1967 Dodge Truck Brakes - Dodgeing Disaster!

Obviously, the first major task at hand is removing all the Dodge's old brake components (once the truck is secured on jackstands, of course). Don't waste time taking apart the internal drum parts, as the only OE items that will be retained are the spindle and hub.

However, disassembling an aged I-beam can often turn out to be more work than some anticipate. To help "ease" matters, keep plenty of spray lubricant handy, especially for stubborn bolts that aren't too eager to come off (in this case, the lower spindle bolts required the use of a hammer and drift to drive them out).

Unlike kits made for the "other" brands, this one calls for a bit of machine work, starting with the separation of the drum and hub. You will need to bring the hub/drum assembly to your local machine shop and have the swedges cut off, otherwise pressing them out could damage the stud holes. Once the swedge has been cut off, your machine shop can press the old studs out.

I brought mine to my good friends Steve and Brian at Baca Racing Engines in South San Francisco, CA. They were more than happy to open their doors for me on a Saturday, otherwise this weekend job would have stretched out longer than a week!

Here we are pressing the new studs in, but something wasn't right. They ended up all splaying out like a flower.

I decided to step up to some longer Mr. Gasket #4311 race studs. These may require drilling the stud holes to 21/32 inch. We pressed the new long studs in and all was straight.

Aside from the swedge cutter, I have all the tools at my disposal to do the rest of the work required. The hubs may need to be turned down in a lathe to fit inside of the new rotors. Some hubs will not require this step, best to check yours before leaving the machine shop.

Here are the hubs after being machined.