Well, this project wound up taking a much different turn than I thought.
I came to realize that adding a drum brake wouldn't make up for the lack of interest I have in this bike - it'd still be one less gear than I'm used to. What's more, I'm spoiled by the 4-speed FG of my '51 over any AW, so no 3-speed will do it.
Not to mention that taking the rear brake caliper out of the equation would make the flat Pletscher brake bridge - which looks more like it ought to be on an AMF Hercules - stick out like a sorer thumb than it already does.
Time for a new plan. Last night, I put that plan into motion by buying this guy:
It's a SRAM G9 9-speed internal hub with the next-best shifter to an over-the-bar trigger shifter - a thumb shifter.
I'm definitely going the restomod route with this one at this point, but it should be an interesting build. Not sure if I'm digging the black hub, but it is what it is.
-Kurt