At 01:08 PM 8/17/2005, Duff Karen ES-19 103 FW/EM wrote:
>I have a friend with a 1952 1ton GMC tow truck, he's in stages of final
restoration and was looking to upgrade his brakes and is having a
difficult time finding an aftermarket product...
From: owner-oletrucks@autox.team.net
[mailto:owner-oletrucks@autox.team.net] On Behalf Of wayne osborne
Unfortunately I know of no after market brake upgrade kit for anything
above the 1/2 ton trucks. --wayne
* * * * * * * * * **
No "kit" one-ton upgrades? Too true. I have been looking for years.
If he wants to depart from stock, there are options. The brake hardware
from the backing plate out for the 53-58 one-tons should bolt right up,
look stock, provide a "stock look" yet exchange the Huck brakes for
Bendix style brakes.
A more secure upgrade would be to go to disks. It isn't stock,
but it stops a whole lot better. The spindle should support modern disk
brakes, the issue being the width of the spacer on the spindle between
the backing plate and the inner bearing.
In one of the recent truck magazines, there was an article about
an electric power brake kit. The kit comes in drum/drum, disk/drum, and
disk/disk configurations. The electric pump can be bolted out-of-sight
on a frame rail. The master cylinder can be mounted in the stock
location under the floor. The air reservoir can also be mounted
out-of-sight. The reservoir can be mounted with the master cylinder or
remotely, which means it can be mounted on a fender wall unobtrusively
and far more accessibly. If the front brakes were converted to disk,
that would provide the additional power needed to adequately pressurize
the disks. If the Huck brakes were maintained, the system should
provide significantly greater stopping power than stock, but won't
resolve the "no brakes when wet" issue those brakes have always had.
My $.02.
RT
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