Drum brake stiffening kit

I'm fitting a stiffening kit to a '71 drum brake. I've come across an issue... the lower pivot needs to be peened? (to prevent rotation and other movement) I'm not sure how I can do that. Is there a simple way that I'm not figuring out?

I bought some large ball bearings in different sizes, then chose the one that fitted best, put it in place on the pivot, supported the brake underneath, then whacked it with a large hammer. I've since bought a hydraulic press which would have done a much more elegant job, but the hammer and ball bearing did the job.

With the stiffening kit, new springs, adjustment of the lever angle, RGM high friction brake shoes and new cable my drum brake seems to give about the same retardation as a modern disc brake. Well, at the speeds I ride it does. Together these changes made a huge difference.

That's one I didn't think of!! Thank you MichealD !

MichaelD said:

I bought some large ball bearings in different sizes, then chose the one that fitted best

Click to expand...

Hi Michael, any idea of the size of bearing I should source? I am thinking about 15mm... it should be much bigger than the "cup" in the end of the the pivot pin, correct?

Cheers,
Andy

I bought 5/8", 1/2" and 3/4", but unfortunately I can't remember which one gave the best fit. It needs to be bigger than the cup, but small enough to give some outwards pressure, you don't want to just flatten it, you need to widen it, if that makes sense?

In March '23 they were £2.70 each from ebay,

Perfect, thanks. I actually have a small ball peen hammer, the ball of which looks to be about right. I shall use this, and a larger hammer on the flat end and see how we go. I would imagine thus will take a reasonable whack with latter to get it riveted...

Thanks a lot,
Andy

Guys,

Is there a secret to removing the long, threaded pivot pin?? Heat, spanners, percussive engineering, penetrating oil. No joy. Is the brake plate internally threaded?

Once the peened end was removed from the short pin, it tapped out relatively easily.

Feelin stupid... thanks!
Andy

(Problem solved. More heat, bigger hammer)