Does anybody know if the aluminium finned Buick drums are interchangeable between 57-66? Mine's a 58 Special, the only model that didn't come with finned drums as standard, wondering if they all fit, or if back plates and spindles would need changing.
What you need to find is someone with an older Hollander interchange book. That should give you the definitive answer. KK
Depends on the size of your back plates. the finned drum is a 12" brake and the 45 fin drums would even interchange with the 90 fin drums. But not all Buicks had 12" brakes. if you got 12" brakes you should be golden.
I am using 58 Buick backing plates with 12inch finned drums and they fit. I'm using ford round back spindles and had to have spacers fabricated. But drums and backing plates are both 12 inch.
I am using '62 backing plates and late '60s 90 fin drums on the back of my A. The 12" backing plate and 45 fin drums were released in '57. If it is any help I just did a quick search for new parts and they list the same part number for all Buicks in the '58 model year for shoes and don't ask if they are 12" or otherwise. here is a tidbit, they made tow models of Buick Special in '58 the Special and the Special Riviera. the special Riviera from what I can gather was a 4 door hard top and had the longer wheelbase of the larger model cars.
Oh wow, I didn't know that, I love finding out new things about the 58 Buicks. Mine is a 2 door hardtop with the centre roof post, most are either 4 door, or what 2 door models Ihave seen are all pillar less. I looked it up, and only 3000 '58' 2 door Specials with the B pillar were built. I'm wondering how many are left out of those.
I have seen a few '58 Buicks that were solid most of what I see are rusted hulks these days. I haven't seen many post cars at all. Take good care of that grill unless you are good with something other then stock, even back when I was in high school solid '58 Buick grills were hard to come by. I think that they got used up by custom guys in the '60s or something. My old Roadmaster had a chunk missing out of the middle which I fill with fog lights because I couldn't find a solid one and that was in about '69 or '70.
Nope, I've never seen another 2 door with the B post. It also has the original factory rear wheel skirts. The grill isn't in great shape, it's busted in 3 places, and has some teeth missing. It's all bolted together with plates. Passenger side hockey stick is cracked in two, as is the corresponding piece along the front of the hood, and while barreling down the highway the two piece trim that runs around the front edge of the passenger fender came flying off. Never got that back. Front bumper has a dent and is slightly twisted too. Think it's hit something at some point in its life. It's a great car though. Think it was previously owned by a mexican gang member in South Central.
There was a change in bearings, say around '60 or '61. Went from roller to tapered. Don't know if the spindles were the same in the years your speaking of. The drum itself might interchange, but the hubs may not.
This is what I'm worried about. I need to change the bearings on my car anyway. I'm wondering if I can use my existing hubs on a set of the finned drums.
You might be able to use your original hubs and bearings adapted onto the aluminum drums - that's what I did on my '54. If you want to keep the guide pin in the process, I have some made in stainless with a longer threaded end to allow a nut on the back. PM me if you would like a pair. Replace the other two rivets with heavy-duty button-head screws. As for fitting your original shoes, the Special shoes may be more narrow than the 2.5 inch drum depth. If that is the case, look for a '58 Roadmaster or perhaps other models with 2.5 shoes and swap the shoes and brake plates. Last issue, you need longer wheel bolts. The non-aluminum cars had a shorter bolt that will not grab enough threads to hold the wheel on for safe driving. The longer ones are needed because the center face of the aluminum drum is thicker than the steel and iron drums. This will give you much better brakes...
That's some great info there, thank you so much. I'm now thinking of getting one of these disc brake conversions for the fronts.http://www.classicdiscbrakes.com/19...Brake-Conversion-Kit-With-Booster-801-808.htm I need to replace my bearings, shoes, drums and master cylinder anyway, as part of a complete overhaul that I'm doing, so this would make a lot of sense.
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