Where do you find the pieces they don't make?

[occupant]

Shoe guide anchor plate (not pin), it goes up top between the shoes where you put the cable and return springs. I can find them for 67-69 Camaro and Firebird, but it's not the same part we Ford guys need. I'm told the Ford part number will have a 2028 in it somewhere.

Wheel cylinder pushrods, they poke out from the wheel cylinder and against the shoes.

No auto parts store near me (AZ, Advance, OReilly, NAPA, Auto Value) has anything close. Nothing online except those mullet Camaro bits. Ford dealer told me to buy a new car.

[Old Bird]

NPD Page 36 shows them for the 64-66 - I didn't search more carefully for any other years.

http://npd.dirxion.com/WebProject.asp?BookCode=frd07flx

[fordman]

i have some used ones for the front and rear.

[occupant]

You know, that 2028-2 part looks suspiciously like the Camaro bit I saw in a Year One catalog. Must have been a universal part back in the day. Naturally, I have the car that doesn't use a common part, mine isn't rounded as much and the hole is in a different spot. Wonder if I can use it anyway? For $2.11 each it might be worth trying if all else fails.

The cylinder to shoe links (same page, part 2042-1) are the pushrods I spoke of, but they are definitely different. I never knew NPD had such a nice online catalog, definitely bookmarking that for other things I can still use from the trucks. Dome light cover, armrests, stuff like that.

I know the bits from the 67-72 trucks will fit my car except for the non-finned drums (they look TOO COOL to give up). There is a beautiful '67 SWB, white, 352/3-speed in a self-service yard in Elm Mott. I have the little silver warranty plate from that truck sitting in the glovebox of my Torino. I'll post the VIN later when I get a chance to go fetch it in daylight. That truck still has a rear axle and wheels on it. I bet I can use the pushrods and the anchor thingie from that truck. Got two sides to choose from, too. And there are a few dentsides in the yard along with some Broncos and I just wonder how many other cars use this design of anchor plate. Anyway...

The bits I need are in this picture, I circled the wheel cylinder pushrod in red and the shoe guide anchor plate in yellow...



This is the pile of stuff that fell out when I removed the drum. I drove the car for 300 miles with this stuff floating about evidently. Wonder how long the previous owner drove it like this? Not pictured is the adjuster cable (sheared in half lengthwise), the twisted shoes, the scored and scuffed parking brake bar, or the drum itself which is 0.3" over the limit now.

Hopefully I'll be able to junkyard it and get what I need, otherwise I'll be in touch with Fordman, see what you have working.

[m-mman]

I too have removed many a drum and had all the 'stuff' fall out. It usually starts with one broken spring that rattles around and begins hitting and breaking off other things. Surpisingly each car still had a good pedal and stopped OK.
Shows you how robust a drum brake system really is and why they used the design as long as they did.

The reason you dont find these items in parts stores is that they dont wear out. They dont experience friction points and the forces are not twisting or shearing so they never break.

There are minor style and size differences but interchanges would span an enitre manufactuer's line up and even cross manufactures. (GM - Ford - Mopar - independents)

Main points:
Dont worry about new, used still has more than a human lifetime of use left in it.

Go to a yard and find something that looks like it will fit (they are easy to match up) and you will discover that it does.

Dont forget to look at passenger cars and dont shy away from non-Ford vehicles in your search.

If you cant find them locally take Fordman up on his offer, he wont do you wrong.

[garinger]

You know what? All that matters is keeping the shoes away from the return springs And the tang is to keep it from turning. As long as the hole dia. is correct it'll work. You can make it work.

[occupant]

tell you what I did myself one better...buying a whole '76 parts car for $200...I'll use the bits I need now...then when I DO have time to junkyard to my heart's content...I'll get the parts car running, too. It's a wagon, same engine/trans/axle codes (H, X, 2), everything SHOULD fit.

[occupant]

Ah, fuggehdiboudit.

Bought a '76 Torino wagon parts car with the same motor/trans/axle as my sedan. It'll be here tonight. $250 delivered to my door, it's only missing a cylinder head and some hubcaps. Here's to hoping it has all the silly little bits I need. And also hoping the drums are nice and usable. And it's got a BEAUTIFUL grille and possibly an AM-FM radio that works. And the guys on the Ranchero.us board ought to be excited at the prospect of buying taillights and a rear bumper and some trim from me. And I get UNDENTED FENDERS woohoo just gotta paint em white.

This wagon ought to keep my sedan going for awhile until I find a junkyard has some of these intermediates in there. If not, well, I know I'll make the $250 back easy. Just the bumpers, tails, and steering column should cover it!

Old man cars sitting in fields for a decade or more are great when they get mowed around. This thing doesn't even have MICE in it. I want to restore it, but the parts value is so high...it makes me sick to think I'm doing this. If it's a 3-seat I've got to do something. Drop a 302 EFI/AOD combo in it and make it a family car. Something...