1972 Oldsmobile Cutlass S

I’m still doing brakes on my 1972 Olds Cutlass S. It’s got front drums, which are a bit archaic but are easy on the wallet parts-wise.

Somebody previously installed a disc-style split master cylinder at some point, so I’m good to go if I decide to go that route.

It’s been quite a learning experience for me with this car, I’ve never done full-on service of the brakes. Getting the drums separated from the hub was the hardest part. I had to bang out the hub and install new wheel studs, then grind down the excess spline protruding out the front so the drums fit flush.

Then I checked the wheel cylinders and both fronts were leaking like a sieve. Since they were the original 1972 cylinders, I threw them out (car only has 71000 genuine miles) I went to replace them, and there was a bit of grinding off of raw edges with a rotary tool, and the part where the hard line boss on the new one came out a few mm or so too far from the old. Repacked the bearings (boy is that a difficult thing to explain without a picture, as I found out)

Hopefully I’ll remember to take some pictures of the job as it is for you guys, a front drum overhaul is kinda rare, most people switch to discs but I didn’t have the money for calipers or rotors, new brake lines, etc.

It needs a little bodywork and will have to have both windshields removed to fix the rust there, but this is going to be one nice daily driver when I’m done with it.

It’s got a 350 2v, working A/C, auto trans, bench front seat and column shift. Nothing fancy, but won’t kill me on gas either.

Planned upgrades are not a whole lot, probably get a nice stereo in there with the Custom Autosound molded speaker kick panels, put in my alarm and power locks, and probably a hood and trunk light for convenience.

New springs and suspension parts are on the list when the time and money comes, but they are fine as-is right now. I’d also like to get front and rear sway bars installed for handling.

Eric, man did your video on drum brakes help me out. It was almost exactly like you described, save for the wheel hub situation. I didn’t feel lost about the installation of the shoes or the function any of the brake parts because I knew what I was looking at thanks to your friendly and detailed video. I really appreciate how you take the time to describe the function of things, and why they work, not just how they work.