Alan, the Huck brake is held in alignment axially by the bottom yoke and pins. As you apply brake the shoes just swing out from the pivot points at the bottom.

The Bendix brake is free to float at the top and bottom, therefore the need for the pads and springs to keep it in axel alignment. The advantage to the Bendix brake was that the shoes tend to hook or bite into the drum when they contact due to the drum rotation and this gives an additional mechanical force to the braking function. An early form of power assist you might say. The Bendix brake was first used in the late 20’s for large truck in the air brake systems and then later in the 30’s the principle was applied to the passenger cars. The self-adjusting brake was not introduced until the mid to late 50’s.
And became quite common be the mid 60’s.
There is nothing wrong or unsafe about the Huck brake design as long as it is properly restored to its original condition. It’s just a hydraulic system, no different in application than the Bendix brake except that it requires a bit more pressure to operate it.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Last edited by Denny Graham; 02/17/2009 12:43 PM.
Denny G
Sandwich, IL