The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk 1950 rear brakes

how do you adjust the rear shoes on a 1950 1/2 truck there are no holes in the backing plate or drums thanks

leonard, sometimes the ones in the drums are hard to find so you can punch out the knock outs. Look close as sometimes the dirt and grease will hide the outline.

Has the rear axle housing been changed? Possible someone has put a later model housing with self-adjusting brakes? In most cases you can pull the drums off and knock out the hole for the adjuster opening.

pulled the drums and the adjuster is made on the wheel cy found the knock out at the top of the backing plate on each side of the wheel cy now to get the brakes to bleed

Got a pic? That don't sound right, adjusters on the wheel cylinder, but I'm not familar with all the rearends out there.

here is a pic of that style on the front of my 50, Huck type
...pic...
that's what he has on the rear

Is that the pre-bendix brake system?

yes
According to the manual The bendix type started later
Huck 48-50
48-51 on some big trucks,

although I found bendix type on the rear of my 50. Changed over the years

that is the ones i have in the pic. now what is the best way to get the air out of the lines. i think i may have a bad master cy. new out of the box. can not get it to pump fluid to the wheel cy

Somebody on here told me 53 was the first year for the Bendix system. Maybe thats for 1 ton only?

http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com/shop/1948_51truck/51ctsm0502.htm

http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com/shop/1948_51truck/51ctsm0503.htm
Im not sure when the bendix style came in. Above are pages from the manual.


did you bench bleed your M/C? you may have air trapped.

On 1/2 ton trucks, 1951 was the first years for factory Bendix style brakes on both front and rear (as shown in the Shop Manual in the link above).

I've just finished a conversion to front discs, with a dual master cylinder upgrade. Replaced all the brake lines and flex hoses, and replaced the huck rear wheel cylinders.

You want to make sure that you bench bleed the master cylinder, as an air pocket there can cause problems bleeding the system. Take a little time and adjust the wheel cylinders to get the brake shoes dialled-in.

I found it took a lot longer to get fluid to the rears than it did to the fronts, so patience will help as well. Make sure you've got the brake pedal travel sorted out at the master cylinder, so that you're moving enough fluid with each stroke.