Any one using Mel Gross Drums now and any comments

[msmaron]

Ready to purchase but just want to see what some opinions are, the cost of 260.00 is considerably less than Brattons $400.00 and Mikes.

[pat in Santa Cruz]

I have had them on the sedan for 18K miles, no problems. I have installed several sets on customers cars all with good results. Depending on how far you must ship them, he can also true your hubs, install the drums and true them, and supply arced shoes, all at a very reasonable rate.

[msmaron]

Originally Posted by pat in Santa Cruz

I have had them on the sedan for 18K miles, no problems. I have installed several sets on customers cars all with good results. Depending on how far you must ship them, he can also true your hubs, install the drums and true them, and supply arced shoes, all at a very reasonable rate.

Very good and thank you! Seems like very nice people, have been talking with his son.

[walt jones]

I installed Mel Gross drums on my 29 Todor last spring and have had no problems at all. I drive the car almost daily as well as on short tours. I had new studs (also supplied by Mel) installed and the drums trued by a local machine shop. Others in the area have had them installed and to my knowledge have been well satisfied. I dealt with Mel's Wife and son and they are fine people to deal with. I thought that the price was good and the shipping reasonable. W

[John LaVoy]

We did a review of these when they first came out in the Winter 2008 issue of the Model A Times. They are a very good option. If I remember correctly Bratton's version has a little more detail matching the original steel design.

[Larry Brumfield]

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Please support the United States. Instead of Gross drums buy American made drums cast in America on American soil. You'll be glad you did.

Metallurgically, you will more than likely be better off as well.

In case of failure and personal injury, good luck trying to locate the Gross drum manufacturer, Mr. Wong. He lives somewhere in China.



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[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

Originally Posted by John LaVoy

We did a review of these when they first came out in the Winter 2008 issue of the Model A Times. They are a very good option. If I remember correctly Bratton's version has a little more detail matching the original steel design.

...and the Bratton drums are made out of ductile iron, whereas the Gross drums are not.


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[msmaron]

Originally Posted by Larry Brumfield

Please support the United States; buy American made drums cast in America on American soil. You'll be glad you did.

Metallurgically, you will more than likely be better off as well.

In case of failure and personal injury, good luck trying to locate the Gross drum manufacturer, Mr. Gookfong. He lives somewhere in China.


.

I see and agree with your point but i also believe in supporting the small businessman at the same time..
I have not hear of any failure to this point on these at all.

Originally Posted by BRENT in 10-uh-C

...and the Bratton drums are made out of ductile iron, whereas the Gross drums are not.
.

Point being Brent????

[Craig Lewis]

You're in a fortunate position.
You still have a chance to obtain good safe brake drums, for an extra $35xx apiece.
If your sense of safety insurance and pride of buying local isn't enough to convince, consider that the Asian drums are probably overpriced. That's right, the vendor is very likely making a higher markup off the Asians.
I paid over $500 for my Plasimeter drums about 8 years ago so the current US parts at $400 seem like a bargain.

[msmaron]

Originally Posted by Craig Lewis

You're in a fortunate position.
You still have a chance to obtain good safe brakes drums, for an extra $35xx apiece.
If your safety insurance and pride of buying local isn't enough to convince, consider that the Asian drums are probably overpriced. That's right, the vendor is very likely making a higher markup off the Asians.
I paid over $500 for my Plasimeter drums about 8 years ago so the current US parts seem like a bargain.

So what YOU are saying is the Mel Gross drums are NOT safe???? and why are you saying that..curious as i have heard NO complaints about them at all

[1931 flamingo]

msmaron: I believe what Larry and Brent are saying, is buy american made and also metal tha is made in this country with known quality control (although many, many waterworks fittings made from ductile iron are now IMPORTED from India, think about that the next watermain break near you), and Craig that for only $35 more per drum you're "buying" safety insurance for you and your loved ones. In the end it's all about money and how much you want to spend. JMO
Paul in CT

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

Originally Posted by msmaron

So what YOU are saying is the Mel Gross drums are NOT safe???? and why are you saying that..curious as i have heard NO complaints about them at all

Mark, I don't think any of us know of any safety issues however DOT requires all automakers to use Ductile Iron because it is less brittle and has better thermal dissipation. I have also read where the Ductile/Nodular Iron drums provide better friction properties over over regular cast iron.

As far as problems are concerned, take this for exactly what it is worth as I am not saying anything more than what my experience was. I have learned of a couple of instances where the Gross drums cracked when the hub bolts were being swaged during installation. My experience happened several years ago and at the time I was too naive to know what had happened & why it happened, ...so just I ordered another US drum and installed it in its place. The customer bought his own drums and brought them to me for installation. I have later learned of a few others who have had similar experiences. Am I certain this was the fault of the Gross drums? "No." Have I ever had this happen again on any drum (US or foreign made)? "No." I truly believe this is something that you by yourself need to decide whether the higher quality of the US manufactured ones are worth the extra expense.

