VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - GENERAL Mechanical - Engine, Trans, etc How to install a parking brake spring

Can someone tell me how to install a Hand parking brake pull back spring on a 39.

Sure,

Just run the adjusting nut way out until it gives you enough slack to hook the spring in the pull-back bar and the hook plate on the housing. Then tighten the nut back up to take up the slack without pulling the brake pads to the drum.

Tinker with it until the slack is out and you have a good distance in the parking brake handle.

Good luck,
Charlie

On my 41 you end up having to stretch the spring about an inch. The brake cables that run to the rear springs are not long enough to reattach their threaded ends into their mounting bracket. In my mid 50's I was strong enough to grasp the end of the spring and pull it into place just using my hands and arms strength. It really helped if I made a big manly roar as I did it. Somewhere between my mid 50's and early sixties I lost the strength to do this no matter how much manly noise I made.

My solution now is to back off the nut closest to the end of each cable (there are two on each cable). I never adjust the second nut, the one closest to the rear axle, on each cable, because that nut provides the proper tension for the correct operation of my emergency brakes.

I Attach the end of the spring to its cross member bracket. Put on a pair of mechanic gloves, I prefer the ones with leather palms. Then, lying on my back, I put both legs on the transmission cross member and pull the spring towards me and hook it into the bracket on the differential casing.

Of course you need to have long enough arms and legs to reach off your garage floor to the cross member while lying on your back. Which I hope Charlie's significant other does have. Notice to be politically correct I didn't mention words like wife, girl or boy friend or hot neighbor. I have found I don't need to make any manly noise when I do it this way. I do have to push my Staples Easy Button when the spring is stretched in place, and the cable nuts are tight.

According to Chevy's of the 40's the same spring is used from 1940 to 54 so my technique should work for those years???

Sorry, I forgot to mention that I am 6' 3" tall. Maybe Charlie will need some neighborly help?

Good luck, Mike

Sorry guys..what cable...Are you sure 39's had a cable? I see the pull back bar which has a hole in it..anyone got some pictures for me..What does the hook plate look like? Also in the Master parts Cat, it says 37-39 the spring is 5.5" long and 40 -51 the spring is 8.75" long

Not ever having a 39, I don't know much about the critters. I just assumed that the parking brake was similar to a 41 and such. I thought they had cables running from the activator arms in the brake mechanism that activated the shoes to drum. They ran toward the center and joined to the arm at the transmission cross support.

Where is Gene, who is an expert on 39s, on this question? Hope he's okay, because I can't believe he's not jumping all over this one.

In the meantime get a length of rope and a cinder block. Whenever you stop on an incline, you just hold down on those Huck brakes, have the missus hop out, fish the cinder block out of the trunk and then securely tie it to the rear bumper. That should hold it. For steep inclines use two cinder blocks. And tell her to hurry up, it's tiring to hold that brake peddle for very long. Heck, that's what 37 and 38 owners do.

Hope you get a better answer soon. That cinder block can be right embarrassing to the missus, especially in town.

Charlie

BTW: If you have WW tires don't turn them toward the curb to hold the car. Might scuff 'em. You could get some chocks. Easier on the missus.

On the 39 there are two rods..each connect to a brake cable to activate the shoe. The two rods do come to one point and joint on a arm that also has a rod that runs forward to the hand brake lever. Now I assume on this arm one of the ends of the pull back spring is connected to it cause I see a hole on the arm..but where does the other end of this spring connect to..some are telling me a cable that run to the frame someplace..But I'm pretty sure I never saw a cable connected to the spring..I thought is hooked on something..but not sure what that something was...And not sure the length of this spring..I think it suppose to be 5 1/2" long..But the Master Parts Cat. is a little confusing on this issue..

I'm thinking that one end of the spring hooks into the bottom of the torque tube and the other on the horizontal lever thus pulling it rearward and keeping it tight so it doesn't rattle.

Charlie

Thanks..but what's a Torque Tube?

Twigs,

I wish to apologize for myself and Charlie. Your emergency brake system (1939) is very different than ours which is the 1941 system.

As to your question, what is a torque tube? A torque tube covers the universal joint in 40 to 54 passenger cars. It is attached to the back of the three speed transmission and attaches to the front of the differential carrier or propeller shaft housing.



Both of us need a time out for not paying better attention to your question.

Thanks, Mike

That is ok..I was so confused on getting so many different answers..Ah now I know what a Torque Tube is...on the 39 there is something similar to the picture..I think I missing the seal in mine..do you know Chevy Gene? Need to know his VCCA name..I'm told he knows everything about 39's

The Gene you are looking for is Chev Nut

Twigs,

Do you know how to send a PM (Personal Message) on our chat site? I'm sure Gene would love to help you out and might even exchange phone numbers with you to make things easier.

The good thing about your asking questions on the chat site (rather than to Gene over the phone or a PM) is that a lot of others will read your questions and the answers of other 39 owners and learn from them. We are a dying breed so the index of past posts for our chat site will serve other generations of car guys.

Good luck, Mike

I will be doing some research on this tomorrow.

Thank you all for pitching in and helping find Gene and trying to answer my question

I, too, apologize. You and I have good intentions but all over the place with the more modern 41 mechanical changes.

Thank goodness we now have Gene on board.

Charlie

BTW: That ain't no stinkin torque tube. You're on your own on that one.

The picture Mike posted is of the U joint ball. The U joint is in the large front part of the ball. The ball slides onto the torque tube. The T.T. encloses the drive shaft which is inside the T.T. The T. T. then extends back to the differential.
The brake pull back spring ataches to the left (drivers) side of the parking brake cross bar. The back of the spring is then hooked to a very long rod (heavy wire) that connects (attaches) the the bracket at the rear of the muffler. The rod is part # 350377, group 4.832 in the parts book. No length is listed. Can send some rather poor pictures from the engineering manual.

Is the spring about 5.5" long with 40 coils?

It would be spring part number 3651984 annd fits 1939 cars only according to the 1953 parts book and is 10 15/16 long with 60 coils.
In the next few days I will be sliding under my '39 and will see what mine looks like.

Ah ..thanks..was so confused..my 29-51 parts booked list a few..

The spring on my original 39 is about 5.5 with 40 coils and is attached to the rear muffler bracket with a long heavy wire extension. It does not look like the spring or wire have been replaced. I have had it 44 years but I am not sure what my grandfather did to it.

Dave

Hmmm
Gene chevnut tells me the spring is 10" long..do you know about how long the rod/wire is?

I will not be able to measure until this weekend but will. It may be possible that several combinations were used. It does not look like mine has ever been changed but 70+ years is a long time.

I'm thinking you are right on the length..I saw some pictures of the spring and it kind of looked to be about 5.5"

Now I need to find one..