1958buickforum.net

I have heard about people retrofitting their Buicks to fit aluminum drums on the back as well as front end. My 59's brakes are as good as disc brakes and it has manual braking and fully rebuilt brakes. If mine had retrofitted aluminum brakes on the rear end I would like to have a braking competition with a antilock disc brakes system on the same kind of car! How do YOU think your Buicks brakes compair to similar brakes of the time and to modern anti lock?

My modern antilock stops better, but the car weighs a lot less than the Buick. I think the Buick stops fine, though.

The best braking cars I have are my two late 70s Lincolns. Instead of vacuum assist, they have hydraulic assist from the power steering pump - they stop better than my modern antilock car, and they are about 500 pounds heavier than the '58 Buick. Only problem: If I'm making a very sharp turn and I turn the steering wheel to its farthest limit - the brakes begin to engage.

The finned aluminum brake drums on '57-'60 Buicks are mainly for cooling purposes to maintain good braking performance. Most of the stopping power is in the front brakes, not the rear, so more heat is going to build up in front. Therefore I see little advantage to retrofitting the rear brakes with the aluminum drums.