.

[Larry Brumfield]

Originally Posted by msmaron

..curious as i have heard NO complaints about them at all

( Sentence deleted by Moderator - have a problem with it - take it up with Ryan)

There's more to a brake drum than just Mr. Wong making metal bowls for American Joe.

Where's the PROOF of the important mechanical properties that one's life may depend on such as the tensile strength, hardness, chemical composition and most importantly; since a brake drum must withstand heat and compressive loading; the basic characteristics of the China iron under elevated temperature conditions including the heat's effect on the tensile strength and stress rupture properties as indicated by a stress rupture test?

Moreover, what tests have they performed to prove the maximum braking surface diameter on THESE PARTICULAR DRUMS? ... not what is common in the industry but on these particular drums.

Brake drums which exceed the maximum braking surface diameter, either through wear or refinishing, must be replaced. This maximum braking surface diameter amount or specification allows for machining over the original drum diameter plus additional wear before reaching the drum discard diameter.

And last but not least, I'd like to know the above about Snyder's drums and Bratton's as well. We know at least that Bratton's are strong if they are made of ductile iron instead of gray but that does not mean that gray iron is inadequate.



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[Marvin/TN]

As far as I am concerened if there is a USA made part that is good than buy it and keep our US dollars at home. Way too much money is flowing out of the US to support foreign companies, and in my opinion China is about the worse one to support with India a close second.

[Jeff/Illinois]

Originally Posted by Marvin/TN

As far as I am concerened if there is a USA made part that is good than buy it and keep our US dollars at home. Way too much money is flowing out of the US to support foreign companies, and in my opinion China is about the worse one to support with India a close second.

ABSOLUTELY. Larry and Terry said it all.

Why scrimp over a stinking 35 bucks per drum? You are getting a product that is/will be proven superior.

35 bucks per for your safety? Not even a point to ponder.
( Deleted the remaining sentence) Moderator

[brum1]

Bottom line -no matter where its made its all in the testing and specifications; everything else is personal choice,

[Craig Lewis]

Originally Posted by msmaron

So what YOU are saying is the Mel Gross drums are NOT safe???? and why are you saying that..curious as i have heard NO complaints about them at all

I don't have experience with your offshore drums so how could I say they are unsafe? Re-read and you'll see I chose US drums.
Please Mark, I'm providing an opinion that's all.
Fact...You will probably get good use and have no troubles if you select the offshore drums. The distributor sounds descent, and he's found a way to make a living and help out Americans in a depressed economy while bettering the lifestyle and supporting the work standards of a foreign country. Everybody's a winner....for now.
The quality of my USA drums was great. I swedged them myself and spent considerable time making up arbours and then used a big old jackshaft drive, babbit head lathe, to machine them. The brakes I had re-lined, rebuilt all the various wear surfaces, even rebushed each pin hole on the shoe toes and centred the shoes then made up more arbours for front and rear backing plates and spun each of the 4 backing plates assemblies on the same bigass old lathe...cutting the shoes to dead centre to achieve max contact so as to require minimum wear-in, following an article by Bob Rentz. The drums had extra metal to work with and came with good instructions.
Yes I would use USA drums again.
OK, there ARE exceptions, but overall my experience with Asian stuff has been unsatisfactory with nearly ALL my Model A parts and this is just with the obvious stuff where I can SEE the fit is wrong.
So...WHY would I assume they do a great job on things I CAN'T critique
In simpler terms...if they can build a drum from melted down cat food cans why wouldn't they, knowing most of us can't tell the difference?
I find Chinese, expendable, everyday products...are adquate, as I don't expect them to last, but I find myself checking the dollar stores more and more for those items as they seem consistantly ALL the same quality.
Pay a dollar...pay 8 dollars, it's generally made to the same standard.
I'll say it again, the offshore drums will likely work fine, but I think the USA drums at an additional $35xx each is very good value because I'm convinced they have better steel. That's my opinion, and we all know the drums were a weak point on Model A anyway...so why not switch up to the best?
Sometimes I eat at Mcdonald's....but usually I don't.

[dave in australia]

Is it the quality of the Chinese product, or is it the quality that the importer buys from China. I would say the second. I'm all for paying a little extra for a local product just to keep the dollar in the country, but to me, an Australian, a product from USA is just as foreign as a product from China.

[brum1]

Dave,

Great perspective!! Sometimes we think the world revolves around us,

[Larry Brumfield]

Originally Posted by brum1

Bottom line -no matter where its made its all in the testing and specifications; everything else is personal choice,

Plus whether or not "where it's made," including Mr. Wong, can be trusted to maintain testing and specifications from batch to batch; assuming of course the drum was engineered correctly to start with.