Last winter I rebuilt the front end on my '48. When the Huck brake drums were
inspected, I found they were toast. Jim Carter was importing some repo drums
and I ordered a pair. They had to be turned slightly to fit over the new
shoes, but I thought nothing of the made in Argentina stamp on the drums.
Now that I have been driving the old girl some after final assembly, I have
noticed a shake (wobble) in the steering at about 50-55 mph that was not
there before. I couldn't tell if it was drive train or the front end. Well,
I used my 6" bench grinder to spin one front wheel at a time. Both shook
quite badly. (The wheels were just balanced.) While the wheels were still
spinning, I stuck my head behind the wheel and noticed the drums are badly
out of round, one of them by about a 1/4" or so. I took the drums off and
with a caliper determined these castings are good material for a boat anchor.
They are loop-sided (thick on one side and thin on the other) and probably
not safe to use. Now to my questions.
What parts will I need to convert my front Huck brakes to Bendix style? Will
my spindles and bearings work with the Bendix backing plates and hubs? Maybe
some who have converted to discs up front have Bendix parts laying around
collecting dust. Ping me off list if you have any parts I need. Thanks as
always.
If anyone from Jim Carter is monitoring the list, maybe you should check your
stock of drums and see if they are all like this.
Mike Klepp
'48 3100
Wichita Falls, TX (Fed up with Huck brakes)
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