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Extreme Veteran
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Location: New Orleans-ish | I have a '61 Newport with 11 inch drums and a '62 300 4dht parts car with 12 inch drums. Would I run into any problems converting the Newport rear axle to 12 inch brakes if I swap all the parts over from the 300 including the backing plate/seal, support plate and drums? It seems to me that it should swap right over? Is this advisable?
I haven't gotten to the front brakes yet, but would there be any problems swapping to 12's up front?
Also, the car is non-power brakes, and has a manual trans. I have never worked on the brakes of a FL car, so this is new to me. (Were 12 inch brakes standard on '62 non letter 300s?)
Thanks in advance! 
Edited by DeMopar 2011-04-11 11:23 PM
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Expert
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Location: Netherlands | I wouldn't go through the trouble of changing parts like that. You could exchange the entire rear axle on the car. But it would be smart to choose the drums which have the least wear.
A 'better' way to go is to find a '63/64 Chrysler and grab the brakes of those cars. The design of these brakes is better than on the earlier years. |
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Extreme Veteran
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Location: New Orleans-ish | BigBlockMopar - 2011-04-12 5:10 AM
I wouldn't go through the trouble of changing parts like that. You could exchange the entire rear axle on the car. But it would be smart to choose the drums which have the least wear.
A 'better' way to go is to find a '63/64 Chrysler and grab the brakes of those cars. The design of these brakes is better than on the earlier years.
The only reason I was considering it was because one of the support plates got damaged (bent) because the shoes got hung up a bit while pulling drum. There were some heavy grooves in the 11 inch drums that need to be turned out. Also, the 12 inch drums don't really even need to be turned and shoes are in pretty good shape so I was thinking that might be easier to go since I had all the parts. But now I tend to agree, maybe it's not worth the trouble and I should just locate another 11 inch support plate so I don't have to change everything. I'm not sure what is involved with the fronts yet either. |
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| I did that on a 56 Plymouth convertible, swap in 12" Chrysler brakes. I discovered the 56 Desoto and Chrysler spindles will bolt up the the control arms on the Plymouth. So I swapped over the entire spindle, support, backing plate, shoe support, shoes, and wheel cylinders. Had to shorten the tie rods to get toe-in. Chrysler did this swap when they offered 12" brakes in the special Dodge D500 and Plymouth Fury NASCAR versions. For the rear-end, I swapped in an entire 56 Desoto rear end and welded on the spring perches necessary for the splayed rear spring setup on the Plymouth.
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Expert
Posts: 4043
Location: Connecticut | Yes. Do it. I converted my 58 Ply with 11" brakes to 12" brakes from a 58 Chrysler NY'er. The difference is like night and day. Now the car stops without having to put both feet on the pedal. I also added power brakes, BTW. The change over is not that big a deal. Backing plates, center support, shoes, drums. Also gives you a chance to freshen everything up. Clean all the dirt off the backing plate. Clean out the center support and lube the adjusters so that they work well once reinstalled. Replace the small rubber dirt shields around the adjusters. Replace the brake fluid. Adjust everything. Do the fronts as well, BTW. Ron |
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Extreme Veteran
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Location: New Orleans-ish | rbmain - 2011-04-12 10:21 AM
I did that on a 56 Plymouth convertible, swap in 12" Chrysler brakes. I discovered the 56 Desoto and Chrysler spindles will bolt up the the control arms on the Plymouth. So I swapped over the entire spindle, support, backing plate, shoe support, shoes, and wheel cylinders. Had to shorten the tie rods to get toe-in. Chrysler did this swap when they offered 12" brakes in the special Dodge D500 and Plymouth Fury NASCAR versions. For the rear-end, I swapped in an entire 56 Desoto rear end and welded on the spring perches necessary for the splayed rear spring setup on the Plymouth.
Wow! Looks great!
If I did go through with the swap, I don't really think that any mods would be necessary since the '61 and '62 are basically the same car. Would there be much of an advantage to having 12 inch brakes? Would not having power brakes make any difference either? |
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Extreme Veteran
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Location: New Orleans-ish | ronbo97 - 2011-04-12 10:27 AM
Yes. Do it. I converted my 58 Ply with 11" brakes to 12" brakes from a 58 Chrysler NY'er. The difference is like night and day. Now the car stops without having to put both feet on the pedal. I also added power brakes, BTW. The change over is not that big a deal. Backing plates, center support, shoes, drums. Also gives you a chance to freshen everything up. Clean all the dirt off the backing plate. Clean out the center support and lube the adjusters so that they work well once reinstalled. Replace the small rubber dirt shields around the adjusters. Replace the brake fluid. Adjust everything. Do the fronts as well, BTW. Ron
Ron, where can you get the dirt shields that go around the adjusters? Also, on the front brakes will the small section of brake line between the two wheel cylinders swap over from the 11's to 12's, or will it need to be longer on the 12's? And is it worth replacing the small outer axle seals on the backing plates if they are still in good shape? Mine seem to be.
Thanks again for the info.
Brian |
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Expert
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Location: Connecticut | DeMopar - 2011-04-12 11:09 AM Ron, where can you get the dirt shields that go around the adjusters? Also, on the front brakes will the small section of brake line between the two wheel cylinders swap over from the 11's to 12's, or will it need to be longer on the 12's? And is it worth replacing the small outer axle seals on the backing plates if they are still in good shape? Mine seem to be. Thanks again for the info. Brian I would try a plumbing supply store. Look for rubber O-rings that are about the same size. I was able to scrounge up a good set of used ones. This would be a good item for Gary Goers to repro, BTW. Yes, small S-shaped brake line is the same. Outer axle seals: considering that they are cheap, readily available and only take about 30 seconds to install, I'd replace 'em. Additionally, considering that brakes are the most important system on your car, I would do the changeover. It's a significant increase in braking surface area. Good insurance. Ron
Edited by ronbo97 2011-04-12 4:49 PM
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 323
Location: New Orleans-ish | And 10 months later to the day from when I first posted this, I now have brakes! And my car, well who knows how long it has been since it has actually had brakes. They have actually been done for months, but I finally just adjusted and bled them tonight. I went with the 12 inch swap over, with all new hardware but still original factory set up. I hate to speak too soon but they seem to work great! Not gonna be 4-wheel ABS quality stopping power but will stop the car just fine! I will just see how they hold up and if they start to act up too bad I can always convert to disc. I am just psyched that we got them to work considering all of the issues we could have run into with the factory brakes!
Edited by DeMopar 2012-02-11 10:40 PM
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Exner Expert 19,174 posts. Neil passed away 18 Sep 2015. You will be missed, Neil!
Posts: 19146
Location: bishop, ca | Quote: Ron W: Yes, do it----YES; do it, for everyone who might have access to brakes that are larger than your car's
drums.
A 1962 brake will bolt onto 61 spindles, and their rears will bolt onto the rear axles, too.
Both brakes are Lockheed Centerplane.
I retrofitted 63/64 CHRY 11x3" Bendix brakes onto my car, and that necessitated installing the 63/64 spindles, but, 1962-or-earlier 12" brakes will bolt onto earlier (57-61) wheel spindles.
DeMope, over the Winter (such as it is), you can send your brake shoes to Firm Feel, and they can have carbon metallic linings be bonded onto the shoes, for even greater stopping effect.
Edited by d500neil 2012-02-12 5:33 PM
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Swapping 11inch for 12 inch drums
