fbekholden.com

Hi You'll,
Does anyone know if EH drums fit an FB ?
I'll been looking at the specs, and both have 9 inch drums.
Both have 1 3/4 inch wide shoes
but the leading and trailing shoes vary in length between the 2 models.

just a thought because I have seen new EH drums for sale but not FB/EK and I wondered if they were compatable

cheers Rob

Good question and something I'd like to know myself.I've seen new drums for sale on Ebay however with the stupid changes the dickheads at Ebay have done with the new categories I'd have no hope in hell of finding them there now .

Stud pattern is same,diameter is same and brake face width is same then unless there is a difference in outside design I'd guess they'd fit OK.

I haven't got any EH drums here at home to match up with FB/EK drums but maybe some on the forum can do it and let us know.

Terry.

Hi Rob,

I asked a similar question to Dr Terry recently about about EJ drums for EK...he said the backing plate was different or something like that....I might be wrong...

Dr Terry might be able to provide more info on this...

regards
Stewart

Hi Guys.

Sorry, I didn't see this thread until now.

The other Terry (FB MAD) has it covered. The only thing left is to put the 2 drums side by side & compare the offset. In other words, the distance from the braking surface edge to the hub face.

I've never checked, but I think they would go very close to fitting.

Dr Terry

Hi all,
I should have clicked last night with this................when I read it, but didn't.
Something is banging big alarm bells in the back of my mind.
I am of the opinion that they will cause problems - I may be wrong.
Something is telling me that FB/EK wheels (because of the protruding ribbed face where the four openings are will "crowd" the drum.............
You will notice on HD/HR rims that this rib has been cut back.......


It's so long ago since this came up I can't remember..............
It may be HD/HR drums which won't fit................
I know with my HD?HR rear drums, there is a ridge of about 1/2" all the way around...............
Just something to check before purchasing......

please keep us posted, whoever finds out......

Sorry for the concern......

frats,
Rosco

thanks for the feedback guys.
On further looking into this, the comparisons seem very similar.
I know the hubs are the same( so hub mounting surface the same),
the drums have the same inside diameter , and the shoe width were the same.( apart from different lengths in the leadind and trailing shoes).
but as Rosco pointed out I'm not sure if the EH had similar wheel design to an FB/EK or a HD/HR
does anyone here know?

does anyone here have an EH or an EJ drum they can compare with an FB/EK drum

cheers Rob

Hi Guys.

All factory FE to EH wheels will interchange, the only difference is the larger valve hole in FE & early FC rims.

FE to EH will not fit over HD/HR drums.

Dr Terry.

So did we decide or work out if these drums do fit an EK? Im keen to know.

Ads

I have EJ or EH rear on my EK sedan. Can't remember as its been on there thirty years. Will pop a drum off and see if FB EK fits.

Regarding the wheels I was pretty sure only the HD HR disc rims were different due to the raised parts of the centre fouling the Girling calipers.

Photos below show EH drum on the left and EK on the right.

EH drum is heavier and more robust. It has a radial indentation outside the axle flange mating surface whereas the EK is flattish. This does not appear to foul the EK wheel cylinder or shoes though. The EK drum won't fit on the EH axle due to the outer raised section fouling the backing plate however the EH drum appears to fit the EK backing plate with extra clearance. In fact I have what appears to be an EH drum on an EK front axle in my pile of spares. I will see if I can get it off to verify as it is a bit seized.

Also have thus finned drum which I had to cut off my van rear.

The adjuster was seized and the only way I could get it off was to cut it. Possibly this is from an earlier model FE - FB?

Anyway my conclusion is that the EJ - EK drums will fit FE - EK brakes. This fits with GMH retro-fit parts logic and unavailability of earlier drums.

Must stress this is opinion only.

Cheers

Clay

Thanks Clay,
your pix dragged back some issue I had when changing over from EK to the EH rear end I put on my dear old thing.
To be fair, I found a set of HD disc brake rear brake assemblies at a wreckers back then and fitted them (thinner shoes and smaller ID wheel cylinders).
I had big issues when fitting EK wheels onto these drums - they would "bind down" on the drums and prevent the wheel from being turned.
At the time, I believed it to be the turned up faces of the EK wheels crushing the drums when the nuts were tightened down.
I simply got over all these issues by fitting 4 HR wheels.... which of course, I needed for the HD front disc brake calipers.

Your pix with that drum and its big flange are ringing very loud bells in my ears at present.... there is "something" about it which doesn't work with EK - but I can't remember it.

Now, if you're after "new" drums for EJ through HR - which many companies will tell you are not available - I have fitted two brand new drums to my EH diff housing with HD disc brake shoes and they work perfectly.
The drums are listed as being on an LC/LJ Torana - and the brake people told me they wouldn't fit.
It was Richard (aka Blue Haze) who fitted them to his "project" FB which finally put me onto them.

I have not had one issue with the fitting of these drums to my rear setup...

frats,
Rosco

Here we have EH drum in stock HR disc rim.



Plenty of clearance as you can see.

Now here is EH drum in old riveted style rim.


Still plenty of clearance. These are both stock rims although the riveted one is presumed EK.

My belief is all FE - HR stock rims will fit all FE - HR drum braked axles. Further EJ-EH and HD-HR non commercial drums are all the same and will fit FE-EK on my belief.

Do you still have those old rims Rosco? It would be interesting to see if they differ from the ones I have.

Cheers

Clay

Clay, no - the original EK ones have gone to God... I have the HR ones and they are almost identical to those shown with the removed opening swages.
All 5 of my HR ones are supposedly (please don't start a debate on this, folk) HR disc brake wheels.... they have a "groove" around the inner rim.

As for the original drums which came with the EH diff I now use - they were the ones which my EK wheels crushed down onto - and I could not turn the wheel when the nuts were tightened... that's how I found out at the time that I needed later model wheels....
I can't state categorically which drums these originals were.... they could have come from anything post EK... and I don't have them either - they went to God with the EK wheels once I had all this mess sorted..... and just kept the one set of HR wheels and the HD disc brake compatible rear brake assemblies/drums.

Your info is good, Clay - and thanks for the pix.

I still can't remember why I had issues - but do remember the wheels clamping down on the drums and locking them to the shoes.

frats,
Rosco

The wheels will interchange to later drums but not vice versa. i.e. you can put a HD/HR rim over a FB drum but not a FB/EK over later drums - EJ onwards. Big warning here! The early rim will bolt on but you will distort the rim when pulling up the wheel nuts. This is due to the later drums having a flat face rather than early drums with the raised ribs that fit into the early rim corresponding recesses.

Thanks Craig,
I wasn't game enough to try and post what I "thought" was the issue... thanks for clarifying.

frats,
Rosco