The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Big Bolts 68 C40 PIZZA TRUCK

Hi all I was referred here by someone at the 62-72chevytrucks.com forum. I can't remember the name I'm sorry. My original plan was to use this truck as the base for a mobile Wood Fired pizza truck. I've labored over drawings measurements ect for some time now. After finally digging into this thing. Im ready to drive it off a cliff. It's as if the truck NEVER EXISTED as far as parts go. It's taken me a week just to come up with wheel cylinder part numbers and I'm still not positive they are correct. I still have yet to figure out if I can even find the rest of the brake components. I though building the food truck components would be the hardest part but it turns out just finding brake parts is kicking my ... I'm not worried about engine parts or body or glass or even suspension which pretty much leaves brakes wheels and tires. Wheels and tires I can deal with so the only thing left is brakes. Does anyone know where I can find the other brake components contained in the hub for this truck.. springs ect..? I'm sorry for the frustrating nature of this post but honestly I'm ready to scrap the whole thing. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

Hy Unofornaio, welcome, unfortunately the mid to late sixties is a time of turmoil with brake systems on the mid to large size trucks. Some are single system brakes some are dual system. To top that off we have different front and rear axle capacities within a series. The best thing you can do for yourself is give us as much information as you can, for example what is the width of the rear brake shoes, how many wheel cylinders are there on the front brakes, are those front wheel cylinder single acting or do they have a piston on each end, does your rear axle wheel cylinder cross over tube cross from wheel cylinder to wheel cylinder on the inside of the backing plate or on the outside? I don't know exactly what the rules on here are with regard to posting pictures, I think you have to make four posts first so that the humans know you are not a machine, so make some posts and answer what questions you can so that we may be able to help you better, and when allowed to do so , please post some pictures of what you have and what you need, hope that helps.

....take it easssy. You can get there......3B gives some good advice. I know he can help but we have to know just what your working on then we can give you some help. Patience may not be your virtue but a little will go along way to get that truck humming like its suppose to. You can do it!

Hey guys thanks. I had a busy weekend. We do the local farmers markets here in town and also private stuff so I'm usually MIA till Mondays. Besides I didn't get any notification there were replies I will have to check my account settings.
Anyway. Yeah I was pretty frustrated the other day but I'm not giving up. This project has already been a year in the making that was just getting the truck too me. Don't ask.lol
So based on some part numbers I got from a guy on the Chevy site I tried to order the cylinders from some bearings place in Minnesota. I called today to verify they were correct and she told me they haven't carried Centric parts for a year or so. I ended up finding the same parts on carid.com. I called and gave em the numbers 134.80010-11-13-14. 10&11 I was told are fronts 13&14 are rears. I imeaditly ordered them. (These numbers came from a guy on the Chevy site which I confirmed on the Centric website that actually listed them under 68 40 series) BUT now I'm wondering if they are correct since 3B you say there were several different setups on these. I'm goin to stop here and continue in another reply to get my numbers up.

I hope my other reply goes through it was a quick reply anyway. I have yet to tear into this thing I just haven't had the time I tried to bleed the brakes which yes there are two cylinders on the rear one upper one lower and the crossover is on the outside of the drum you can see from underneath the vehicle if I'm understanding your question correctly. I haven't worked on older vehicles in a very long time and I'm certainly not a mechanic but I do know my way around the garage so the stuff is not rocket science it's just a matter of me putting my mechanic hat back on. This particular truck has a single resivor master cylinder.

I honestly haven't looked at the front I'm assuming that based on everything I've heard they only have single cylinders I also have not been able to measure anything but I will certainly do that tomorrow and get you any information additional that you guys need I appreciate all the help I can get. I will snap some pix of the front after this so I will be able to post them. After each post I've made to this thread it tells me it fully moderated so there will be a delay. I don't know how long that is so tonight is Monday and my time now is 7 PMT ( Bakersfield, CA) next...

Okay guys so apparently I can't post a picture because I can't figure out how to take a picture that's less than 300 megabytes I took a screenshot of a picture that I had and that is exceeding the three hundred megabytes as well so I'm at a loss. At any rate I will try to get the wheels off tomorrow in the morning it's supposed to be 106 tomorrow. I will get the measurements and take some more pictures I don't even know how to take a picture at 300 megabytes I don't even think my phone camera will go that low. lol This time of the year I try to stay away from as much heat at possible. I run the pizza oven at 900° so when the outside temperature gets in the 100's I'm not so motivated to be in it. At 51 my tollarance for our weather is decreasing each year. Next summer I'm taking off to Alaska. Just kidding but last summer we had 2 consecutive months of over 104°. Right now we work out of a 10x10 pop up tent so you can see why I'm in such a hurry..Ok enough BS I'm just trying to use up posts. Again thank you guys for your kind words and help.

