Does the original drifters have black glass on the limbs? Are they decent in the speed catagory? I believe they are an accurate bow. Any opinions or pics would be greatly appreciated.

Daryl, I had an original Drifter, it had black glass on the limbs and wasnt a speed demon but wasnt slow either. I was pretty accurate with it. Good luck with your decision. I have deleted my pics. Sorry.

Well maybe it had brown glass...    
Thanks for clearing it up Bill.

I have had several Jim bows and they were all well made solid shooters.

All three of the ones I own had brown glass. Very dependable and had good bow mass and balance. You can rest them on the back of a knife blade at the throat of the grip and it will be perfect ballance. If you do the same thing with a Schafer for instance it will prove top heavy.
The Drifter is a good hunting tool that will stand up to a lot of tough use. Mike

I'll address the construction of the Drifter and let others confirm velocity and shoot ability.

The Drifter, The Legend and The Shadow are the same bow. The only difference are the materials in the bow.

The Standard Drifter was made using Maple Actionwood that is dyed brown. The limbs are Maple Actionwood under Brown Glass. The tip overlays are Shedua, Back and Belly. (4 layers of Glass on the tips if I built the limbs. Making it Super string compatible.) The Older limbs built by Jim or Gordon are not super string compatible and should be used with Dacron B50 strings ONLY.

Now the question comes up: How do I know who built my bow? If the bow is marked Jim Brackenbury, Jim built the bow. If the bow is marked Jim Brackenbury Bows Inc. Gordon Porter built that bow or refinished the bow. Neither used serial numbers. With the exception of a few Jim made, but it was not consistent. If the bow is marker Brackenbury Custom Bows I made the bow. And there will be a serial number on the limb pads and riser.

I don't make The Drifter any longer because of the material change by Rutland Plywood. Actionwood is now made using Yellow Birch and in order to make that material strong enough I need to put an accent strip in the riser and that is how the Shadow is made. So I dropped the Drifter and brought back the Shadow.

The Drifter was offer in 60, 62, 64, and 66 inch lengths.

I also have a Drifter,made by Jim.There are other bows in the arena that are as good but none any better. I used my Drifter hunting and for 3-d . It hasn't failed me hunting and has scored at the top on two state shoots and many club shoots.It saddens me that this bow is no longer in production.If you are lucky enough get one, you will be pleased.

We tested a 66" Drifter 55#@28 and a A&H 64" 54#@28 this past weekend. The A&H Cronoed at 186fps and the Ol Brackenbury at........!182fps
The arrow weighted 515gr as I remember. I do know that after 20 years, the Ol Brack was only 4fps slower.....

Thanks for the input. Now do I need another bow?

Yes Ravenclaw, for sure! But... send that old bow over to me. There are only 2 Bracks in Germany of which I know -> Gotta be more!  
Martin