AD Brake Upgrade
By Jason Sternhagen

       When time came to rebuild the Huck brakes on my '50 1/2 ton, I couldn't find good brake drums and the rebuild parts were much more expensive than the '51 and later brakes. I had a '51 axle complete from hub to hub but the spindles were worn and I didn't want to mess with swapping out the whole axle.

       I found that the '51 and later brake assemblies could be transferred to earlier Huck brake axles without removing the axle from the truck. The Huck hubs, brakes, and backing plates were removed from the axle. The top backing plate mounting holes in the spindle were drilled out to the same diameter as the bottom (1/2" I believe.) The later brake backing plate (including spacers) was then mounted the same way that it came from the donor axle. New grade 8 bolts and castle nuts with cotter pins were used to mount the backing plate. The rest of the components went together as usual.

       What you end up with in the end are equal or better brakes overhauled at a much reduced cost. This may all be common knowledge, but I thought it worth mentioning.