To Bartamos: The spring is new but too short to reach to the factory holes so I drilled a hole in the shoe to compensate for the shorter measured length of the new spring's barrel compared to the old spring. None of the new springs from different vendors seem long enough although they are clearly marked with "47-50 Chevy 1/2 ton" on the packaging and catalog pages. The black gunk is grease, accidental not intentional.
To VEW & 3B: To find that adjustment I will probably have to do trial and error, the service manual is not helpful.
To Jim K:No check valve.
To Hotrod Lincoln: Yes
Thank you all
