I couldn't find a post on this already so here it goes:
The drum brakes from 1973 and up 7-1/4 rear ends with Large Bolt Pattern will bolt on to the 8-3/4 rear without any hassle of fuss. People give these rears away either cheap or free, so you can just rob the backing plates (axles are not even retained by c-clips so it's easy to remove them and the plates). The hardware to refurbish these brakes is common and easy to find at most part stores (I can post a list of parts if needed). And you would end up with 10x2.5" drums in large bolt pattern and no corners cut. The only other thing you would need for that A-Body 8-3/4 is new axles to fit the larger bolt pattern (the old 4" axles will not work, as the axle hub is too small).
The reason this works, is because 73 up 7.25 rears with LBP, the axle tube tapers from 2.5" up to 3" at the housing ends where the brake backing plates bolt on, so the really the brakes can be used on most rears with 3" axle tubes.
Attached are some pics of the a-body 8.75 rear I bought locally that came from a junked car, and my old 7.25 rear from my 74 Duster(just in case no one believes it really was a 7.25), as well as the 10x2.5" brakes bolted on the 8.75 rear. I ended up getting some Yukon 28" axles off the flea-bay cheap with green bearings to complete the package.
Hope this helps someone.
The drum brakes from 1973 and up 7-1/4 rear ends with Large Bolt Pattern will bolt on to the 8-3/4 rear without any hassle of fuss. People give these rears away either cheap or free, so you can just rob the backing plates (axles are not even retained by c-clips so it's easy to remove them and the plates). The hardware to refurbish these brakes is common and easy to find at most part stores (I can post a list of parts if needed). And you would end up with 10x2.5" drums in large bolt pattern and no corners cut. The only other thing you would need for that A-Body 8-3/4 is new axles to fit the larger bolt pattern (the old 4" axles will not work, as the axle hub is too small).
The reason this works, is because 73 up 7.25 rears with LBP, the axle tube tapers from 2.5" up to 3" at the housing ends where the brake backing plates bolt on, so the really the brakes can be used on most rears with 3" axle tubes.
Attached are some pics of the a-body 8.75 rear I bought locally that came from a junked car, and my old 7.25 rear from my 74 Duster(just in case no one believes it really was a 7.25), as well as the 10x2.5" brakes bolted on the 8.75 rear. I ended up getting some Yukon 28" axles off the flea-bay cheap with green bearings to complete the package.
Hope this helps someone.
