Thanks for sharing that. I'm still 6+ months out from seriously starting to look at cars...plus, that paint and interior treatment is a bit much. But it would make a great starting point for someone with different tastes, or who is willing to put in a lot more time and money than I am. Thanks - it's a beautiful color.
The Aluminum drums are virtually unobtainable, but there are steel replacements available. The steel replacements lack the "cool" factor, but for the type of driving that you are likely to do with a 59-year-old car, the steel drums are fine. The rest of the normal mechanical parts should not be much of a problem. There were lots of Nailheads built, so finding parts is not a serious issue. Most stuff is interchangeable between the 364, 401, and 425 - except (obviously) the block, pistons, crankshaft, and intake manifolds (manifolds will swap between 401 and 425) Crankshafts will swap between 401 and 425 as well, but are balanced differently..
Aluminum drum repros are available (Speedway; $300), tho they come without the center hubs to have them work on Buicks. Could certainly retro-fit them. But I still see a lot of used drums around. If one doesn't mind the 90-fin ones ('65 thru at least '70), there's another 6 years worth. The great thing about the Al-Fins is they share the same characteristic that people like discs for; virtually no brake fade.
I used a 60 Invicta for years back in the 80s, it was a lot of fun. They were fairly quick as compared to the cars of those days, nowadays I think a modern well tuned Corolla could beat one. That said, as long as everything was working, they weren't bad; - but, and here's the caveat, they do require a lot of routine maintenance. The metallurgy wasn't anywhere near as good as it is now, and the the design, while very good in it's day, may not stand up to modern traffic. I just remember that the car had a prodigious appetite for gas and and that I was always fixing something. And yes, I agree with Mark above, those Aluminum drums are IMHO just as good as the discs; I still have them on both of my big Buicks and when you lay into them the car stops on a dime, - which is tough considering it's 2 1/2 tons. They should have included an option where a putty knife comes out of the glove box and peels your face off the windshield every time you stand on the brake pedal. About the only problem I've had with the drums is lock up, they'll lock up and skid faster than a disc will.
Modern traffic is, pretty much, the same as vintage traffic. Yes; there's more of it. But if you don't hang on the bumper of the guy in front of you, and drive defensively, you'll be fine in most all quality 'senior' cars built in the last 60 years (I'm can't going to vouch for a -say- Valiant or American with like 70 HP). The biggest issue when you go that far back is a lack of power steering (where applicable). Not a big worry for the O/P; Buick was 80% power steering in '59; it'd be slightly higher for '60. When I was daily driving my '64 Catalina (power steering, manual steel drums), I had modern 'performance' radials, gas shocks and a better-than-spec alignment, and I slung it around like a Trans Am. One issue: the (remote) side view mirror was on the front fender; you looked at it thru the windshield. That meant it was a fairly small field of vision being farther away from your eye. But of course this era cars have excellent visibility (thin pillars, lots of glass, all 4 corners visible). Fun car to ram rod around in (till I hit a deer at 105 MPH).
