First I want to thank everyone who emailed me on this. I did get a bolt in
and I am on the road again. Basically, I went to every auto parts and tool
store in the area.
Bolts...
I did come up with a lug bolt for an early 1980s GM vehicle which was
similar in size but slightly shorter so I bought two of them. I used one to
cut down shorter just in case and left the other as bought. I also ordered a
couple from Sunbeam Specialties, and those were slightly short than the
originals on the car. I ended up using the S.S. piece since the base was a
bit smaller.
Tools...
As expected, I could not come up with a tool off the shelf of any parts/tool
store, even the import places I visited just scratched them heads and failed
to come up with anything. The best tool/ information came from the Tigers
United website.
What I did...
After much looking at the task, I decided that I couldn't fit the bolt in
with the axle/hub in place.
And there was no place that I could see to drill a hole in the brake backing
place. The bolt circle for the car is just too small, that the hole would
have to be right on the axle flange. It just seemed to me that it would not
work. Anyone who has done this can send me a picture anytime to prove me
wrong.
I also didn't have a tool to pull the hub. I had a friend come out with
every tool in his magic bag of tricks, we tried and tried. Before he left we
were in agreement that a special tool would need to be constructed for hub
removal.
But, I was able to pull the axle shaft out just far enough (the brake lines
held it back a bit) that I could wiggle the brake backing plate quite a bit.
The Sunbeam bolt just about fit through the hole but got hung up near the
axle. I then filed one edge of the base of the bolt down flat, removing just
enough material that I was able to get the bolt in the hole. Finally, I just
used an old nut and pulled the bolt firmly into position.
Future plans...
I hope to go to disk brakes in the rear so I see no way around removing the
rear hubs. This winter, while I have the time, I plan on constructing a tool
similar to the one found on the TU website and see if I can get these hubs
off afterall.
And again thanks for everyone's input...it's always greatly appreciated.
Paul
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