The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Driveline Backing plate repair/replacement

Good morning. The backing plates on the front of our 1952 had some deep grooves from the shoes. We had ground smooth a lip/ridge on the rear plates. Well, now we have little to no pads left on the front plates. So, I went online to look for new ones. Apparently, these are not very common since I'm having issues finding new replacements. We are not planning on going to disc brakes any time soon. What are my options? I have someone on a Facebook group that has some from a 1954. What years are compatible with 1952? Are there any other vehicles/years that would work? Also, I was told that the grooves should have been brazed before grinding. I'm not familiar with that at all. If someone could provide insight on this, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

Have someone with a MIG or TIG welder build up the pads the shoes rub against, then grind them flat so the shoes have a good surface to rub against. It's a LOT simpler if the backing plate is OFF the vehicle. If you want a very long-lasting repair, use an acetylene torch and something called "air hardening drill rod" to build up the pads. It goes on like any other welding rod, but it's so hard a file won't cut it- - - -it must be ground smooth. The only problem is that very few welders except some of us old geezers even remember how to weld with acetylene.
Jerry

Thank you Jerry. Plates are off the vehicle so that's a start. Is that something that brake shops do also?

Not normally- - - -you'd need to find a good welding or machine shop that hasn't gotten deeply committed to digital machinery. The most recent generation or two of "machinists" are hung up on CNC equipment, and old school creativity is pretty much a thing of the past. My son-in-law is a good example- - - -he's a highly qualified tool room machinist for Remington in Huntsville Alabama who gets amazed sometimes at what I attempt with 40 year old obsolete hand-cranked lathes and mills.
Jerry

Backing plates from 51-55 have the same part number shown in the online Chevy manuals website

Thank you Ed! I keep forgetting about those.

If all else fails, you can install a rivet in two places on the plate for each shoe. This would create stick out, flat, rub pads. Use a steel "flat" head solid rivet similar to McMaster Carr 97032A371. Cut to length and smash it on.
No machine shop needed, just a drill, saw and a hammer.
The no.1 answer is a good donor plate.

Here is a guy in our area https://phoenix.craigslist.org/evl/pts/d/1947-to-1954-chevrolet-1-2/6529115203.html
Maybe he will sell the brake stuff or you can buy the whole rear end and sell the rest? Better hurry, posted yesterday

Thank bartamos! The ones we need are for the front. I'm pretty sure the rears are different. I know they have the e-brake cable inlet, etc.

The Chevy swap meet is over in Glendale this weekend. Going to check there before we do anything.

Oh that's right, sorry. good luck at Glendale. Are you talking GCC? Probably will have some.

Yes, GCC. I just checked with MotherTrucker down in Tucson to see if he could bring some up. He only has pre 51.

Its real easy to repair grooved pads with a TIG. After you are done welding, you just grind the welds down even with the good part of the pad.

Hill Boys,

Here's one on ebay for $18 and that's from a professional vendor. To street rod builders those are scrap iron that they can't even give away.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/51-52-53-54-55-56-57-58-59-CHEVY-GMC-TRUCK-RIGHT-FRONT-BRAKE-BACKING-PLATE/141912418273?hash=item210aa3a7e1:g:qzQAAOSwezVWzdCj&vxp=mtr

Unless you are in a huge hurry you'll find those for free.

If you have a stick or mig welder you can build up a pad at the worn area and grind it even with the rest of the backing plate in just a few minutes. I wouldn't use tig because tig is slow and will get that whole backing plate really hot. And why waste shielding gas on a mild steel project. I have tig, stick and oxy-acetylene and would use the stick for your project. If you're worried about burning through the thin spots 1/16" 6013 stick rods are available.

Thank you yar and 52Carl! We have a Chevy swap meet in town this weekend, just so happens to be on the way to see the Blue Angels at the Luke Days air show, and we'll see if there are any there in good shape/price. If not, we have access to a mig welder at my son's old high school so we (he) will give it a go.

Yar, you need some TIG welding lessons.
A stick welder?!?
Do you typically measure with a micrometer, mark the line with a floor mop soaked in paint, and cut with a dull hatchet?

Well, the VCC swap meet over in Glendale was a complete bust. I have never seen it so sparse of parts before. Lots of crap though. Someone said that since Good Guys was in town this weekend, most went over there. Follow the money.

So, going to look around for a bit for someone willing to let some backing plates go. I would rather try to build up/smooth out a grove than attempt build up everything and not even have a reference of how high, etc.

If anyone has/knows someone willing to let go of two front backing plates for 51-54 Chevy truck, let me know.

Thank you!

"Yar, you need some TIG welding lessons.
A stick welder?!?
Do you typically measure with a micrometer, mark the line with a floor mop soaked in paint, and cut with a dull hatchet?"

Good morning Carl.

Why the sarcasm? Is your buddy's computer not working?

I will admit that I have no computer skills so I don't know how to send you a photo on this forum. But if you give me your email address I'll send you some photos of my tig welds, I have actually taken tig "lessons". When I was getting my education as a geologist in the 1960s I also took a welding class in the industrial arts department and the class included tig. In the summer of 1967, while still a graduate student in geology, I had a summer job at Doug's Headers that included some oxy-acetylene welding but was mostly tig doing the welds that join the tubes to the flanges. That summer at Doug's and the headers I've built at home in the intervening 50+ years for myself, family and friends show conclusively that quality headers do not leak, as often stated here.

If you haven't tried welding thin (16 gauge) mild steel with 1/16" 6013 stick electrodes you will be pleasantly surprised how well the stick electrodes work if you have a good fit up, good welding skills and follow the old welders slogan of welding "hot, close and fast". The stick method is not as fast as mig, because you have to stop occasionally to change electrodes, but it definitely works really well. At Doug's Headers time was money and I was taught to move fast with a lot of heat without doing any harm.

As for marking metal I usually do it with blue Dykem using the applicator in the cap, mark the cuts with a scriber point and make the cuts with a hand or power hack saw, band saw, slitting saw or end mills on my milling machine, or square HSS tool bits using my lathe. If you are still doing it "with a floor mop soaked in paint, and cut with a dull hatchet" as you describe in your question to me I would be glad to recommend a good machining text book from my machining class.

Thank you for your inquiry. If you have any other questions I'll be glad to try to answer them.

I appreciate your interest.

Yar, you are absolutely right about every topic of this discussion. I don't know what I was thinking about trying to convince anyone, including you, to believe otherwise.
I will not bother you anymore unless you recommend anything which could kill my friends. A stick welder used to fill a tiny groove in a steel pad clearly cannot kill any of my friends.
Carl

The invitation to come talk to my garden still stands, but hurry- - - - -it's almost planting time!
Jerry