brakes

[wayne]

look

well well well I sent u what i thought i sent u but i sent it all or at least i think all UPSIDEDOWN laughed so hard i fell out of my chair ...? well i dont know how to back up let me know what u think and maybe u can post it from there lol lol no it didn't hurt.

 

[Tom Bryant]

Funny

Wayne, I toiught you were just messing with me but I printed it and it was still upside down. Had to stand on my head to read it.:s

Tom

 

[wayne]

Tom i didn't mean for u to have to stand on your head ....**just turn the page upside down or inside out whichever ,,,anyways i sent you 7 drawings and a picture of our 59 vette.....The name of the game here is to use the aluminum drum brakes all the way around from a 59 or newer BUICK These ones in particular are 66 as the earlier ones have less fins on them.check first to see if your wheel will slip over the Buick drums most 14 inch wheels will not you will have to redrill the drums for the late chevy bolt pattern. To start , you must remove the hubs ftom the chevy drums and the hubs from the buick drums.The hot setup ,of course , is a hydraulic press. Shade-tree mechanics need not dispair support the drum from the bottom and fit a piece of pipe over the stud head so you can drive out the studs without ruining the drums. Under NO CIRCUMSTANCES should you lay the drum on the concrete floor and hit the studs without the pipe support underneath. Once the studs have been removed you can separate the hub from the drums. By trial fitting, you can easily see that the chevy hub will not fit in the Buick drum without boring the center hole of the buick drum out to the size of the chevy hub which in my case a 59 vette is3-3/8==3-7/16.This means a quick trip to the machine shop for a precise bore.. on some buick drums your chevy hubs may fit.While you're at it have the machinist turn off about .150-inches from the edge of the rubbing surface of the drum. There seems to be some variation in various hubs and drums. so it may be necessary to remove more than .150-inches to get the necessary clearances between the chevy backing plate and the Buick drum. Place the chevy hub in the Buick drum and fasten it in the correct position with a couple of 3/8 inch bolts with flat washers, tighten them snugly Using the drill press again.drill the new holes all the way into and threw the brake drum. Insert the studs from the back and press into place, then bolt the whole unit to a wheel for alignment. After checking all studs for alignment with the mounted wheel,remove the wheel and send the drums out to have them turned. This step should always be left to the last as it will corect any small deviations in the previous machining operation The Buick drums are great for show if chromed,oreven just sandblasted or beaded.....MOOSEMAN

 

[Tom Bryant]

Brakes

Wayne,
I think I got everything but the picture of your Vette. Saw a dead '69 or '70 La Sabre at a local salvage yard laying out front with no wheels on. Looked like the rears were iron but the fronts were finned aluminum. I'm I may have to go check it out. I wonder if I could use the 2 1/2 " Buick shoes or if I would have to space out the wheel cylinder or try to adapt the Buick backing plate.

I should do some measuring and go compare to a Buick. I have a story somplace where they adapted the complete Buick brakes on an early Ford instread of just using the drums. I'll bet they will go on the Vette with some modification too.

Tom

 

[wayne]

I totally forgot----If your bolt patern is somewhat different, then the next step would be to put the hub in a lathe and scribe a circle around it with a sharp tool to make a guide for the new wheel pattern. Make the circle exactly the same as the diameter of the bolt circle you want to use. Then remove the hub from the lathe and make a sharp punch mark on the line where you want the first lug to go. usually half way between one of the older pattern. Take a set of regular dividers ( COMPASS) and work around the circle,marking the position of each stud to follow. If you have the dividers set properly, the last mark of the pointer will cross the punch mark you first made. If not, make the necessary adjustments and do it over until it comes out right. As a double check,start in the punch mark again and go around in the opposite direction. It is imperative that the studs fit the hub exactly in order to avoid wheel mounting problems later. Now, very carefully,use a sharp centerpunch and make a mark in the center of each marked bolt location. Drill a small hole ( about 3/16-inch) at each mark and make sure the holes are perpendicular to the surface so the lug studs aren't crooked after installation.Regular studs are preferable and should be pressed in with a hydraulec press at the machine shop.
remember to use the right size stud for the wheels you will be running.At this stage, you can drill out the 3/16 inch holes again to the proper size for your new studs , in the case of chevy's 7/16 and fords 1/2 inch. MOOSEMAN

 

[oldschoolss]

Alright, I know I dug up an old one here. But does anybody have any pictures of Wayne's buick drum brake swap?

Thanks,

Scott