those of you who have replaced your rear shoes with some better ones, what did you go with and how are they performing and where did you get them from ? whats good and whats bad to use? finding aluminum drums would be a good thing also, since mine are probably toasted from the way they are grinding,,

Im gonna be doing a complete rear brake job on the 84 soon, drums cylinders, shoes, hardware, everything since its all shot, so.,


thanks for anything

 

can't help you. unfortunately i'm lookin for the same info. there has got to be someone who knows drums?

 

I remember Chevy Hi Performance did an article on upgrading rear drums using tips from Buick Turbo guys. As you already mentioned try to score aluminum drums (I see them at junkyards, but trying to find ones with some meat left might be a challenge). I am just going from memory here but I think they said to use cheap organic pads since they work better cold versus metallic. But this article was for drag racers since they don't run high brake temps like in autox for example. An interesting idea they mentioned was to buy TWO sets of shoes. Since one shoe has a more material that contacts the drum than the other. So with two sets you can use only the shoes with more contact, there by increasing braking ability. But that sounds like it may be costly. Don't know if that helps at all, but some ideas atleast.

 

They are working some, so that is a good sign. Probably just need to rebuild the brakes. Could also just need cleaned up--the auto adjusters could be stuck. Get yourself some new brake shoes and a hardware kit--it's only a few bucks and you get all new springs and stuff. Have the drums turned or replaced as needed. Keep in mind that the front brakes do most of the works, since third-gens are front heavy and the weight of the car gets transferred to the front when the brakes are applied. Good luck finding a set of useable aluminum drums if you decide to go that route.