VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - GENERAL Trucks and Vans 1946 Chevy Brakes

Nice looking truck Stephen. I can't help you too much as I am new to these trucks myself. I also have a '46 and the brakes have been gone through. I was told by the seller that the previous owner before him had rebuilt the master cylinder and replaced the brake lines. The truck stops like it should.

I have other cars and trucks without disc brakes, so plan to keep this one as-is. One thing you can do is take things apart and make sure everything is lubed up good. I've been told that these brakes have a tendency to stick after time and that will prevent that from happening.

Your truck looks like it has had the engine upgraded, similar to mine. Should have had the 216 in it originally, but it looks like you have the 235/261.

I'm more concerned to get the rear end gearing changed if it needs so. I will try to figure that out this weekend, which will be the first weekend for me to really drive it. I've been told that these trucks will have no problems at 65-70mph with 3.55:1 gearing on the rear end.

Alan

The factory brakes were fairly good for that light truck. The stock brakes do not compare to moderrn power discs but should be able to lock-up the wheels.
If the pedal is hard and low stopping power I would suspect one or more of the wheels cylinders is rusted and pistons are stuck. I would begin by going through the brakes. Also todays non-asbestose linings do not have the stopping power of the good old asbestoes .

thanks, i saw yours on the other post...keep me informed on the rear end...my truck currently has a top speed of 50

Here's what I've been told to determine what ratio you have. Jack the rear end up, mark a tire, mark the flywheel. Have a friend watch the flywheel and go one revolution. Count the revolution of the rear wheel. Originally they had a 4.11:1 rear end on them.

There's a guy here on VCC Chat who sells the rear end gears for $350 w/shipping. His username is Mothertrucker, and his article he pointed to was pretty straight forward, but you need to fabricate a pinion gap tool.

I just printed it out in GIMP to an inkjet that is almost out of ink, it measures correctly. Here's to the magic of the Internet!

See this post if you haven't seen it already. (you probably have)

Whether you do it yourself or have someone do it for you, that is basically what needs to be done. In that thread it was said to probably cost about $2k to have it done. That kinda gives you a range of what to expect...there are some shops that do that type of work. I would like to find out how much a shop would charge. I'm gonna find out before I do it, but I'm curious.

That said you also need to consider the transmission in your truck. There are some variables...

My $0.02, which costs you nothing, is if you want to drive it, plan on it. If you don't drive it much, it might not matter. That's a nice looking truck. Was it upgraded to 12v? That's something I might need to consider, mine has 6volt.

Alan

thanks, yes 12 volt and it has the 235 motor.... not sure i want to do the rear gear though if it cost 2 grand.....fix the brakes and redo the bed wood is my priority at this time

not sure i want to do the rear gear though if it cost 2 grand.

If you decide to do the swap, the gears will cost $350. However, while the rear end is apart, it would be wise to replace both pinion bearings, both differential side bearings, and both axle bearings and seals. Those parts will probably be around $400. I'd guess a good shop would probably charge around 12 hours of labor at $100/hour, so you'd be looking at about $2,000 to have the job done.

Stephen, the fuel gauge doesn't work because the person who converted the truck to a 12-volt system probably did not put a resistor in the fuel gauge circuit.

i am new to this type of stuff, what do i need exactly if you don't mind

The most commmon problem with the Huck brakes Chevrolet used from 1936-1950 is the aluminum pistons in the iron wheel cylinders get rusted tight. This give a hard pedal and poor brakes.