Lots to read in the forums about fitting Buick drums to early Ford axles and hubs but I couldn't find the info about my fit up problems. I'm fitting Buick drums to a 39-41 rear axle with MT Car Prod (probably the same as Wilson Welding) backing plates. The lining area edge of the drum hits the turned in edge of the backing plate before it bottoms out on the hub. Seems that if its s.o.p. to machine the drum/lining area o.d. down to fit inside the backing plate, someone would have noted that before. It also looks like with the drum seated on the hub and piloted into the backing plate edge, the drum still doesn't go on far enough to match up to the inner edge of the brake shoe. Looks like the shoes need to be spaced out about 1/8" or so to catch the edge of the friction surface. I can resolve it all but first I wanted to see if I was missing something.
The Jalopy Journal
