M. ALEMAN

Thanks everyone. RivNut, I'm going to try your suggestion first. Then deploy the wire wheel method recommend by High Desert. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Has anyone taken one of these apart? Any tips and tricks? As you can see, mine needs a complete overhaul due to living in the Rust-belt of America. The terminals need to be replaced and I'm not sure what size I need either. There are 5x20mm, 3.6x10mm, and 6x30mm available online but I'm not quite sure which ones I will need.

Oh I did search here. But I couldn't find a post that answered my questions.

I purchased a chassis manual but it didn't cover the brakes. (How to remove the drums). I'll search for a shop manual and pick one up

I have no idea. This the first time I've ever seen this before.

Thank you Wildcat1562, I didnt realize I needed to have them turned. But I'll definitely do that. What do you mean "make sure they do not give on those bolts"?

I used a grinder and clearanced the nuts so that the stock wheels could be remounted.

New drum..

This is the after photos. I ordered 2 new steel drums for the front.. The "golden" color you see is cosmoline. I used it since I wanted to protect the exposed metal until I could get the car in my garage. Since the front drums were seized.

The brake pads where seized to the steel inserts of the drums. I thought I had no choice but to use a cutoff wheel to cut the drums to release them from the pads. If I would have known that the rivets were what was holding them on to the hub. I might have been able to save this drum. And I couldn't find the answers I needed by searching this forum. I also didnt want to start a new thread if the question had already been asked. I didn't want the verbal-lashing I guess. Live and learn I suppose..

Hey guys, I hope everyone had a great 4th of July weekend! I wanted your input on my weekend project. I couldn't find any documentation on why the brainiacs at GM decided that riveting the aluminum drums to the hub was necessary. But there has to be a reason, right? So I drilled out the rivets and replaced them with 5/16 bolts. I really dont think I need them however until I know more about this Rivi, I'm just going as close to stock as possible. I'm not new to working on older cars. My first car was a 72' C10 (I still feel sick to my stomach knowing I sold it). But this Riviera is kicking my butt due to all the nuances that make this car so damn cool.

Yep. This 64 has a 4105 Edelbrock on it. So I guess I need to find an original carb for it and the kick down switch. Yeah RivNut, that was the kick down switch I found on eBay. I know he says it works but it doesn't look like it works.. i might just wait to see what else I can find at a later date.