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I am restoring my front and rear drum brakes on a 63 SWC. Where can I purchase the correct parts ? Is there a description somewhere on the internet, where I can see an exploded view with numbers ? All the books and manuals which I have (and I have almost all of them) do not describe the brakes very well. Also, during NCRS judging, will they look at the proper color of the springs and the finish of the parts (black, cad.plated silver or gold)?
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Re: 63 Drum brakes
Rainer-----
For 1963, there were 3 different types of brake systems used on the cars. The first was standard brakes which could be either power assisted, or not. The second was sintered metallic brakes, and the last was the J-56 HD brakes which was available only as part of the Z-06 package. Each of these brake systems used different drums, brake shoes, and springs. The standard brakes and the sintered metallic brakes used the same backing plates while the J-56 used different backing plates. The wheel cylinders were the same for all.
All of the 63-64 brake parts are GM discontinued. If you have a standard brake car, manual or power, you can obtain drums and shoes in the aftermarket. These will be configured similar to the originals, but they won't be exact duplicates. It's pretty hard to see much of the drums with the wheels installed on the car. Also, it's not possible to see the brake shoes or springs with the wheels installed on the car.
You can obtain wheel cylinders in the aftermarket which will SERVICE your application. For the most part, the wheel cylinders can't be seen, either.
If you have sintered metallic brakes or, heaven forbid, J-56 brakes as part of the Z-06 package, then you're in for an expensive and, likely, fruitless search. You may be able to find the drums for the sintered metallic brakes used or, possibly, NOS. These drums are configured similar to the standard drums, so it really doesn't make a whole lot of difference. However, any J-56 parts are extremely scarce and extremely expensive if you find them.
From time-to-time NOS standard brake drums and shoes come up for sale on eBay. They don't usually go for too high a price and the shoes often go begging. So, that's an option if you have standard brakes, power or not.
Usually, backing plates can be restored. So, if you have these, I'd recommend restoring them. NOS originals are difficult to find.
If you are absolutely committed to obtaining NOS original parts, I'd suggest that you contact J. T. Piper's Auto Specialties of Vermillion, IL. They'll likely have the NOS parts. However, the reason that they may still have them is because their price "scares away" most customers. So, be prepared for that.In Appreciation of John Hinckley -
Re: 63 Drum brakes
Rainer. NCRS won't judge the return springs or shoes. All that gets inspected is what the little fellow from augusta, Ga. can see without pulling a drum(or wheel for that matter. all the above applies to flight judging. If you are going for Bowtie, they may ask to peek at the shoes and return springs, esp if the car is a ZO6 brake system. Joe. i wasn't aware there was a difference betwqeen Std. and sint'd metallic non ZO6 brake drums. pretty sure the sint'd aren't finned like ZO6. must be a difference in the hardness of the shoe contact surfaces of the drums.mikeComment
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Re: 63 Drum brakes
# 14... We will be checking all those pesky little items on any of YOUR cars entered in judging... Your reputation demands it.Comment
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Re: 63 Drum brakes
Mike----
The standard and sintered metallic drums were different. However, neither were finned. The configuration of both was the same, at least as far as I can tell by looking at them. The surface finish or other similar factors may have been the only difference.In Appreciation of John HinckleyComment
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Re: 63 Drum brakes
Joe; are the part #'s different for std. vs sintd metallic non finned.? if they are i suspect the only difference is the micro-finish of the sint'd drums being much smoother. mikeComment
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Re: 63 Drum brakes
#6788876654433222-- when one sleeps at the foot of the cross, one gets special consideration on the judging field.#14Comment
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Re: 63 Drum brakes
The base drum brakes are the same as the full sized Chevrolet. Parts are widely available from all the major aftermarket brake system suppliers - Bendix, Raybestos, EIS, Wagoner, etc, and some vendors have online catalogs
There is a very good service section on drum brakes in the '63 Corvette Shop Manual.
The J-65 Metallic brake option used the same drum castings as the base brakes, but the friction surface was machined to a finer finish, so they carried different end item part numbers. The pull back springs for J-65 were more heat resistant than the base brake springs, and, of course, they had segmented metallic linings on the shoes.
There is no way that base and J-65 systems can be differentiated in Flight Judging. You would have to pull a drum, which is not done. About the only thing that can be seen during Flight Judging is the inside flange of the brake drums, and I don't know if the current aftermarket drums are distinguishable from the GM drums. These 11" drums are acceptable for service at up to 11.090" inside diameter, so they can be turned at least a couple of times (unless you have J-65s in which case the drums will probably be worn out when the shoes are worn out, but count on at least 100K miles life with aggressive street driving and some occassional race track hot lapping.
Current generic replacement brake linings are completely adequate for normal street use. If you want a higher performance lining for a little race track hot lapping or serious canyon carving or you plan on towing a 6000 pound trailer check out:
They can supply modern high tech high performance linings which will probably outperform the old J-65s without all the squeaking and lack of cold braking effectiveness of the J-65s. The proprieter is an experienced J-65 veteran.
Duke
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Re: 63 Drum brakes
Mike----
Yes, there were 3 sets of part numbers for drums 1963-64. Standard, non-metallic brakes; metallic brakes (J-65); and HD brakes (J-56). I also expect that the difference between the standard and the metallic brake drums was surface finish. Neither the standard nor J-65 brake drums were finned.In Appreciation of John HinckleyComment
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Re: 63 Drum brakes
> There is a very good service section on drum brakes in the '63 Corvette Shop Manual.
It isn't as good as you'd think. None have a picture of the standard rear drum brakes. I've looked in several, The Corvette shop manual, old Motors Manuals from the period, and Clymer. They all show the front brake setup but not the rear, so there aren't any pictures of how the emergency brake setup is supposed to be installed.Comment
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