1948 KB5 Railway Express


The place to put your K or KB "Build Off" story.

Rusty Driver
Rusty Driver

Posts: 195

Joined: Mon Sep 04, 2017 6:22 pm

Post Sun Feb 05, 2023 8:50 pm

Re: 1948 KB5 Railway Express

REAR DOOR DETAIL

Weather is still not the best for working on the truck outside. We have been getting a lot of rain and of course cold temps, but no snow or ice storms - fingers crossed.

On a couple decent weekend days I was able to trim out the back door. Not factory by any means, but I wanted to contrast the green with the black hinges, door latch handle, and the small door hold-back hooks. I also purchased a set of NOS period correct orange and red reflectors to replace the worn out old units. These reflectors are the same part numbers/brand as original.

I sanded the hinges, primed with the Rustoleum Rust Reformer spray can, then a flat black I had, then top coated with the Dupli-Color bed liner spray paint. I applied a caulking/sealant on the back side of the hinges and the reflectors to keep water/moisture from getting in between the pieces and the body panels.

Still have that roof section to address and I will leave the rear platform/bumper for last.
Attachments
1948 KB-5 Rear Doors.JPG

Rusty Driver
Rusty Driver

Posts: 195

Joined: Mon Sep 04, 2017 6:22 pm

Post Sun Feb 05, 2023 9:27 pm

Re: 1948 KB5 Railway Express

HI-Tork Brakes

I picked up a Grey-Rock Brake Service Manual, 11th Edition, printed in 1955 at a local car show/swap meet. It is 61 pages and covers both automobiles and trucks. Grey-Rock made brake linings, shoes, and brake parts. The manual includes diagrams and technical data on brake systems to include hydraulic and air brakes, and brake boosters - even the optional Chrysler disc brake set-up used on the 1950-55 Imperials.

Here are the diagrams for the International designed Hi-Tork rear brakes used on the 1 1/4 ton and 1 1/2 ton K-4 and K-5 line of trucks.

I learned that the adjusting eccentric/cams come in different sizes - which makes sense. When I was adjusting my shoes, the eccentric only pushes the shoe/lining outward so much in an effort to make contact with the drum. You can run out of adjustment and still have plenty of lining left on the shoe. Once the limits of the eccentric have been reached, another eccentric having a larger "cam" can be installed that will move the shoe outward more, and continue to use up the linings. This would require the removal of the drum to install the larger eccentric/cams.

Click on the pictures to view as a larger diagram.
Attachments
01  KB Brake Diagram - Copy.jpg
02  KB Brake Diagram - Copy.jpg

Golden Jubilee
Golden Jubilee

Posts: 5170

Joined: Thu Nov 29, 2012 9:28 pm

Location: Lyman, IA

Post Mon Feb 06, 2023 9:48 am

Re: 1948 KB5 Railway Express

Interesting you made mention of different size eccentrics' because they are not mentioned in either the service manuals or the parts manuals for the K's. I just did brake work on one of my K-7's and re did all the backing plates and cleaned a lubed the eccentrics.
The way they work is to center the shoe in the drum and hold the shoe, and therefor the piston from fully retracting in the cyl. This is done with the RPV to hold hyd pressure. The triangle shaped cam and the adjuster at the bottom keep the lining the correct distance from the drum.
Back before there were mandated drum max diameters, people fit "oversized linings to get more life out of a worn drum.
IHC list neither oversize shoes nor different eccentrics so I don't think this was "approved" practice. I am not surprised that it isn't common practice.
Thicker linings on the shoes would negate any need for more adjustment until the lining was worn down a lot.
The pic's you posted makes no mention of installing different cams. I can see where different cams may be required when the same packing plate is used with different drum dimensions.
Can you post a pic of where they talk about different eccentrics? You have peaked my interest.

Rusty Driver
Rusty Driver

Posts: 195

Joined: Mon Sep 04, 2017 6:22 pm

Post Sun Feb 19, 2023 7:50 pm

Re: 1948 KB5 Railway Express

Here is the page from the Grey-Rock Brake Service Manual. I may be reading it incorrectly, but I take it to mean that there are different cams that can be used as the brake linings (blocks?) get worn down to get more life out of the lining.

