Hey Fixy,
I will agree that the Truck Shop Manual leaves much to be desired in terms of adjusting the brakes, including the parking brake.
The '49 Huck brakes have an eccentric bolt which holds the toggle lever in place.
From page "Brakes 5-19" under "REAR-(1948-50) 1/2 TON..."
2. Assemble toggle lever to new shoe, making sure that the high side of the eccentric attaching bolt is toward the brake shoe facing.
There is no reference as to what that eccentric bolt does or if there is a need to change it after the initial setting is made.
If I were you, I would pull the rear drums and check the eccentric bolt position. Also check the position of the flat bar which goes between the two shoes above the axle. (The Manual calls it "the strut".) These are forked on the ends and need to engage properly for the parking brake to work.I would then have someone set and release the parking brake several times while you watch whats going on. Make sure nothing is getting bound up giving you a false "tightness" at the cable adjuster.
Carl
