VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - GENERAL Mechanical - Engine, Trans, etc Floating anchor pin for Huck brakes

I have seen this item in the past and have spoken to one member who believes they improved his vehicle. Are there any others with comments or a supply?

When I worked in a Chevrolet dealership in the '50's we installed floater pins, especially in the 1949 and 1950 models. I have them in my present 1950 and had them in my original 1950 back in 1952.
They do give a slight self energizing effect reducing pedal pressure. Work best when the brakes are aduusted up all the way, looses some power as pedal travel increases.
The are two different styles, some with a rubber bushing and some all metal.
I had the rubber type in my first 1950 and have the all metal in my present 1950.
The other thing that can reduce pedal pressure in a 1950 (works in 1951 and 1952 also) is to install a 7/8" 1953-54 Master cylinder.
Have that in my 1950 also. Especially desireable in a Power Glide or a stick changed to a 3.55 axle ratio as that gives you less engine braking.

I would like to be educated on the theory behind this special part. This is very intriguing to me.

Picture a brake with only one shoe. Outward pressure from the wheel cylinder or cam if mechanical creates friction between the shoe and the drum. This frictional force has an outward component which increases the pressure of the shoe. It tries to jam itself in place. This is called self energizing. If you add another shoe to the system as in the Huck brake with a fixed anchor pin that shoe will not be self energizing because the frictional force will not have the outward component. Hence as the manuals say 75% of the total braking is on the forward shoe. The Bendix system does not have the fixed anchor pin to correct this. In an attempt to improve the Huck they created a sloppy fit of the anchor pin to allow the first shoe to add some outward force to the second shoe from the lower end.
I hope this makes sense. The 50 Powerglide that I have has a weight problem that make the brakes a concern. My 35 standard with mechanicals of roughly the same size works much better

Thanks for that explanation, very interesting. As a comment both my 1951 1 Ton and my 38 Master stop really well. However the 1 Ton takes more muscle than the 38 Master. I often wonder what the 1 Ton was like to stop with a full load. They didn't have brake assist as standard equipment at the 1 Ton level i believe.

The Chevrolet car had the same (size) braking, . drums, shoes, master cylinder bore size) from 1936-1950. I always thought the 1936-1948 brakes, cars and 1/2 ton trucks, were adquate . For some reason the 1949 and 1950 required much higher pedal pressure even though for the most part the car weight was about the same,

The big improvement came in 1951 with the Bendix self energizing brakes and another improvement in 1953 when the master cylinder bore was educed to 7/8".
In 1955 everyhing stayed the same, bore back to 1" but thesuspended pedal had more leverage.
The trucks went to Bendix brakes in 1953
The 3/4 ton and up truck brakes went to Bendix in1953 and that was a good and needed improvemet.

These so called "floater Pins" can be installed on any 36-50 Chev cars?? If so, is this product still available and what is the installation difficulty level? If they improve the braking system I all for it. On my 47 I seem to have adequate stopping ability but I don't think I could ever lock up in a emergency situation. Of course one does not want the wheel sliding thus we now have anti lock systems on new cars.

dick

If a sample were found I think that todays CNC machining could easily duplicate them in quantity.

Yes, they are for 1936-1950 cars and 1/2 ton trucks.

Here's some pics of some

That is the version I have in my present 1950.

Added another picture - Which set did you use Gene?

The Floato with the little balls in the center.

The ones we used years ago had rubber with a band of metal around it in the center. The rubber tended to break down after a while. They were called floating in the name - like brake floating pins.
I will look and see if I saved the box for thepresent set. I did save the original pins just in case.

Found Floato pins on ebay and looking for delivery. Success!!

Keep us informed and make sure no wheel cylinder pistons are sticking.

Floato pins installed. Wish I had a lift instead of my aching back crawling under for adjustments. Found three wheel cylinders that needed attention, one required new pistons, the others just a good cleaning .Amazing how many devices benefit from disassembly , cleaning and put it back together,

Just curious. In your opinion did the Floato Pins make a difference? What about the reinforced anchor in the wheel cylinder - how did that go? I have a 36 Master and just wondering if they are worth the install.

I installed them in my 1950 that I had in 1952 and in my present 1950. I would guess they reduced pedal pressure by about 15%. The 1949 and 1950's for some reason required a lot of brake pressure, especially with Power Glide. (or if you insstall a 3.55 rear end in a stick).
My '39 (same brakes as your 1936) had good brakes and see no reason to install them in anything but a 1949-1950.
If you installed new brake linings in your 1936 you will find a portion of the lining surface is not contacting the drum, give them a chance to wear in.
I assume that your 1936 is a Master.

So Gene, the 7/8" diameter master cylinder would be beneficial on my '51, even though my '51 STYLELINE already has the Bendix setup ?

Yes it would. Make a marked difference.
I have a 7/8" M.Cyl on my 1950. Made an improvement on that model also.
It does increase pedal travel a small amount requiring more frequent adjustments but I can live with that especially considering how few miles you put on in a year..

Thanks Gene.