Buick brake drums

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IndianapolisRacer

Senior Member
In 2010 I purchased a 32 five window coupe that was stored in a garage since 1957. The car has an 8BA flathead and 40 brakes on front with 48 Lincoln brakes on rear. The owner was in the process of updating car when his wife forced him to put car away . With the car I got a 57 Chev powerpak engine , Offenhauser conversion kit to adapt it to 32 and a complete Buick finned brake drum kit to adapt to Ford front spindles . Thinking about putting the finned drums on the 32 were these available in 1957 or did they come later?
 
I think they were introduced around '57 or '58. So you should be ok if you assume the '57 Chev engine would have been picked a year or two later.
 
Correct- '57 Roadmasters had them, I believe it was the upper series in '58, and across the board in '59 (I own a '59 Invicta). The '57-58 drums are different looking- when you look at the braking surface, you see a pattern of aluminum circles (could not find a pic online). Buick changed the manufacturing for '59; casting the aluminum around the iron liner at 1375-deg, so the braking surface looks 'normal'.

Other than that, Buick changed the drums from 45 fins to 90 fins I believe in 1965. There was also a change to roller bearings I believe in '61.
 
Here's a drawing that shows the early vs. later drum construction.
 

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Be aware that running Ford [Lockheed] brakes on front with Lincoln [Bendix] rears is dangerous!! The brake bias will be massively to the rear, ie, the bendix brakes, owing to their self energising effect will lock up before the fronts can do anything.
Running Bendix on front with Lockheeds on back is ok, as is running either system all round.
 
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