To begin with you have to have 5 posts before you can even think about posting a photo. Second you can’t be on a device other than a full blown computer to post photos without a bit of resizing and storing and retrieval problems. If you understand computers you can follow the instructions in the Image Posting Policy posted in the left margin of each page. Some find it easier to post links to google images or other hosting sites. Stick with it and you will figure it out.🛠

Thanks. That certainly helps with the learning curve..I know each forum host had different procedures. I posted 2 other replies and hope they show up. Thanks again

Hy Unofornaio, You say your truck has a single system master cylinder, is it mounted to a booster on the firewall?

Yes sir a GIANT one.

Hy Unofornaio, okay we're starting to zero in on things, I believe you have a Midland push through booster/master cylinder, I also think you have some form of Wagner rear brakes as evidenced by the wheel cylinder crossover tube being visible from under the truck. Please keep giving us more info as you find it. If you could post a list of the parts you are looking for, we could start looking things up.

Sounds great. Well I already order all the wheel cylinders based on these part numbers.
Fronts: 134.80011&10
Rear lowers: 134.80014
Rear uppers: 134.80013
I hope they are correct. I believe it is smart to replace everything inside the hubs. There is a brake place around here that can re-line the shoes if necessary but I have yet to get to them and measure. So to answer I guess just break parts for now. My brother had the master cylinder rebuild not so long ago.
A few more details I have 5 lugs in front 10 in back, it's a single speed rear-end and there is only one cylinder per FRONT wheel.
I'm curious if changing it to a split brake system is as easy as I think it would be.? Are we not just talking about a new master a few new lines and a new manifold. Sorry I don't have progress but I got several irons in the fire right now.

We've had another 'Bolter doing something similar with his truck, BTW -- Have you seen this?

I did not see that. There are about a couple dozen of these trucks through out the country. The very FIRST one was in NJ on a 48 ot 49 Reo Speedwagon years ago. It has been copied several times over the years not just with pizza but mobile bars, coffee even flowers. My truck will be different in that it will be completely self contained on the bed of the truck. That is a great write up and a really cool truck thanks.

Hy Unofornaio, I do not recognize those part numbers, could you tell me which company those numbers came from?

Centric..Uh oh..The box was delivered yesterday. I will wait to open it.😶

Hy Unofornaio, okay I crossed those Centric p/ns over to Raybestos/United p/ns which I am familiar with and it looks like you ordered what should be on your truck, please let us know how everything fits.

Wow finally a brake (Pun intended). Thank you for confirming. I will not have an opportunity till Monday to dig into this thing. Any Idea on part numbers for the springs ect? I figure I might as well do all I can while I'm in there. Literally every drop down list at these part sites is identical. They all skip over C40.

Hy Unofornaio, I believe your hardware kits should be Raybestos p/n H9200, just the return springs is Raybestos p/n H605, two required per axle, hope that helps.

@3B it's a shame you are not closer cause I've got a GOLD MEMBER Pizza card with your name on it..I found the spring parts all over the place best price no shipping on Amazon..You have no idea how much weight your help has lifted off my shoulders. I need to also thank @c10-c90bill (same user name here and at 67-72chevytrucks.com) for turning me on to this site as well. He's the one that said you are the man for this truck. Thank you all. We have a busy weekend coming up then the wife and I r taking a much needed min 3 day vacation next week so I will be off the grid for a bit. Next step registering this beast with the great state of CA. Ready for this? $600 and some change for one year. I will be sure to post some pics of the process. I think the easiest way to do that is to put links to a Google pix folder. See ya all soon.

If anyone wants to see what we do and how we do it check out this link Our feature in a local food show

Hi Unofornaio, I am also converting an old truck (1955 Chevy 5700) into a mobile pizza truck. I just joined the forum and am eager to get started on my project. Have you already mounted the pizza oven on your truck? It would be great to get in contact so we can bounce ideas off of each other.

Thanks,
Anthony

Hey Ann tone E as my Grandmother would have said it in broken English.
So I back almost a year later lol. I see that you are from PA I grew up in Vandergrift,PA about 30 miles East of Pittsburgh. I a just RE-Starting my process we have had a year of delays GOOD and BAD ones..But such is life right? I saw your last post of the bed frame and nothing after that. If you reply to this i will know you are still around. Im not aware of any notification features on this forum so I will have to check back.
.

