The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Driveline 1950 chevy 3100 parking brake

Hi there i am new here and new to my truck its 50 shortbox frame off 400sbc 700r4 with cordoba front 10bolt posi rear very cherry, the foot pedal park brake installed with release all cables springs etc are brand new. Problem i have is the pedal will not stay in locked position engaged? I cant see a gear or something to hold it in engaged position at the flooror underneath? Anybody can help?

Do you have this system as in Fiq.9 or a newer parking brake system?


http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com/shop/1948_51truck/51ctsm0506.htm

hi drewp, yes thats the one i have as in picture

does anyone know how it locks? the lockbar is just a shaft there is no teeth or anything to lock?

It locks by friction between the inside edge of the pedal lock against the lock bar. Do you have a spring around the lock bar between the pedal lock and the floor?

hi, yes there is a spring there between floor & pedal lock, is it not loaded enough? wats up thks

HELP

Does anyone know how to adjust it so it locks? i cant figure

Nobadays- it has been quite a while since I took mine apart and I am not yet at the stage of reassembling it so my recolection may be flawed. I seem to remember the pedal lock having a tapered edge where it engages the shaft. The spring should be trying to place it in a slight bind in relation to the shaft. I think it may only work if the taper (similar to a thick knife edge) is facing the right direction in relation to the shaft. I never had problems remembering how things go back together when doing repairs but after 2+ years I am very thankful for the assembly manual and this forum.

Chuck

Thanks Hookalatch, i took it all apart and filed the knife edges removing paint etc. I also noticed the spring almost fits through the hole in the floor so it was partially out not fully loading. I drilled & filed a flat washer so the spring would sit in its proper place without falling out of the hole. If you know what I mean?? Anyway now its working, kinda crappy engineering i think, it can slip. cheers

Yes, they do tend to slip. They may not have new but they do now.

nobadays, I too had the same problem,I 'cured' it by filing the bar as suggested to increase the 'bite',I also stretched the spring slightly to increase the load on the bar.
It's still not as good as I would like though........

Our annual inspection requires a working parking brake so I hope mine will hold long enough for a pass ticket.

Having the same issue and wonder if you were able to solve the problem ? I just replaced the parking brake (autobody shop lost mine! argh!!).. and it wont bind when I push on the parking brake. Anyway, I found an original replacement, Lever, Push Rod and Bracket. I get everything mounted up and push the lever and NADA!
HOping you might have a tip or two to get this to work.

Mine was missing when I got my 49-3100. Got all the parts and it now works fine, However you must clean with scotch brite, sand paper or whatever, the shaft going thru the firewall. No rust and no paint as someone on this fine site pointed out to me--Bill

Thanks, I had given the rod a quick blast of spray paint to clean it up, perhaps that didn't help things.. I will sand it off and try it again.. Thanks!

Just cleaned off all the paint and rust and put everything back together, but still will not engage.. I guess it could be the spring, but the spring sure seems robust enough to push out the lever. Not sure what else I am missing here, since there isn't a whole lot of moving parts..