I'm finally getting around to rebuilding my treacherous brake system. I pull the back wheels off, and there are steel drums on the back. They look pretty wasted. I was surprised they were not aluminum like the front. Either way, I want to either replace the rears, and have the front turned. Is it common to have steel in the back? If not, I will assumed they were replaced with some kind of aftermarket part at some point. Given the level or rust on them, I'm betting they've been sitting like this for a few decades. The front seem in decent shape but need turned. Would it be more cost effective to find some already reconditioned, or try and have them relined? Thanks for any direction.
The drums are repro'd . I bought a set from Kantner for a 63 I used to own. I am sure others carry the same drums, do a search for them. With new ones the car stopped really very nice
I've been trying to find places that have the drums, and the shop you mentioned has them. They are a bit salty though, at around $119.00 a piece. Hopefully there is another make/model/year drum that would retrofit and work just as well. When I run into guys who know: "Oh..the drums from a 68 C-10 will bolt right on and do the same thing" it always amazes me. In the days of pre-internet this is something you learned by word of mouth, and experience. So, when you have a limited circle of gear-head friends (like me), where do you find this information nowadays? Thankfully, boards like this. So if anyone out there knows of a cheaper solution for some replacement drums, I'm all ears! Right now, my girl is on jack-stands and the drums are crucial to getting back on the road. If I have to, I'll spend the cash on the expensive replacements, but I want to KNOW that is the only real option. I'm considering having the old steel drums inspected to see if they can be turned. If so, have them blasted and a fresh coat of high temp paint should do the job and be more cost effective. The front drums, I may need to find some kind of "specialist" that knows how to deal with the steel lining on the aluminum fronts. As of now, I don't even know if there is someone local who can. One more question: There are a few aluminum drums on Ebay. Will the front drums fit on the back as well? If so, I have that option, and would be back to the original specs (not that it's majorly important to me, I just want to cruise!).
My '62 has aluminum in front and steel drums in back. I had the fronts cleaned up and, even though the shoes were 50%, I replaced them. Taking no chances of ruining the factory aluminum drums. I did switch over to a dual master cylinder and booster combo.
Thanks for the reply. I just called one of the older shops in town to see if they had the specs for my rear drums. There was nothing in the computer, but they have some older books laying around somewhere. If they can find the info, I'll have them verify the drums. If they can be turned, I'll have them blasted and turned. This will at least get me back on the road.
Front and rear drums are nominal 12", and can be used up to .080" over. Hollander doesn't list any interchanges with other makes, just full-sized Buick including Riviera from 61-64. Later years look similar but used a smaller diameter hub.
Regarding your rear brake drums, yes cast iron was OEM stock as they did not use aluminum in the rears. Also note that the rears are smaller than the front since the fronts due over 70% of the stopping force work as compared to the rears. The front aluminum drums cannot be made to fit or retrofit to the rears. In addition, regarding any front cast iron drums, they had a 1-inch shorter bolt as compared to the aluminum drums so interchangeability of the bolts is not possible as the aluminum fronts use a longer lug bolt when compared to the rears. 50 thousandths runout is considered the maximum when having your rear cast iron drums turned. Any more than that and heat dissipation becomes a problem and brake fade comes into play. Any good shop can mic your present drums to determine just how much present run out you have. For a solid knowledgeable aluminum drums expert, DAN BOOKER is the man to go to regarding any work or information you may have regarding your aluminum front drums. This would include specs, turning, fitment issues etc. Here is his contact information: ( They also have a website by the same name ) J&G Drum Relining, LLC Aluminum Brake Drum Relining McHenry, IL. 815-276-2578 Don Booker
That is good info for all of us. I know my brakes were re-done sometime recent by the previous owner as they were all new. I had a shop check them out and replace a couple of leaking wheel cylinders as it sat for at least 5 years before I got it. It's been a long time since I drove a vehicle with manual brakes, so it takes some getting used to. But they do stop very quickly if you press the pedal hard enough. I don't want to hijack this thread, but I noticed my drivers side front drum has standard right handed threads, but the rear has left handed. I assume that it came from the factory with left handed threaded studs on both front and rear drivers side drums. Is there any harm in changing the back to right handed threads as I see later cars use right handed all around. Was this just a carry over from earlier years?
To state the obvious; Left handed threads are put on the left side of cars to keep the forward rotation from loosening the lug nuts (or bolts) There are a handful of cars that have left handed threads on the left side. Some I can think of are Chrysler, Bentley, and Rolls-Royce. It's over engineering if you ask me. there are millions of cars going down the road with right handed threads on the left side. And there's no rash of wheels flying off.
Thanks Buick57 for the awesome info! I'm sure there will be plenty of Buick owners (and classics in general) who will find this info very useful. I feel like I should buy you a beer or something. :TU:
The 63 Buick chassis manual states a maximum diameter of 12.080 and does not distinguish between front and rear. As I understand it the term runout refers to variation in radius from the center of rotation; .050 runout would be unacceptable.
Just to clarify, I was not suggesting you should let the shop turn the drums to 12.080, That is the maximum diameter before they have to be replaced; so, if you start there, any wear takes you over max. Best case scenario is you avoid have them turned unless absolutely necessary.
50 thousands here is referring to the wear out of the lining not overall span deviation beyond 12.08. But yes taken either way, runout to these numbers depending on area and method employed would indicate need for replacement. Slight turning of drum material on either type of drums to "re-true" the surface is a must in our opinion when replacing shoes which have proven wear and demonstrate any cause of pattern wear to the surface of the drum lining.
Fronts and Rears are VERY VERY Different for one major reason -- Fronts are 12" x 2 1/4" and Rears are 12" x 2".... The aftermarket world made steel replacements -- for they feared that the aluminums were insufficient to stop big "beasts" with 12" brakes!!!!!! Of course, the racing world L O V E S 12"Buick DRUMS!!!!!!!!!! If you don't want to use the Reproes (with a lot of people have a lot of trouble with......) I have SOME (NOT MANY) NEW OLD STOCK BRAKE DRUMS...... And SOME N.O.S. + ASBESTOS ++ Brake Shoes -- so you don't "RIP UP" these Brake Drums.............
