The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop 1 Ton Huck rear Brakes

Well, I have been working on taking the rear shoes of my 1 Ton, and they are Huck brakes. What a horrible job it is getting the main pivot pin and pin lock off!!! Anyhow, for those who may be interested, Chevs of the 40s carries the correct "E Clip" for that main pin. They describe it has " 1 3/16" O. D. " and that makes no sense at all. The actual diameter of the groove is around 3/4".

I hear ya buddy! I just finsihed installing new rear wheel cylinders in my 1940 Canadian 1 ton with 14" rear brakes. They are monsters to work on.

I think that the OD measurement is the Outer Diameter of the actual "warped washer" clip.

I would think that the ID would be more useful, though!

I must say that the pin lock (washer) for the main bottom pin did not survive the removal. I thought that I might survive it but I prevailed and sacrificed the part!

I have solved the mystery of the pinlock and Eclip descriptions in the Chevs of the 40s catalog. When they describe the O.D. , this is the oustside diameter of the original pinlock clips. When the description describes the O. D. of the Eclip, this is the outside diameter of the original pinlock that the Eclip replaces. Thus for the large pins on the 51 1 Ton, the proper O.D. is 1 3/16". Since these parts are hard to come by, I thought that this explanation would be worth mentioning.

Ok ya got my curiosity up Fred, so I got out the Chevy's of the 40's catalog and $6.00 for 2 of the original shoe hold down pin lock clips is ridiculous and an E-clip from them at $1.50 a pair is equally ridiculous. These are the prices for a set (2) clips. Each wheel requires 3 of the larger clips and 2 of the smaller ones. The way I add it up you need 6 pair of the original clips and 4 pair of the smaller E-clips for a complete 4 wheel brake job that comes to $42 just for the new clips from the vendor.
The E-clip may not have been in general use in the early fifties so even an absolute purist like me would not hesitate to replace the old style bent metal clip with a more up to date E-clip. I don't see any reason why they wouldn't work just as good, and in my opinion better than the original clips. McMaster Carr has the larger E-clips for less than eight bucks for 50 count, and the same cost for the smaller ones at 100 pieces. That’s .16c and .08c respectively. (anybody know the ascii code for cent??).
I’m finishing up my front brakes this weekend and the old clips look fine and are completely reusable, so I am reusing them. But I will mic the groves in the pins before finishing the last one and next order to McMaster I’ll order a box of each for the future.

Speaking of brakes, I had the lines off from the MC to the tee and from there forward and believe it or not, they cleaned up like new. Just caked with grease and mud, no rust on them anywhere. I flushed the insides with brake cleaner and pulled a heavy cotton string soaked with brake cleaner through them. Of course the rubber hoses are being replaced along with the shoes and WC’s being honed and rebuilt. The only problem I had was with one of the flare nuts on the line that crosses over in front of the engine. It was tight coming out and will not start going back in so I am placing that order to McMaster today for a 7/16-24 die to chase the thread with and I’ll throw in a couple of boxes of E-clip, just so I’ll have them next time this comes up.
Keep it on the Hard Road, tonight!!
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

& # 162 or alt 155 = &#162 or ¢
anybody old enuff to remember that there was a ¢ key on typewriters? back in the days of penny candy

Bill

you wouldn't really the cent key since you have the decimal place. you could just use the $. if you did it would be 16/100 ths of a cent. you may get more comments on this than your brakes. just stumbled on this looking for answers to my brake question. i agree that first one is kind of pricey.

There's a guy in Grand Rapids that has a huge selection of old parts, and I was able to get several of those warped washer retaining clips (original style) for my '46 for about a buck and a half.

Denny,
I was just pleased about solving their description in Chevs of the 40s. If you get a set of brakes that have been rusting in the muck for years, those old clips are nearly impossible to remove in one piece.

If you can post the size of the Eclips, that would be great.

It is funny how somw brake lines get covered in greese and preserved on the outside, isn't it?

