Progress? Buick Drums Finally On

[Gastrick]

Well this is the part where some folks are going to think I'm losing it. I say that because I'm removing nice front disk brakes and replacing them with 45 fin Buick aluminum drums. The reason for doing so is two fold. I always wanted some and the disks were killing my vintage dry lakes racer look.

Like them or not, here they are. Well, actually I only got one side installed. I'll have to wait until next week to finish up. Most of the prep work is completed for the other side so it shouldn't take too long. Then I'll just have to change the residual pressure valve and bleed them.

I didn't plan on doing any installation this weekend but my brother (speed racer) came over and spent hours scrubbing the drums. I didn't want to blast them. I wanted to keep the factory finish. I think they cleaned up pretty good. I may smooth and polish them later when I finally decide to paint the car some day. We'll see.

BEFORE:


AFTER: Painted the spindles while we were at it.

 

[Gastrick]

A couple in progress just because I like pictures

Had to remove some material from the top of the spindles in order to clear the Lincoln style backing plates.


Redrilled the drums and installed the new Wilson Welding hubs.


Drums installed without the wheel/tire.

 

[cycledog]

Those really look nice. Good choice. Are these the second pair? or were you able to salvage the first pair?

 

[Gastrick]

Those really look nice. Good choice. Are these the second pair? or were you able to salvage the first pair?

Actually, they are the THIRD pair. The second pair were ruined by a machine shop also. I don't think I posted about the final horror story. I've got a nice stack of worthless Buick drums though. I may use one pair as covers for the rear.

 

[tnrodder]

Hey Gastrick those drums look great, you just cant beat the look of buick drums. I picked up a couple of sets a month or so ago to use on my truck when I get to that point. What process did your brother use to clean those up? I was going to blast mine but yours look so good I may change my mind.

 

[hotrodron]

Those look really good Gastrick. Glad to see they finally worked out for you.

 

[dmw56]

Very Nice!

Those look great. You can't beat those for looks!

 

[24dodge]

looks great , are you gonna add some of those finned brake scoops ?

 

[22dodge]

Looks Great........

That looks great, Gastrick. Well worth the effort.
Hard to believe that you had to deal with so much machine shop incompetence on the drums. '22

 

[Gastrick]

looks great , are you gonna add some of those finned brake scoops ?

I have some scoops but they need some finishing work. They are not finned but smooth. I'm thinking that I may drill the backing plates and use some smaller scoops though. I haven't thought it through and didn't want to make a decision that I would regret later so I just left the backing plates plain until I decide.

 

[24dodge]

you can find some pretty nice looking scoops at a marine store , deck vents I think they`re called , come in all sizes.

 

[Gastrick]

What process did your brother use to clean those up? I was going to blast mine but yours look so good I may change my mind.

They were pretty grungy and cleaned up nicely. Here's what he did.

1. Hosed them down with brake cleaner and used a wire brush on them. This removed a lot of the brake dust and crud.

2. Then cleaned them with dish washing soap and a brush. This removed some more dirt and grime.

3. He then cleaned them with a small dry fine wire brush to remove the remaining dust between the fins.

4. He went over them twice with Naval/Aluminum Jelly. That brightened them up and made them look nice.

It was a lot of work but like I said, I wanted to maintain the factory finish on them. Sort of as though they could have been removed from a Buick years ago and put on a hot rod without being blasted or restored. I'm strange I know.