Great drum brakes (esp. for hot rods)?

[OldNYJim]

I like building hot rods, and I like drum brakes.  I really like the ones in the Revell 29/30 Ford kits…but are there any other kits with really nicely done brakes that I can look out for?

Finned or not, I’m interested to see what anyone comes up with…

I seem to recall the Fujumi Porsche 356 kits had some REALLY nice drums with a bunch of detail (but that particular kit of mine is in storage 1000 miles away currently so I can’t check very easily…)

Any suggestions of other good sources for nicely done (or even just interesting) drum brakes for kitbashing?  Pics a bonus, if you have them!

Edited November 3, 2021 by CabDriver

[eastown]

Hi CabDriver:   ( Jim )  A few pics of brake drums.

     First 3 pics of Scenes Unlimited brake parts, drums, shoes, & axle kit.   Very nice.

     Dark grey pics from Fujimi Porsche 356 B 1600s roadster kit.

     Pics # 1152/ 1153 /1154  are from the Revell 30 Model A Coupe    

  Bob.

[Mark]

The Scenes Unlimited drums look like modified versions of the "display brake drum" that came in a lot of early Sixties AMT annual kits.  I picked up a bag of those at a show some time back, between those and the ones I already had I've probably got a dozen or so matched sets (as well as a couple of pairs of disc brakes).  I've wanted to try those on something, just need to pick out some backing plates that match up with them.  The display drums look a bit wide, but narrowing them a bit on the back side should make them workable.  They're about the same diameter as the Revell Model A rod pieces.

[OldNYJim]

Thank you SO MUCH for all the pics @eastown - really helpful post!  I never saw those Scenes Unlimited ones before - some nice looking parts there!

@Mark - do you have any recollection of which AMT kits those might have come in?  Curious to see if I can find a set…will do some Googling in the meantime! 

[Mark]

The AMT display drums came in most early Sixties annual kits, but few of the reissues.  I found most of mine loose, or as leftovers on parts trees from built kits.  There aren't many early Sixties AMT kits that were reissued intact in recent years, I'll see if any of them ('61 Galaxie, '62 Electra) still have (or ever had) that part.

[OldNYJim]

9 hours ago, Mark said:

The AMT display drums came in most early Sixties annual kits, but few of the reissues.  I found most of mine loose, or as leftovers on parts trees from built kits.  There aren't many early Sixties AMT kits that were reissued intact in recent years, I'll see if any of them ('61 Galaxie, '62 Electra) still have (or ever had) that part.

That gives me a lead anyway - thanks buddy! 

[Draggon]

The drums in this pic are the bottoms for the stanchion accessories included with the AMT '66 T-Bird "customizing series". They most likely appeared in other AMT kits as well. Quite simplified, but worked fine for my purposes. 

 

[gman]

If aftermarket is an option for you, Replicas & Miniatures of Maryland's finned Buick brake drums make a great addition to a hot rod model:

[Mark]

Those too appear to be based on the AMT display drums.  Backing plates appear to be copies of those in the Revell Roadster Chassis Speed Equipment parts pack (the pack included two of them, not four).  The Atlantis Mooneyes dragster kit includes that pack, but does not use those backing plates leaving them as leftover parts. 

Checking recent AMT reissues, none seem to include the display drum.  The '63 Galaxie and '64 Impala kits include a display disc brake however.

 

[Mr. Metallic]

Check out the Monogram 32 Ford roadster. This is the tooling that started out as the Little Deuce, but has been modified and reissued into many versions over the last nearly 60 years. But even the most recent reissue still included the brakes, which in my opinion are the best rendition of the Ford brakes. It's only the backing plate, but unless you plan on having the wheels be removable you don't need the actual hub detail.

Edited November 11, 2021 by Mr. Metallic

[Mark]

The new issue of MC has an article on scale shop equipment and tools, the lead photo of the built '60 Comet shows an AMT display brake drum in its natural habitat.  Again, not the best nor the easiest to find, but they are an option should you have any.

[OldNYJim]

Some really great leads here fellas, thank you!!  I’ve enjoyed finding out about some of these cool parts that I didn’t know existed!  

[stitchdup]

I've seen finned drums made using the kit backing plates and those round aircleaners I'm sure we all have loads off. From memory the person sanded off the top detail from the cleaner and glued just the finned parts to the backing plate. They looked decent to my eye

[OldNYJim]

14 hours ago, stitchdup said:

I've seen finned drums made using the kit backing plates and those round aircleaners I'm sure we all have loads off. From memory the person sanded off the top detail from the cleaner and glued just the finned parts to the backing plate. They looked decent to my eye

Good tip Les - a toothpaste cap would work pretty well too!  I just need to buy more toothpaste so I can try making a full set