I think if you click on it it will pull up as larger so it is readable.
Attachments
01  KB Brake Cams.jpg

Rusty Driver
Rusty Driver

Posts: 195

Joined: Mon Sep 04, 2017 6:22 pm

Post Sun Feb 19, 2023 7:55 pm

Re: 1948 KB5 Railway Express

SPRAY CHROME - KB5 HOOD ORNAMENT


Did a little searching and reading on what spray chrome options are available when you don't want to do the chrome plating route. Some of the chrome paints look good on the YouTube videos, but those guys are typically promoting the product which may or may not be as advertised. Some are rather pricey in my book.

So I read a modelling site how you can spray a product called Liquid Chrome by Molotow - got on Amazon. You can purchase a 30ML refill bottle of the stuff and use an airbrush to spray it on - or you can use a brush as well. I went for the airbrush because I was painting a larger object. Did not have an airbrush, so got one from Hobby Lobby having the top loader versus a siphon type.

The hood ornament on my brother's 1948 International was in poor shape - pot metal and the chrome was all pitted and in rough shape. Finding a replacement is typically expensive and probably not going to get something close to "new" and shiny looking, So I decided to see if I could salvage what I had, or if I was going to plan B and replace it with something else.

I first sand blasted the ornament to get the corrosion and pitted metal clean. I then sprayed it with self-etching primer. Heads up, paint doesn't like to stick to chrome. I may have had some old etching primer or the re-formulated stuff on todays market is junk. A body shop owner/friend said the etching primer is what he uses on chrome parts when painting them. Go figure.

So I scuffed the etching primer to rough it up and then applied a layer of epoxy spot putty to fill the pitted metal holes. Sanded the putty down - not too impressed with it, but it helped. Then I primed over that and let dry a couple weeks. Sanded the primer and had a few spots where the paint would simply fleck off from the chrome. After a light sanding, hit it with another coat of primer and let dry.

In some of the videos they spray black as the base color for the spray chrome. So I did the same thing. Uses a scuff pad to lightly scuff up the primer and laid a couple coats of gloss black on the hood ornament. Coated the ornament on top and underneath thinking I was encapsulating the piece. Let it dry. Still has some of the pit marks showing through the pain, but I am not trying to restore the ornament, just make it look good from 25 feet. I didn't want to put a ton of hours into it only to find all my time was a waste.

Let the black paint dry for a few weeks (no rush on this as I work on other parts of the truck) and sanded the black with a 320 grit paper to rough it up. Did not go crazy with sanding, just enough to take the shine out of the black and scuff the surface.

Next up was the chrome paint. Set my airbrush up to work with my outside compressor using a simple knob type air pressure regulator/gauge at the gun so I could keep the air pressure low. Filled the paint reservoir with the liquid chrome and went to town. Sprayed it just like I would with a spray can. Put a couple of wet coats over the hood ornament and it appeared to look like chrome. Waited to see if the chrome look was going to dull down as I have seen do with some of the spray bomb "chrome" paints and then they look no better than aluminum, not chrome.

The results look like chrome indeed. From what I read, you do not want to put clear over the chrome paint or it will dull it out ad then look like silver. I don't know how well this will hold up being outside. So I sprayed another panel and have it sitting outside in the elements. I will also let it dry for a couple weeks to allow all the solvents to evaporate and then try a coat of spray bomb clear to see if it reacts. Sometimes if you paint the clear over the base color too soon, it'll mess things up. So I will use my test panel and see what happens.

A tad bit blurry on one of pics, but you get the idea.
Attachments
DSCN2733 - Copy.JPG
DSCN2734 - Copy.JPG
DSCN2736 - Copy.JPG

Golden Jubilee
Golden Jubilee

Posts: 5170

Joined: Thu Nov 29, 2012 9:28 pm

Location: Lyman, IA

Post Sun Feb 19, 2023 8:30 pm

Re: 1948 KB5 Railway Express

mrjim2017 wrote:Here is the page from the Grey-Rock Brake Service Manual. I may be reading it incorrectly, but I take it to mean that there are different cams that can be used as the brake linings (blocks?) get worn down to get more life out of the lining.

