[Mr. G]

I received the Wagner rear brake shoes I ordered from Rockauto for the '71 GTO which I selected because they were supposedly made in the US. First thing I noticed was the box they came in stated "Made in China". Great! Just what I didn't want. Then I measured the friction surface and instead of being 9"x2" as originals were, they were 7 &1/2" x 2" on one and about 9 &7/8" x 2"on the other. Stuffed them back in the box and am wondering who actually makes shoes and pads in the US, and are there any that actually measure 9" x 2" like the originals were. Have front pads also from Wagner coming and I suppose they will also be from China so need the same info for those also. Thanks in advance for any help.

[67Lemons]

No idea if anyone is still making brakes in the USA, especially considering most of the chemicals used to make the friction block are banned here. I use Powerstop on all my vehicles and recommend them to everyone, possibly the best brakes in the game at the moment IMO.

[6869GTO]

Are you saying that all 4 of your old shoes are 9" friction surface? Never seen that, always 1 short and 1 long per side. Short shoe to the front. If the new are riveted vs bonded, I'd use them.

[Mr. G]

The shoes on the car now are not both 9" but on my spare rear end they are although it has shoes with a groove down the center which i have not seen before but those are the shoes that were on that rear end since I bought it back in the 1990s so who knows what is up with that. I looked into Bendix shoes as they also were supposedly made in the U.S but upon closer investigation it seems Bendix is owned by Allied Signal who also owns Wagner so once again it is a parent company situation where pretty much whatever you choose it is the same thing just different packaging. The Wagners I bought are riveted so I guess I will just run them as I am chasing my tail on this deal. Thanks for the help on this.

[SRGN]

Best chance will be finding old stock. I've resorted to accepting some parts that are made in Canada and Mexico in some cases as some things just aren't made here anymore. Thank corporations, and people that shop by price rather than value.

[Mr. G]

I did think of that but just went ahead and installed the Wagner shoes and called it a day for now. I was incorrect about Bendix and Wagner being under the same parent company. Bendix is Allied Signal and Wagner is Federal Mogul. That's what happens when you spend as much time in front of the computer researching parts as you do installing them.

[mgarblik]

I do not know of any USA made friction materials for our old cars. Raybestos used to make some lining material in the USA but they are now bankrupt and in the process of closing and liquidating. As mentioned Power Stop brand are high quality and sold through Rock Auto and some other vendors. They are made in China but there must be some American QC, or oversight. I have never seen a GM self energizing drum brake set up with equal length friction material on both shoes. Not sure what's going on there.

[70L34]

It's pretty easy to find old stock shoes and pads for 1960s-70s GM cars on Ebay - that's my go-to.

[OG68]

Muscle Car Brakes. Pricy but made in USA the last I heard

https://musclecarbrakes.com/stage16472gto.html