1963 U.S. Made Front Brake Drum?

[Richard P.]

Local parts stores (NAPA, O'Reilly, Winchester) tell me there is no U.S. manufacturer of a 1963 front drum. Doesn't surprise me but I still have to ask........Is a new drum available from a U.S. company? If so, where do I get a set? If not, I guess I bite the bullet and buy Chinese? The car is a driver, never to be judged. Thanks.

[Harry S.]

Re: 1963 U.S. Made Front Brake Drum?

Local parts stores (NAPA, O'Reilly, Winchester) tell me there is no U.S. manufacturer of a 1963 front drum. Doesn't surprise me but I still have to ask........Is a new drum available from a U.S. company? If so, where do I get a set? If not, I guess I bite the bullet and buy Chinese? The car is a driver, never to be judged. Thanks.

Richard, over the past several years NOS drums from GM have been popping up. Anywhere fron $39.00 to $99.00. I think there are some on eay at the moment.

[Mike T.]

Re: 1963 U.S. Made Front Brake Drum?

Hi Richard - Around 8 to 10 years ago, NAPA used to sell brake parts made in Italy. Don't think that's the case anymore because I just checked NAPA, Autozone and Rock Auto and for a 63 Corvette, they do show replacement drums but the websites don't indicate where they are manufactured. Since those parts would typically need to be ordered and not an on-hand item, not sure they'd know the country of origin even if you walked into a NAPA or Autozone.

[Joe L.]

Re: 1963 U.S. Made Front Brake Drum?

Local parts stores (NAPA, O'Reilly, Winchester) tell me there is no U.S. manufacturer of a 1963 front drum. Doesn't surprise me but I still have to ask........Is a new drum available from a U.S. company? If so, where do I get a set? If not, I guess I bite the bullet and buy Chinese? The car is a driver, never to be judged. Thanks.

Richard-------

I would not be surprised, at all, if what you've been told is correct. Many automotive castings, especially those for older applications, are now almost exclusively sourced from China. Foundries are usually "dirty" operations and environmental regs have, most unfortunately, forced much of this off-shore.

The last available GM brake drums were GM #3872326, front, and GM #3985944, rear. You may still find some of these around.

There's also this source from eBay which claims USA manufactured:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BRAKE-DRUM-GROOVED-WITH-SPRING-CORVETTE-CHEVROLET-IMPALA-MADE-IN-USA-GROOVE-/111266272163?hash=item19e7fc93a3&vxp=mtr

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BRAKE-DRUM-GROOVED-WITH-SPRING-CORVETTE-CHEVROLET-CHEVELLE-MADE-IN-USA-GROOVE-/111266232082?hash=item19e7fbf712&vxp=mtr

[Alan D.]

Re: 1963 U.S. Made Front Brake Drum?

OR buy a cheep drum for now and take your time to look for a GM unit