The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Just a little Huck job encouragement.

You old timers can skip this one, you've been here before. For those newbes that are about to attack your 56 year old brakes, it can be kind of discouraging when you first open them up. Here’s a couple of Before and After pictures of my ‘50, 3604 rear brakes and the full floater hub adjusting nut tool that may encourage you and maybe give you a little hope;
http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2805783790098611668XzKNig
http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2668798830098611668cSIagL
http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2838654500098611668rMCUhW
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Denny; Hi, just wanted to ask you a question about the parking brake. In your picture of the parking brake spring and rod, how long is the wire hook between the spring and the clevice? Mine was missing the wire hook, but I have the rod and the spring is still attached to the frame. I grew up not to far you, (get this, the towns name was "Bulpitt, Illinois"). It was a coal mine town about 30 miles south of Springfield, population 250.

Denny, great pics and explanation..you should rewrite the factory manual!

Nice gallery. It looks like you are doing a masterful job of restoration. It looks like you share the same rear end as my '57 3600 but the brakes are slightly different. Just curious what you will be doing with the front brakes. Insofar as discs must be engineered for these things, I installed a hydrovac and kept my drums for the time being. Be interested in your opinions and comments, Thanks, Skip

Denny,
very nice photos, before and after and that tool. It looks like you have overload springs and I thought they only came with the trucks 1 1/2 Tons and up. I wonder it there was some kind of option on the 3600. Mine is a 1 Ton single and there are no overloads.

Eric, the wire is 7" long over all. The hooks are bent around a half inch dia form, the front one that is hooked into the clevis has about an inch of straight leg on it and is bent about 160 degrees. The rear hook that goes with the spring is bent a full 180 degrees and only about an 1/8" straight leg. The wire diameter mics at .112". These are available from vendors like Jim Carter, LNC, Chevy Duty and are relatively inexpensive.
Skip, I'm trying to keep every thing stock. The front brakes are finished the same as the rear. I think the later brakes were Bendix as opposed to the Huck brakes on the '50.
Fred, I’m not sure myself, the ’49 Truck Data Book shows option 267, Auxiliary Rear Springs, available for series 4000 but makes no mention of an option for the 3600 series.
The standard spring according to the chart was a two-stage type and says the 5000, 6100 and 6400 came with the Auxiliary springs. The 3600 frame is 5 27/32” and the 4100 frame is 7”. These spring bumpers are bolted with a clamp to the inside of the frame and they it my frame width so there must have been an option for the 3600 series.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL