The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop '41 Parking Brake Cable Questions

Okay, I got my vinyl parking brake cables and stuff from Jim Carter, so I tried to tackle that project today. The long spring looks like it goes thru the backing plate and between it and the parking brake shoe lever. But it pushes against the lever quite a bit which makes me wonder if that's correct. Plus half the time it knocks the connector off the lever. Has anybody dealt with these vinyl covered cables and is that the correct way it is supposed to be? I'm thinking that the spring should be on the other side (outside) of the mounting plate between it and the end of the cable housing?

Secondly, does anybody have a photo or a good description of what the parking brake system is like on a '41 Chevy half ton? Mine looks like it was jury rigged with cables tied off onto a tension bolt or rod (like those things you used to tighten the cables on a gate or truss rod). On my new cables, there's no place for the other ends (threaded) to bolt on to.

Hope this all makes sense. Wish I had a digital camera to explain it better.

Further to my query, I was looking at a chassis lube diagram which shows the parking brake system, albeit from far away and not terribly detailed. It looks like there is a rod that extends from the handle to about the middle of the truck with a section or bracket that the brake cables screw in to. Is that right? If so, then geez, am I missing a bunch of parts! I was looking at the used parts section of good ol' American Classic and it looks like they've got most of the stuff I need.

Charlie, that rod that your refering too; I have an extra rod for you if you want it. Pay shipping and it's yours. Don't have an extra handle though. john.

Charlie Brown,

I purchased to vinyl wrapped cables and found out they are not an exact match to the original. The original cables had an inside and outside plate that mounted to the brake plate on the rear end housing. The vinyl only come with one. It took some messing around, but I finally got mine to work. If you give me a couple of days, I can try posting shots of the linkage underneath the truck. If you run into trouble with the hardware, I could pop a drum for you and take a shot or two of that as well. Let me know if you need more help.

Thanks for the help, 46 Inprogress. John did a pretty good job in describing how it all works and is going to supply the missing brake rod. My biggest problem is that long spring between the mounting bracket and the lug & clip that attach to the parking brake shoe lever. Did yours come with that spring? I keep thinking that it's not supposed to be there. A friend who knows something about these old trucks is coming down this weekend and I'll have him take a look at it. I also wrote Jim Carter, but haven't heard back from them. I'll keep you posted and will let you know how it goes.

Charlie,

When you install your cables, you will have to pull a lot of cable through the hanger, and still have to tighten up the threaded end quite a bit. That long spring will not be so long when you are all done. Without all the correct parts the cables won't go together right. You wont be able to hold the tension on the spring to keep it from knocking all of the parts off at the shoes. (yes..some brake wizard might jump in and tell us all how to do it). Once you get the brake rod,that should help 100 %. I finally got my digital camera up and running so let me know if you need some photos. Also, the cable ends on the vinyl are larger than the metal wrapped. It took a little persuading to get the ends to go into the metal bracket by the cable wheels...again...a photo might help explain. Let me know. Also, I would like to see a photo of your truck. Johns looks great. Mine..as the name implies...is IN PROGRESS....

Good Luck.

I had a local instrument shop (Instrument Sales & Service) make me some new cables using my old ones as a pattern, and they fit perfectly. Another way to go if you want them right. I paid $80 for the pair and they had them done in three hours.

Charlie, I had to try out the new camera. If the link does not work, I will try it again. I only have one webshots album so take a look. I photographed both ends of the brake rod and the cable stuff.

http://community.webshots.com/user/46inprogess

Good Luck on your brakes. My project is to start and finish the line install in the next week or so.

Steppenwood, if you look too, I took a shot of my oil filter canister for your post from last week.

Josiah: In hindsight, I would probably do what you did in getting some new cables made up. Do all instrument places do that?

46 Inprogress: Thanks for the pix and help. It's nice to have photographic evidence of what it's supposed to look like. It appears that we're at about the same stage on our trucks. Wish I could post a photo of my truck, but I've got this webtv thingy which doesn't do that kind of fancy stuff. But it looks much like yours does. I have to ask you about the grain chute, what's that all about? I'm about to tackle the brake lines after getting the parking brake done. I've got the pre-formed stainless steel ones ready to go (okay, I've had them for a couple of years and they haven't gone anywhere yet). Also got an extra brake hose if anybody needs one. Whoever heard of a truck that only uses 3 brake hoses??? I'd like to hear how things turn out on your truck.

What's up with the Grain Chute?

The story as I got it, the first owner owner was a North Dakota farmer. If he was like my grandpa, he could never justify owning a truck he would only use during harvest. These guys would install large wooden side racks (that is what my front clip is resting on in the bed). The side boards would allow a much larger cargo of grain. Once ya get to the Farmer's Co op elevator, ya raise the handle on the grain chute and out comes the grain.

In my granpa's case, he had a late 50's Chev without a grain chute. The guys at the elevator would actually raise it on the dump hoist after opening the tail gate. One of those things that stand out in my memory of trips to town was that old truck on the dump hoist. The whole road bed in the grain elevator raised up putting the truck almost vertical. Grandpa bought a used 54 Chev with a hoist box in 74 or 75 so no more using the pickup to haul the grain.

