray(64BJ8P1)

 

[Bob_Spidell]

Not sure, re the ribs, what "not used on the Healey" means. I've always assumed they were for both heat dissipation and strength, and I wouldn't be comfortable grinding them down; the people who balanced our drums welded metal onto the outside. In California there are some strict regulations on removing metal from disks and drums--granted it's usually applied to turning them--and the parts house I buy from wouldn't turn my drums because they couldn't find a minimum thickness in any of their reference materials. They told me it was a felony to do so, but I suspect they were being a little melodramatic.

If there's something special about Austin brake drums I'm not seeing it; they're big lumps of cast steel (iron?) with a machined surface inside, and not much different in design or construction than some of the much older vehicles in our collection. But, point taken; I will likely need a new drum or two someday, and at this point would probably send them to Hendrix. I just wish Allen would stock them so I don't have to spring for shipping both ways.

 

[Bob McElwee]

Dave, I no longer have the car or all my file folders of my maintenance/purchases paperwork. I'm pretty sure they were 185/70 HR 15 Vredestein Sprint Classics. Allen Hendrix gave me the name of an importer in New Jersey and i ordered direct from the importer. Don't remember the price, about $100.00 each i think.

 

[Keoke]

185/70 HR 15 is a great tire size and verdestein I MOP is the best.

Similarly, because the drums are big lumps of cast iron be sure and have them balanced.

That fellah Hendrix does a good job.

 

[shortsguy1]

I recently bought and installed new BJ8 drums from Moss. They were made in England and looked quite symmetric compared to the example Hendrix shows in a pic on their website. I spent a lot of time researching how to balance them myself and decided that I would mount them first and see if the car developed any new bad behaviors. Everything seems great and the car handles the same as on the (probably) original drums (but with better brakes!). So it is just one data point, but if you had to buy new drums, I think they would serve you just fine.

 

[RAC68]

Hi All,

It would be great if the drums sold by Moss or others was balanced during manufacturing. However, I would expect Moss would definitely present this as a promotable benefit and advertise at a premium price. If it is not promoted by Moss, I would expect you are benefiting from a better then original manufacturing process.

Please don't misunderstand, if you are happy with the ride without the expense of additional balancing then all the better. Maybe acquiring a new set of drums is an alternative to having older drums balanced. It would be nice to hear from Moss on whether their new drums are balanced or even if the manufacturer feels their process is tight enough to make balancing unnecessary.

Just some thoughts,
Ray(64BJ8P1)

 

[ozhealey]

Ray,

I agree entirely with your sentiment and I am currently deciding whether to have my originals "balanced" or simply buy a new set. Long story short, I have diagnosed my "shudder/wobble/" to the rear drums (very evident at around 60mph) having done everything else including balancing the prop shaft and replacing the suspension bushes and rebuilding my shocks. A very good friend let me install his balanced drums on the car for a test run and the results were miraculous, silky smooth at all speeds.

I note Denis Welsh now sells the rear drums with holes for cooling in two forms. One standard for around $60US and one "balanced" for around $130US.

Cheers
Tony

 

[Bob_Spidell]

... I note Denis Welsh now sells the rear drums with holes for cooling in two forms. One standard for around $60US and one "balanced" for around $130US.

Sounds almost cost-effective after considering shipping back-and-forth to Hendrix.

 

[Keoke]

Ray

Your comment is spot on

 

[4tecdog]

Anyone tried using a static wheel balancer on the drums with or without the wheel attached ?

 

[bob hughes]

4tecdog

I have been thinking about it, I was talking to Charlie at Bill Rawles's place and he recons it can be done, they balanced my new wheels and tyres on a static - marvellous. As my wobble at 60 has gone I stopped there, otherwise I would have tried the drums on the static balancer.



Bob

 

[Bob_Spidell]

I see the DWR replacement drums have '5 large holes;' seems to me this could let a lot of water inside the drum. Anyone else think this could be problematic?

 

[HealeyRick]

Sounds almost cost-effective after considering shipping back-and-forth to Hendrix.

I just checked the price of the balanced drum pair with shipping to the East Coast - $420

 

[Bob_Spidell]

What does Hendrix charge for balancing? Moss wants $180 for a pair of drums, and I'm guessing $100 give-or-take for round trip shipping to Hendrix from CA.

 

[HealeyRick]

What does Hendrix charge for balancing? Moss wants $180 for a pair of drums, and I'm guessing $100 give-or-take for round trip shipping to Hendrix from CA.

Been so long, I can't remember and the price would be outdated. If you bought new from Moss, you could have them shipped from their VA warehouse to Hendrix then back out to you to save a few shipping dollars.

 

[Bob_Spidell]

Moss charges shipping on price, not weight, so, yeah, that could work.