Hy Unofornaio, welcome back, I'm glad to see you didn't suffer anything catastrophic that kept you from keeping us in the loop. Continued good luck on your conversion project!

Hey B Thank you..Not yet.. I'm doing the brakes today and I am giving myself a refresher course on drum brake removal. I think the last time I did them I was in my late 20's just turned 52 last month.lol. I'm just now into the hub.. wheels and drum came off surprisingly easy. Whole $hit those wheels and tires were heavy. I have an on going thread on the 67-72 Chevy site that I am also updating. I'm no expert but it appears there is plenty of meat on those shoes. The drum us not scored and just a slight lip very slight. I couldn't get a good pic of it.

And now for the bad news. New BOTTOM cylinders are incorrect. I took the bleeder screws out of the new bottoms before installing because I figured I don't need them. WELL it was only after flushing the lines then moving on to hook up the crossover line from top to bottom that I realized um...it doesn't fit the hole is whatever size for the bleeder screws NOT the brake line fitting. I can't even remember where I ordered them from. So back to square one. Unless I can use the guts of the new cylinders to rebuild the old ones then I'd be golden. The pic shows the old top and bottom. Bottom is the one without the bleeder screw. The numbers cast into the part are:
Driver side rear bottom: 545714 and above that best I can tell it's 362.
Passenger side rear bottom: 545714 and above that 346 it too is a very bad impression.
I'm researching those numbers after I finish this. I just thought I'd take a chance to see if anyone reconizes those numbers.

Is there ANY reason why i cannot use the parts from the NEW cylinders to rebuild the old ones??

I was thinking today I already have the NEW cylinders the only difference is the line ports. What I need is 2 ports, one to enter and one to feed the upper cylinder. Why cant I take the new ones and use them to rebuild the old lower ones? There is some pitting on the drivers side cylinder but it was NOT leaking. I realize some pitting is vague and relative I did not mike them but the pitting can be seen and felt. I am unable to determine if it is acceptable to hone and re-use. The passenger side has no pitting. but it was the one that was leaking

if they are the same bore, you should be able to hone the old ones out, clean them really well, and put the parts from the new cylinders in the old ones, unless the bore is so bad, you have to hone it way oversize to get it to clean up. At that point, you can have them bored out and sleeved.

Hey Mike,

Thank you for your help. I just cant believe these cylinders were made to fit ONE SINGLE vehicle. This is ridiculous now. I searched the part numbers cast on the unit and its cross reference numbers are all over the place. Its also amazing to me that how can this be the only vehicle that has a top and bottom wheel cylinder?
Believe it or not in this whole freaking town (Bakersfield) NOBODY rebuilds wheel cylinders anymore. So I am stuck with honing it out and hoping for the best. I cant seem to get a good pic of the pitting and I honestly do not know how much is acceptable. What is the tolerance of the rubber inserts? Just how "clean" do they need to be?

Also would it be insane to think re-tapping the bleeder outlet to fit the brake line would be an option? I know I'm reaching...

Difficult for the average person/shop, the inverted flare seat in the bottom to fit the brake line would be tricky to machine without special tools. Could be done at a good machine shop I suppose, but at that point easier and cheaper to resleeve the originals at the same machine shop.

There are shops like White Post Restorations that will bore and sleeve your cylinders with SS or Brass and rebuild then to better than new. I wouldn't trust pitted cylinders...you only have one system serving the front and rear brakes and it something fails you have nothing...do it right and sleep better.

Mike B

I agree Mike 100%


Yea if I can find one. I will try again on Monday.

Thank you guys

I am pretty sure the passenger side wheel seal is leaking. I just put 2 & 2 together today. I though it was just the brake fluid from the cylinder mixed with the brake dust but there was NOTHING on the brake components it was all focused around the axle on the inside of the hub and coming out of the weep holes in the hub. I was so focused on the wheel cylinders and getting it done I did not realize it until today. Yesterday I watched a video on the brakes and the vehicle he was working on had the same greasy build up as mine did before I cleaned it all off. It was very thick on the inside face of the hub it was a $%$# to get off.

Any pointers on where to start the search for the seal?? LOL its too ridiculous not to laugh. If I cant find freaking wheel cylinders for this truck what are the chances of finding seals and bearings?

