Sat May 05, 2018 3:57 pm by DWAmmons
All, I am working on a 1934 C30 IHC and the passenger side rear wheel drum would not turn. I disconnected the wire brake cable from the bar that goes between frame rails and turns when brake is applied. I assumed it was holding brake against drum. Well no luck I tried some heat on drum, tapping drum, etc. Then I loosened the nuts that hold the brake actuator inside the drum and tapped on it, then I removed axle and loosened the large 3.25" nut that holds the axle seal, finally I removed the two smaller bolts that hold the brake cable to the backing plate. Now wheel turns good, a little noisy but as I don't think wheel has moved in 30 plus years, I am very happy. Just wanted to share my experience because my search on forums did not yield as much, I did read about some that have dragged truck down road and that frees it up but I think my issue was the brake cable would not slide in the brake housing and until I loosened assembly on backing plate the brake was doing its job of holding the drum.
I hope to use new drivetrain; engine, transmission, and driveshaft but keep wheels including dual wheels on rear. I would love any advice or help on how to upgrade front suspension and add disc brakes yet keep original wheels, they are nice 6 spoke metal things with split rims. I found great truck wheel shop here in town that is very comfortable handling the dangerous split rims.