The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Driveline 1946 Chevy 1/2Ton - Brake Hardware Clips

I have Huck brakes and they use a slide-on clip to hold the pins in place. You slide them on and bend them over, but they don't really fit snug. So I took my pliers to squeeze them for a tighter fit. I'm just afraid they might slip off. Has anyone replaced these with a C-clip or does anyone know a vendor that sells the original clips? Most places say they are "replacement" fit. Or maybe someone has a secret way to install these for a better fit?

Hi York,

Here is what I used when I repaired my brakes.

I'm actually glad that my original hardware was not reusable because I don't like the looks of those weirdo clips.

The big ones are 5/8" E-clips from Ace Hardware.

The horseshoe clips are standard brake parts for lots of different cars in the 60s and 70s. I got them at Advance. Dorman sells them in the Help aisle as well.

When installing them, don't try to put them on the end of the spring. Put the spring on the pin and stick it through the hole and then slide the horseshoe into the slot and squeeze the legs together slightly.

Trying to put the horseshoe over the spring is not good.

These retainers are much better than the originals, in my opinion. Smaller E-clips would probably work for the springs but the horseshoes are sturdier and actually made for brakes. I wasn't sure little E clips would hold up under the spring tension.

I did the brakes about 3 years or so ago and have 10,000+ miles on them since then.

Seeing yours makes me wish I'd painted everything but I needed to get the truck back in service. I use it for work.

I picked up some E-clips from Ace Hardware and I went to O'Reilly's to see if they had any of those horseshoe clips. The worker looked up Dorman part# HW1177 (part number I got from Autozone), but didn't see it listed. He showed me the screen and I saw the picture of what I needed - Dorman part# H1177-2. He brought a small box out with a package of 4 for $2.89. When he was in the back, he saw another box with part# H1177. It had a package of 50 for $4.89. Umm, I took the box of 50. I like having a few extras, but this is kind of ridiculous. Oh well.

Question: Is there a right/wrong way to install the bigger pins? Do all of them go in from the front? Does the bigger middle pin go in from the front and clipped in from the back side? Do the two small ones on the sides go in from the back? I've seen pictures of both ways. The pictures of the smaller pins with springs seem to have the springs towards the outside and the clip goes on the back side.

Three of my trucks have Huck brakes and I have redone all of the brakes. The original clips cannot come off if the clip is not damaged. I flatten them after installation and that is all. They don't have to be tight, they can rattle around as long as they cannot fall off. They are made of a very soft malleable metal and after several cycles of off and on they will break. Over the years I have searched auctions and vendor sales and accumulated enough of various sizes to last me for awhile.

I hope that your modifications of the original engineering is successful, for your sake and the sake of others on the road.
Kent

As long as there is no interference with the springs, I think they can go either way. When I took apart my brakes I did one side at a time so I could look at the other side for reference. Some of the springs were on the inboard side and some were on the outboard side.

I'll look at all my pictures to see what direction I placed everything. In all likelihood I returned them to the position they were in when I removed them. There's no telling if that was correct, though.

As you can see, I installed some with different orientation. Most likely I did this for ease of installation. Videos I watched online showed the assembly in different ways, too.

Thanks Kent. I'm looking and debating what I'm going to do. Yesterday when I had the center pin in and holding the brake shoes, I was trying to connect the parking brake and the clip fell off. This was giving me some concern since I did bend the clip down as flat as I could. I did pick up some E-clips today from Ace and I'm going to do some testing to see if they work better. Now's the time since all four corners are still open and easy to get to.

Original style clips can be found at Jim Carter Truck Parts. I re-use the originals as long as they are not too deformed.

These clips are analagous to cotter pins. Very soft maleable items that are very important but don't need to be robust to do their job.

Kent