Based on the amount of soy beans I found in my truck, I am guessing that is what the deal was.

My thoughts for now....the grain chute goes when I get a new tail gate. The look ain't too smooth on the back end.

I'm not sure if they do or not. ISS is a very large shop around here. If they don't look for a place that does industrial push-pull cables. They are usually located in an industrial district.

46 inprogress, thanks for posting those pics. Looks like your making some good progress there.

Just wanted to say a great big thank you for all the advice and pics and parts. I tackled the brakes today and got 'em all done except for adjusting them. The parking brake system really is simple once you have the right parts (thanks John). And that long spring didn't give me much trouble once I figured out that the best way to do it is to install the cable to the rod and then deal with putting the clevis on the lever.

One last tiny item, I noticed that the brackets that hold the cable ends have a hole in them which looks like there should be a small bolt or screw that goes in there, possibly to hold the cable in place? The cable seems pretty secure and I noticed that there wasn't anything like that in the photos, so maybe I'm wrong about that. Not that I'm ever wrong.
Thanks again for everything!

Charlie,

Not sure if you are talking about my brake photos or Steppenwoods...but I have not put the bolts in yet that hold the brake cable ends...

yes..they should be in...but as the name implies...IN Progress....I just finished installing the lines and bleeding them. We can stop my truck...now all I need is an enging that runs for more than 20 seconds....

Also...do you have pics of your truck?

Charlie...

Yep..I thought I asked you about pics...Web TV...I forgot.

Sorry...Slow on the uptake tonight.

Post pics if you ever get the chance.

Keep in touch.

46: Yeah, I meant your photos. For what it's worth, I don't have any problems accessing and enlarging your photos with my $99 webtv thingy. Thanks for the reply, I'll put some bolts in there today. Had to use half a can of WD-40 to get the cable wheels to rotate. I didn't think to take any pics of the truck before I began tearing it apart and it's in a rather small garage (I have about two feet of clearance on either side). I've got a couple of photos with it in the background and I'll try to convince a friend who has a real genuine computer to somehow post them.

I believe the hole in the housing you're referring to is for a grease fitting. I can remember greasing brake cables on old Chevy pickups way back when I ran the lube rack at a service station! That was 40 years ago, though!
Jerry

Well, between Charlie Browns questions and 46 inprogress's answers (including the great photo's), I thought that I had this whole parking brake issue licked. I took my new Jim Carter cables and all of the associated paraphenalia and proceeded to whip out this little chore before lunch today. But nooooooo! When I removed the drum, I found nothing inside to attach the cable to! My poor quality repro service manual, seems to show some type of lever, which (I assume) performs a similiar function as the brake cylinder. A. Is my assumption correct? B. Where can I get two of these little levers? and C. as much as I hate to ask, could 46 inprogress pop a drum and snap a picture for me???? Thanks in advance, Jesse

Hi Jesse and welcome to the group! Kinda thought that somebody with more knowledge would've chimed in with an answer, but I'll chip in with what I've learned recently. Yes, there should be a lever that bolts to the top hole in the rear brake shoe. It hangs down vertically and the cable clevis goes on at the bottom. I checked my catalogs and couldn't find anybody who sells the parking brake shoe lever (I think that's the official name of it), but you might check the swap meet section of this site and some of the vendors who sell used parts (Jim Carter, American Classic, etc.). One tip that I learned when installing the cable is to bolt the cable up to the rod first, then attach the cable clevis to the lever. Otherwise, the spring just knocks the clevis off the lever.

I've read other posts from folks who have the same problem of the missing lever. Is it my imagination or was the parking brake system the least maintained item on these old trucks???

By the way...I did pop a drum. Not much to see. The axle gets in the way. Maybe someone has an exploded view of a rear Huck brake? I have seen one on some website...but can't remember where.

Yes..there is a lever on the brake shoe along with another round lever that runs just underneath the master cylinder. As I recall, it is notched like an arrow to fit the brake shoe on the top. When you activate the P-brake lever, the top rod makes the top of the shoes expand (?) too. Unless you see a diagram or the real thing, it won't make any sense (unless you are a brake guy).

Sorry..no help on the photo...it would be just like the door latch I posted for Steppenwood...a shot of a metal and brake pads.

Thanks....both of you! A fella faxed me a page of the Master Parts List which shows the "lever", "spring" and "extension" that I need. Now I just gotta find 'em! Thanks again guys. Jesse

Jesse,

What are you building? Let's see some pics....a 37 would be cool to see.

Seems like you are getting help on your cables, so I won't go into that part. But I may be able
to help you send pictures from your webtv. My
wife uses webtv and when she wants to send pictures, I put them on my computer for her to
send to her e-mail addresses, so if you have a
friend with the equipment and is on line, he could do the same for you.

Truck Tinker from Talking Rock, Ga.