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BN1 Alfin brake drums

jtb55

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I am considering updating to BN2 front drums for my vintage race car. Any thoughts on how hard this upgrade will be and what the value of the Alfin drums are? thanks jtb
 
I had the Mini-Fin aluminum brake drums on the back of my Spridget racer. They look similar to the Alfins and are made the same way. They went "off-true" very quickly even after re-cutting. I've gone back to the standard iron drums.
In any event, installing them should be easy, but they are thicker and may require longer wheel studs (if you have bolt-on wheels...not sure how they would affect wire wheels).

[ 04-16-2004: Message edited by: aeronca65t ]</p>
 
Do you want drums for sure? I have disks on my 56 BN2. Much better. As far as changing to BN 2 drums as I recall it should not be that difficult if youi can get all the necessarty parts.
 
Hi JT,
From your question, I assume that your sanctioning race orginization imposes limits on the modifications that you can do & that disc brakes are not allowed. If allowed, this would be a much better approach & there are numerous combinations of later factory parts that could be used.

Back to the drums. There may be some 2.25" wide aluminum drums available. Original stock will be hard to find. The advantage of Alfin drums would be a little less fade under prolonged heavy use. The fade can be largely offset by using modern lining materials. The disadvantage is that they tend to warp & go out of round more easily when they do get overheated & there is limited rebuild possibility. The 2.25" wide BN2 iron drums will give better braking than the originals, be cheaper, & more durable.

In either case you will have to use all of the associated parts for the 2.25" drums. Swivel (stub) axles, bearings, hubs, shoes, seals, drums of course, & probably hydraulics. The front & rear wheel cylinder bores are available in 1" & 7/8". You will have to select these based on your personal preference for brake balance.

BTW - How did your transmission & clutch problems work out?
D
 
Reproduction Alfin drums are "offered" for sale By SC Parts in England (their part no. 337090 for front & rear both). I've found their web site isn't very useable though you might try it (www.scparts.co.uk). I phoned about these about 6 months ago and was told they were out of stock and that newer ones were being made to a higher spec because people were using them for racing. At that point it seemed the wait would be over a year. And, as I recall, they wanted nearly ÂŁ200 a piece.

I've seen a set and they did look very nice, but that was both a little too long and a little too rich for me....


Edited to add: I just looked at their website- they List a BN1 one and one for later cars. Sc 751/ALI & SC 795/ALI with a price of ÂŁ32, but I don't think those prices are accurate, you might ask them, if you're interested....

[ 04-18-2004: Message edited by: JamesWilson ]</p>
 
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