My reason for asking when Matco was sold relates to a purchase I made from
them at Oshkosh this year.  Actually, these items may be of interest to the
readership -- at least those that still use Matco wheels and brakes.

1)  Matco claims that they improved the brake pad material since I bought my
kit in 1994.  They admit that the early pads had less friction than the
Cleveland pads.  They claim that the friction with the new formulation is
higher now than the Cleveland pads.  I'm not sure what constitutes "new" but
I think it was a few years ago.

2)  I bought a set of replacement pads already riveted to the metal plates.  
As part of this deal, when I send my old plates to them when the pads wear
out, they will install new pads for free, for life.  I still have to pay for
the new brake pads but not the rivets or the labor.  Having a spare pair of
pads on hand, I can replace them as needed and take my sweet time about
renewing the pads.

3)  I also bought stainless steel "sliders", which is probably not the real
name for those tubes that go over the bolt that the movable part of the brake
slides on.  It's probably called a spacer.  Anyway, the ones delivered with
my kit were not stainless, and several of y'all have had them eventually rust
and cause the brakes to drag by not fully releasing.  Stainless ones are
available for $5 each.  I was planning on making them eventually but Matco
beat me to it, so I just bought 'em from them.

- Rob Wolf