hi everyone, I'm new to this site. I have some questions on things that I have been having trouble with on my 65 falcon 4 door. I looked through all of the pages to see if the info was already put up by someone else and I couldn't find it. my car is a base model,200 6 cylinder with drums front and rear. I bought all new parts for a full brake job. first problem that I ran into was the front drums when taken off, the wheel hub assembly/lug nut studs and the drums seem to be all one piece. I wasn't sure if they are supposed to be that way or if they were stuck on due to rust an whatnot? the new drums didn't have hub assemblies on them so my guess was that they are rusted on. I have soaked them in penetrating oil many times but it doesn't seem to change anything. any suggestions, tips, and or help would be greatly appreciated. thanks in advance.

 

I think your parts supplier gave you the wrong parts. If you clean them up thoroughly you should be able to tell if the drums are part of the hub assy.

 

ok thank you. ill try to clean them up some more and see if it is one piece. do you recall ever seeing set ups on the front drums like that? the first time I pulled them off I was a little confused because I had never seen that before. I have been tossing around the idea of putting on one of those disc conversions at least on the front. I was wondering what your thoughts on that were as well?

 

Before disc front brakes became common on a lot of cars drums all around were the only system available. If I recall correctly the only problem with drum brakes up front was if you went through water you had to ride the brakes a little to dry them out or you had poor stopping ability until they dried out. The cost and labor involved to convert to disc up front depends on what you want. The drum brakes usually did the job without very much trouble.

 

Cool. Thanks so much for the imput. I really appreciate it. I have looked at a few different places that have the conversion kits avalible, they can get pricey. I have bought quite a few parts for my car in the last few weeks. Gas tank, sending unit, brake line kit, starter relay...hopfully i'll have it on the road again soon. I want to put some pictures up too. Tank you again for your imput!

 

I finally got my wheel hubs apart from the front drums. They were 2 pieces, had to get them out with a press. Hopfully the rest of the brakes go smoothly.

 

As long as you have the hubs off, you might as well clean, inspect and repack the bearings if no signs of damage are present and replace the wheel seal to provide trouble free performance up the road. That is usually the better way to get it right. The adjustment for the wheel nut is to "snug it up" to work out some of the grease then back it off one flat of the nut before installing the nut locking feature. Some had a second cover that went over the wheel nut and the cotter pin is installed to retain the lock while others just used a slotted nut that the cotter pin held in place. A couple (2 thousandths of an inch) ply was allowed to compensate for expansion when warmed up.

A little note, if you are going to bleed the front brakes when done, do not depress the brake pedal all the way down unless you are planning to replace the brake master cyl. The sediment in the bore of the master cyl will score the internal rubber cups and destroy their sealing ability. With that many years on the vehicle , master cyl replacement is a good move.

 

Yes that sounds like a good idea. I was looking at the master cyl and it does look worn and rusty. I think i will replace it. Thank you for the advice. I really do appreciate it. Im so glad this site has people that really want to help out by giving advice and suggestions. It means alot to me and is awesome to know that there are people out there that love vintage cars. I was meaning to have some pictures up by now but have been busy latley. Thanks again hanky.

 

The little bit of knowledge that I might have does no one any good if it is locked in a jar so,,,,,,,,We share it , thank you for asking !

 

I am not familiar with the 65 Falcon but does the car have
a dual master brake cylinder? Just asking If it does not
get one, you don't need a leak and lose all your fluid
The Front suspension on the Falcon was basically the same used
on the Mustang.
By doing a little looking around you could come up with
a donor swap with front disc brakes.
4 wheel drums are OK at the time they were in use, pre 1970
but more traffic, faster speeds, I think make disc the choice.
I was mentioned about "Wet" front shoes. very true, but also
Drums will never give you even braking, at slow speed not a big
Ford Falcon Granada Disk Brake Installation
good luck