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Hello gents, My front drums are worn on my 60 Mini Seven.

Q. Some early cars had 1.5" shoes fitted and others 1.25". As i'm getting new drums, can i fit the larger 1.5s even though i have no twin leading shoe setup or are the 1.25s the only ones that will fit ? Just fancied that little more stopping power thats all

kind regards Gary

Isn't it the design of the back plate that limits the size of the shoes? I seem to remember in my youth trying to fit 1.5's to the rear and failing dismally

The drums are all the same.

The 1.5" shoes won't fit the rear because the position of the cylinder on the back plate prevents that.

Anyway, you don't want too much braking at the back end - hence the limit valve.

The offset for the centre line of the shoe will be different between the 1.25 and 1.5 shoes. The only sensible way to go is to forget originality (which you were proposing to do anyway) and fit twin leading shoe back plates and most recent wheel cylinders. You will then have good brakes that surpass the discs fitted to the basic Coopers. If you keep them adjusted they are really quite sharp.

D