Re: removing brake drum weights...BAD idea!

[Gremlingts@xxxx]

 No, those are welded on to balance the drum, unless you are planning to 
balance the whole wheel assembly on the car, and leave it there without 
rotating the rim any, I'd not do that! The only other choice would be to take 
the drum off, and have it balanced by grinding off some of the opposite side 
cooling fins. Chevy uses a flatter weight, not those round ones that stick 
up, so it's not much of an issue there. I'll bet you can balance it by 
grinding off just a partial fin on the side opposite the weights, but you'd 
need a machine to check it. Of course, there's nothing to say that weights 
haven't fallen off already over the years on the drums, so it could be out of 
balance anyway. LOL. hard to say. but for the most part, you'd be better off 
leaving it the way it is. or you could remove the weights, have large flat 
washers of the same weight welded to the drum in the same general area, and 
that would be close enough, probably. But I think removing them outright will 
cause you some serious balancing issues that you would regret. Talk to an 
experienced brake shop, maybe they have some "professional" ideas as to how 
to overcome this. Not a Meineke type chain store, but a REAL mechanic that 
does brakes and will take time to do stuff that's not " in the book" or "on 
the computer". Good luck!

Jerry
'78 Gremlin GT