Were aluminum drum covers ever used on the original Speedsters, or are they a recent aftermarket kit to hide VW components?
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The drums on 356's were aluminum (steel lined for the friction surface), so the covers are just to make VW drums look old school.
Wombat:
I have them on my car they look great I totally recommend them..
Tebs
Some original wide-5's were finned, too:
Yeah, that's an original 356 rear drum, Gordon. Guys used to put them on the back of their California Look bugs for their improved braking and they looked great polished underneath BRM's.
I’m trying to emulate a 356A Speedster’s wheels by using the aluminum skins.
I’m assuming that a rear skin, with its hole for the castellated nut, looks like the real thing. But does the front skin, with its raised center section, look like what you’d see on a Speedster? Or is that raised section meant to look like something it really isn’t, such as a grease cap, etc.?
Here's one: do the original finned (rear) 356 brake drums bolt onto our VW swing-axle axles?
I've seen cheap (relatively) 356 finned drums and thought it would be nice to have them on my car, but only if it's a bolt-on.
I don't know the details, but yes they do, Will. I believe the issue, though, is finding drums that are still within spec. They can be warped or out of round, so make sure what you buy is usable.
suspect you will need the short swing axles - there are like 3 different axle lengths used by VW and the IRS ones are longer. Plus you'll need backing plates and I suspect Porsche brake shoes.
I will further investigate, they've got to weigh a lot less than cast iron, plus they look cool!
Gordon Nichols posted:Some original wide-5's were finned, too:
Behold, the steel spine in the AL drum, very similar to the (much maligned) CB wide 5 disc set-up that does the same thing.
I've got said disc set-up on my car, and I've replaced one of them because of that joint going bad. However, I've never once considered bolting on something that weighs about 10 lbs more per corner, as I drove almost 30k mi and did probably 100 "dump-the-clutch at 4000 RPM" burnouts before it gave way. Your milage may vary, but I'm pretty high on all things CB right now.