willysmjeeps.com

Anyone fit these brake drums on their M38? The specs look to be the same as my old Century drums as I measure them. Odd that these are not listed for olders Jeeps and only for the CJ5 with the 9" brakes.
For the price of these, I could buy 3 sets for the price of what dealers are selling the 808770 drums for(with no info on who actually makes them)
Here are the specs

They should fit. Although the Raybestus catalog does not list drums for any of the earlier than 1955 jeeps (seems the CJ3 category only includes the CJ3B) they show the shoes the same but I believe this only applies to the CJ5 & CJ3B. I would buy one and see how it fits relative to the backing plate front and rear.

Thanks Wes. i will order and update this thread once I test fitment
Brad

The reason I mention fit at the backing plates is the difference between M38 and M38A1 drums to back plate fitting.


Here you see the M38 drum's inboard lip rides just inside the curled over outer lip on the back plate


Here you see the M38A1 back plate has a much more pronounced wrap around lip at it's outer diameter.

I see what you're referring to. Fingers crossed. i just ordered one so sgould recieve it before end of September.

M38 vs M38A1 backing plate

The outer dia differs also.



Sincerely

Frank

Just what is the price,SouthPW?

I'm not that far away in Maryhill

f

Hey Charles. Price was ~$30 US each. I ended up buying 4. With shipping, my total was $201 CDN. ($149US)
Brad

Great - let us know how it works out.

Got my new deums last week but just had a chance to check fitment. They fit perfect. They are much heavier than the ones I removed though. Here are a few pics.

Other than the missing 1/8" indexing hole the only noticeable difference is the lack of an adequate counter sinking of the three drum mount screw holes. Make sure you countersink enough to insure the countersunk screws stay flush with the face of the drum.

Didnt even notice the indexing hole being missed. Only one of my old drums had that actually.
And the countersink does indeed need to go a bit deeper. The screw sits proud by about 1/16".
Thanks Wes

wesk wrote:Other than the missing 1/8" indexing hole the only noticeable difference is the lack of an adequate counter sinking of the three drum mount screw holes. Make sure you countersink enough to insure the countersunk screws stay flush with the face of the drum.

Wes, what is the use of the 1/8" index hole? Is it necessary?

I searched and found these drums are $24.79 on RockAuto.com

Good find!

They are usually associated with the production line machining of the end item. Another example is the 1/8" hole in about the same position on all stock as delivered from Willys M38/M38A1/M170 wheels. Although some folks believe they were used by the factory assembly line at Willys to avoid mixing the 16x4.5 wheels from the factory pickup 16x5.0 wheels.

I'm also considering these drums for my M38. RockAuto actually has them listed for only $19.02 each right now, without shipping.

Any update on your experiences? I'm curious to know how it went adjusting the shoes. My only concern is that RockAuto, as well as Brake Parts Inc. shows their Nominal Diameter as 9.060", which means that brand new, these drums are already at the Maximum diameter recommended for our brakes.

I'm worried that I won't be able to adjust the shoes correctly, or that if I can adjust them, they'll wear prematurely as the shoes will not be contacting with their full surface.

I've found a guy on a CJ2a forum who said he used these drums on an M38. He mentioned everything that's already been discussed here: the countersink's not being deep enough and the lack of the slit for the feeler gages for adjusting the shoes correctly. He mentioned that he used the "resistance" method of adjusting his shoes, which I'm concerned might give a false sense of correct contact if the drums are indeed cut to 9.060".