Fred

Anybody have a diagram of Huck brakes for a 49 3/4 ton GMC. I am have a challenge getting everything working correctly. My maintenance manual shows later model brakes, so guessing my way through. Apologize if already a post on this.
Thanks
Willie

Here are a few pics of a '50, 3/4 ton chevy, see if they look familiar.
http://rides.webshots.com/album/555161678EhIoCb?start=36
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Denny
The pics are great and looks like a great 'How to" for the rest of my work. I did use the pics to confirm that I had all parts in proper places. How can I copy (If you allow) the photo album of your work. It would be really handy to have on my computer for quick reference. I glanced thru some of the other photos and know that your expertise and work will save me a lot of time and mistakes. By the way, great looking truck. Thanks again.
Willie

Tks Willie, nothing that important there, you can copy to your hearts content. After the picture loads in Webshots go down to the magnafying glass below it and click on it, that will bring up the picture in a format that you can copy.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Ya know Fred, somewhere in one of these threads you made a comment about how the Huck brakes have gotten a bad rap. And now that you've been driving your truck you thought the Huck brakes were fine??
Well, I would have to agree with ya 100%. I just gotta say to anyone that is knocking the Huck brakes that if your having a problem with them, than ya need to service them properly.
As you did Fred, I disassembled my complete system on my '50, 3604, and I mean the complete system. All new lines and fittings, rebuilt the wheel and master cylinders, I mean really rebuilt, not just putting a kit in as some do. When I say rebuilt I mean honed till clean or re-sleeved in the case of the rears. Chasing the threads and clean the bleeder seats with brass brush, install new bleeders. Remove every part starting with the backing plates and removal of the entire parking brake assembly and clean everything down to bare metal. New springs, shoes, clips, bearings and seals and then make the proper adjustments. If you do all of that, your Huck brakes should be back to "from the factory" condition and they will work just like they did when new.
I've put around a 1000 miles on my truck this summer and I can lock up the wheels if I apply firm pressure and normal stops only take a light touch on the pedal. The truck stops straight ahead, hands off, with no pulling to either side. The pedal is as solid as a rock, right at the top with just the proper clearance. I can detect a slight amount of normal brake shoe wear at the first application of the pedal now, which has progressively dropped about an inch or so over the summer, still a hard pedal, indicating that a little touch up or normal maintenance is in order on the brake shoe adjustment at the 1000 mile lube and check up. A second touch brings the pedal right back up to the top.
So I'm perfectly happy with my Huck brakes, they work just fine and I can see no reason to replace them.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Denny
I was looking at your album for some confirmation on Huck brake set up. My old truck was in pieces, so did not have the chance to see how the original was assembled. Not sure if any diff between 49 GMC 3/4 ton and your rear brakes, but see a center plate that extends up in two places to hold the shoes in place. I do not have those aligning plates and have one brake that wants to 'travel' out of position and lock up. I will check all of my spare parts , but do not remember seeing anything like the one in your photo album 'Brakes Finished RR 02'. It is the center part that appears to bolt directly next to the backing plate with 'ears' that hold the brake shoes aligned. My service manual shows later style brakes, so no help there either. My lack of good service detail on these brakes is really frustrating, so any help with service detail/diagrams/manuals would also be appreciated.
Thanks
Willie

Sorry Willie, but I’m still on a dial up connection and it takes me a couple of hours to page through my album and find anything. Generally I just post a picture to help describe what I have found on my ’50, 3604 and only have to go back to it on an occasion like this.
http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2877281980098611668Nndsis
This pretty much shows all the parts that come off the 3/4-ton Chevy AD rear brakes: http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2797800350098611668ZwzcsB
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Denny-Thanks for taking the time to look up the data. I am definitely missing the center pieces shown in the second link pictures above. I do have the horseshoe shaped pieces shown in the first link (center left pictures), but haven't figured out where they fit yet. Do you know where I can find the center pieces that hold the brake shoes aligned? None of my parts suppliers show them in their catalogs or on site. I am still looking locally, but find that 3/4 ton stuff is hard to find. Thanks again.

I don't know of any supplier that has the parts new. You might try putting an ad in the Parts Wanted forum.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

I am still trying to find some parts locally, but will try the Parts wanted section if no luck locally. I am also looking for a service manual with good diagrams/detail on different style Huck Brakes. Thanks
Willie

I found the parts needed on a recent trip.
Thanks
Willie