It seems impossible to find an original drum 11"x1-3/4 and I am wondering if there is an aluminum finned drum option. Or anything that is good for racing. I know the Buick finned drums are the 11" but I think Buick has 3" brake shoes? Olds is 1-3/4, so does that mean that I could machine off the 1-1/4 off of the Buick drums? I can't recall if buick has a different bolt pattern also.
Buick drums are 12". Sounds like you can't find stock drums; but a lot of cars and trucks used 11" drums and many are still commonly available. Of course the bolt pattern and center register may not be right; but that can be changed. Maybe take a look at something like '55 up Chevy drums or Ford F-100 front or rear drums. Have to check the offset, flange fit, and drum to backing plate interface; but it seems that info isn't published much so it will take some digging. I have a couple 11" Ford drums I could measure if it would help.
I bought drums for my '57 Olds rear from Fabcraft. Give them a call, they can get you anything and are great people to boot!
There are indeed lots of 11x2" to 2.5" drums with different bolt patterns, offsets, and center hole sizes. I don't know what those specs are for the drums you need, so kind of hard to offer interchange suggestions. You can have extra drum width, it won't hurt anything. As long as the entire shoe is covered, and the drum does not hit the backing plate, it will be fine.
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