1963 HD Brakes - Question

[Henry A.]

We are working on my 63 coupe and have a question on the brake drums. It appears that the front drums are bigger than the rear. One vender i chatted with said...oh you have the heavy duty brakes...I have not heard of this before...I thought that all of the 63 had regular drum brakes or power brakes. Does anybody have any information that could help me id my brakes? Thanks...

[Mike M.]

Re: 1963 HD Brakes - Question

if the drums are finned, its got ZO6 drums. if the drums are non-finned, its either a standard brake car or it could be the sintered metallic brake shoes which also used the non-finned drums.mike

[Henry A.]

Re: 1963 HD Brakes - Question

Thanks Mike, They are not finned thus not the ZO6. Do you know if the Sintered Metallic brake shoes used a larger front drum? Thanks

[Mike M.]

Re: 1963 HD Brakes - Question

sinter brake option used same drums as standard 63 vettes although the finish of the sintered brake drums was polished more than the drums of a standard 63 brake drum. mike

[Harry S.]

Re: 1963 HD Brakes - Question

Henry, if you believe you have the original drums, can you post any cast numbers on the drums and any measurements you may have takes?

Thanks

Harry

[Duke W.]

Re: 1963 HD Brakes - Question

Both base and J-65 have identical appearing drums to casual observation. The fronts are 2.75" wide and the rears 2", and neither has fins - just plain jane looking brake drums.

In addition to the finer finish on J-65 drums, the front drums have a slightly thicker web, and because of the thicker web, front J-65 drums may carry a different part number. The rear drum casting numbers for base and J-65 are the same.

Measure your front drum web thicknesses with a caliper or mic and post it along with the drum casting numbers.

Duke