Replacement for Girling Brake Drums

[dchw1975]

Hello All,

I know that there are no newly cast replacement Girling drums available but I have been thinking if there are any other 178mm diameter brake drums that could be altered to fit?  What are the various dimensions of a standard Girling drum, i.e. apart from the internal diameter. I think the important ones are centre hole diameter, external diameter, stud spacing, braking suface width and offset.

David

[Erich]

David, there are new Girling(and semi-Girling) drums available from the Austin 7 Club, Inc., Victoria, Australia. I needed a set of semi-Girling last year and was pointed that way. You have to join the club, but I feel that helps to support the club which I am happy to do. The quality of my semi-Girlings is very good. Both are cast iron. The cost, less shipping is $215 Aus. I have no connection to the club aside from being a member.

Erich in Mukilteo

[Zetomagneto]

Try morris 1000 or classic mini they are both 7” dia

[Tony Betts]

That's not bad,

$215 translates to £122 postage at the moment. is a good £100 for postage forc4 drums. plus membership.

So if you are buying 4, they will cost just over £150 each.

I struggle charging £100 for the pre-girling drums, so felt there was no point in investing in new patterns for girling.

BE VERY CAREFUL of modifying new drums for other cars, 

Alot of people dont like the quality of the cheap £28 drums on ebay etc. So at least talk to other car owners. And get a honest opinion from those who have tried them.  before you buy the cheap rubbish. They wont get better as you chop lumps off them.

Tony.

[Bob Culver]

As a matter of interest does anyone know just what ci drums are made of generally? Minimum strength ordinary cast iron hardly seems appropriate.
Most claim superior friction, quite apart from avoidance of distortion. It seems strange that ci full of carbon should be better than steel. CI drums have often been oil soaked. Does this permanently reduce friction?
I suppose such cars are now rare in the UK but many older small and medium jap cars semed to have rear drums about 7 inches. Brake specialiats would likely be able to suggest candidates.

[Paul N-M]

dchw,
 
Honda civic 84/89 have 7" rear drums which look to have the outside profile to fit a Seven wheel over. You would need to try on a scrap unit. Some machining may allow it to fit. PCD and hub cente. Dont know if new ones are still available. These were very popular so possibly available.
Not looked at this myself but would be interested to know how you get on.

Paul N-M

[squeak]

I recently made a pair of cast iron drums for another car.  A spacer ring was made to reduce the center register hole and welded in. The PCD  had to be changed and so I welded up the old holes.  I found it impossible to redrill the holes even with a cobalt drill and had to resort to a different sample drum. leave the old stud holes and drill fresh ones

[Paul N-M]

Changing from a 4 to a 3 hole PCD can be difficult especially if the dia are not that different. Best to leave the original holes if at all possible. The Austin hub is quite large so opening up the drum center is a lot easier than having to make a new spigot fitting.