Seals and bearings are generally very easy to get, they are standard components and available all over. They will have numbers on them that can be crossed over from manufacturer to manufacturer. The seal numbers will be on the face, the bearing numbers will be on the edges of the races. Bearings that are single units will have one number, bearings that disassemble (tapered roller bearings) will have a number on each race. You will need both numbers normally.

If there are no numbers on the seals, you can cross them by measuring the ID, OD and width along with looking at the lip design.

Find a bearing house locally or go on line with the info to get both bearings and seals.

50 years and the brake parts were clean of grease? I would not change the seal unless I had to remove it to replace the bearings. I would inspect the bearings before I decided anything needed replacing.

Baffles that direct leakage to weep holes have gaskets that can be replaced with RTV sealant, IF they need to come apart.

Thank you Sweepleader

So I found the correct REAR LOWER wheel cylinders (W37158) at a local joint that has been in business for decades here in town (Bakersfield, CA) I called them about a year ago and they told me NO don't have em cant get em. I Decided to go in and talk to the owner about rebuilding them and he said "why we have em in stock and they come with a free jar of VASELINE included in the $80.00 EACH" (HE DIDN'T SAY THAT BUT SHOULD HAVE) I was so frustrated with this thing I broke my own "NEVER trust the first person you ask" golden rule.

Any how during our conversation we got into the drum condition, replacement availability and the same for the front brakes and let me tell you it does NOT look good. I remember reading a thread about c50 drums being obsolete but I couldn't fine it again and do not remember the outcome I will have to look for it again. If and that is a STERN IF they can be found in stock he said were looking at around 500. each for the rears and 300.each for the fronts.

Now I supposedly have the cylinders for the fronts but I haven't even got to them yet and I am not sure if they are REALLY the correct ones. But this got me started thinking what the heck am I going to do when the drums need replacing? I didn't get specs from him on the drums, I had to run, so I do not even know how much life mine have left on them. I will get back to him later this week. The truck chassis has 86000 orig miles on it and I seriously doubt the drums have been replaced but with that many miles on it I am not evne sure they would need to yet. No guessing though I will measure them and see what I have.

But EVEN if they are good NOW eventually they will need to be replaced. I mean this truck is going to probably see MAYBE 50 miles a week around town but It would hate to hinder our travel distance simply because I cant find freaking brake replacement parts. Which may come sooner than later as when this truck is fully built out it will be OVER its 15000 GVWR. The oven alone weighs in at 3000lbs and the truck is already 9000 as it sits. But that's another story.

I sure most of you are going to say been there don that after reading this next part.. Now the brake issue has evolved from replacing all the wheel cylinders and making sure everything is ok to get this thing back on the road TO A BAD CASE OF "YOU MIGHT AS WELLS"

I might as well:

1. Find new hubs cause I am eventually going to need them.
2. Replace all the internal wheel seals and bearings (prompted by my discovery of the leak and more over its probably due right?)
3. Change out the wheels and tires (I have the not so deadly split rims) Firestone 20 x 6 XL see picture
4. Change to a dual master cylinder. (the single reservoir kinda scares me) BUT lets face it these trucks and many other vehicles with single systems worked fine for many years.

BUT not knowing if I can find replacement parts for the brakes in the future makes me wonder if continuing with this is even a good investment.

Wheel hubs rarely give trouble, don’t pay much for spares.

You do have the very undesirable Firestone RH5 wheels.

Sorry Grigg I've been consumed by wheel search. Please accept this pizza as an apology.

It's base is fresh ground white peaches then dry Salami, fresh garlic, black pepper, feta cheese and blue cheese. Cooked in 70 {second} at 900° I do a fresh fruit pizza for the summer from a local farmers. Those white peaches are like candy. Don't be put off by the fruit it's an awesome combination of sweet and salty..

To those close by me any help from Bakersfield, CA or close will earn you some free Grubb..

Thanks.
I have a friend who commutes to Bakersfield, I’ll see if he can collect the pizza!

Mmmm, pizza!

Is there any trick to adjusting brakes with dual wheel cylinders?

I was just going to get both of the adjustment screws close to a match and go from there. These DO NOT have an adjustment window/port. [NEVERMIND I FOUND THEM]
They were metal cutouts that were never removed just stamped. One of the edges was turned up. I will take a pic

I have never done ones without. I am going to get them close to the hub (I made a jig that is the size of the hub interior) then just let them make up the difference after a few back ups? Is there another way?

Thank you

PS I found a local tire shop that laughed when I said I'm trying to replace my widow makers because nobody will touch them..He said we do those ALL THE TIME bring it on down.