I think if you click on it it will pull up as larger so it is readable.

Thankyou for that. The way I read it (and I may be wrong) is that it applies to S cam air brakes. The Hi-Torque brakes on our K's don't have rollers.
I have heard of such but The DOT/FHWA dictated Max wear on drums, and over cutting is no longer permitted.
Thanks again for posting, it is always interesting to read "how it was".

Rusty Driver
Rusty Driver

Posts: 195

Joined: Mon Sep 04, 2017 6:22 pm

Post Mon Feb 20, 2023 8:31 pm

Re: 1948 KB5 Railway Express

You are correct, air brake system. What threw me was that this page is in the beginning of the book in with the hydraulic brake systems.

A couple of the brake systems with the "S" cams, "Oval" shaped cams, and "Floating" cams are found under the heading of "Internal Two-Shoe: Timken and 'Own Make". These are tucked in a section before the air brakes in the manual in with some Timken hydraulic systems. These types show no rollers, but instead, the shoes have "shoe tips", adjustable "shoe stops", "cam follower", and shoe ends set on what appears to be the "S"cam and no rollers. However, these are air brake systems as it goes into detail of the linkage inspection and a drawing of a slack adjuster/linkage rod/air brake chamber. So a bit confusing where they placed this info in the manual - and I being no old truck brake expert. Would make more sense to keep things grouped together.

The rollers are #4 in the drawing, and ride on the "S" cam - much like today's trailer brakes on the big trucks.

In any case, here are a few drawings of the "S" cam and the "roller" that rides on it just to clarify. It would still, to me anyway, make sense if the eccentrics had different values to optimize brake lining use/wear.
Attachments
01  Air Brake Diagram.jpg
02  Air Brake Diagram - Copy.jpg
03  Air Brake Diagram.jpg

Golden Jubilee
Golden Jubilee

Posts: 5170

Joined: Thu Nov 29, 2012 9:28 pm

Location: Lyman, IA

Post Tue Feb 21, 2023 8:57 am

Re: 1948 KB5 Railway Express

Interesting! sort of a cross between the two systems. I never ran across like one in the bottom picture, but several in the middle picture, with bolt on brake blocks and bolt type chambers. When I 1st got to the heavy haul company I work for, they still had a early flatbed (20 footer?) that had those bolt on brakes blocks . I never looked at the registration but it must have been from the '30 or 40's . All I remember is it rode rough!

Rusty Driver
Rusty Driver

Posts: 195

Joined: Mon Sep 04, 2017 6:22 pm

Post Wed Feb 22, 2023 9:07 pm

Re: 1948 KB5 Railway Express

Yep, I enjoy all types of older vehicles and learning about many of the oddities - some of which would have been common in that time and seem odd to us now. I also find it interesting when a "new" product pops up only to find the same thing or similar in one of my old car books. The Audel series of repair manuals/books are like the Chilton's that I had when I was learning how to work on my cars in the mid 1970's. Back when motor cars were in their infancy, you had to be a mechanic to keep them operating. LOL Imagine having to filter your gas with a chamois cloth to filter any impurities out of it.

The KB5 had cast iron brake shoes which may have been good in their time, but they can be brittle and cast can crystalize. I had to replace 1 of mine and of course they don't have them at NAPA, so it took some doing, and I had them made out of steel and then riveted my lining to them. Seemed to work out OK, but I am still not too keen on drum brakes. I did not want to upgrade to a disc set-up as I wanted to try and keep the truck true to its original form. This is where knowing how to double-clutch and down shift to help with braking comes into play.

Golden Jubilee
Golden Jubilee

Posts: 5170

Joined: Thu Nov 29, 2012 9:28 pm

Location: Lyman, IA

Post Wed Feb 22, 2023 10:09 pm

Re: 1948 KB5 Railway Express

I have two K-7's with the cast iron shoes. From working on them, my guess the problem comes in when the pivot seizes and the pressure at the other end is pushing against a shoe without the lining against the drum. As we know cast doesn't bend or flex well.
I did one truck last fall and have the other to do this spring. The shoes are like new, but have seized from sitting. I think it best to free and lube them before damage happens.
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