[dagnabbitt]

Well, the taking it apart saga continues. Pictured below is the rear brake drum which we hammered on for about an hour and a half, wiggled it here and there, and finally were able to get behind to release the shoes.

One of the things I often find when I buy a really interesting, well built truck is that somewhere in the span of time between the builder and myself there is someone in between: a PO who is a real doofus who lets the truck go to seed and tries all kinds of dumb short term fixes. It stands to reason that a 50 year old vehicle will go through this cycle, maybe a few times. Well, his work here is evident.

The rear brakes were non functioning... because they were non functioning. Someone put brand new shoes on drums that had not been turned since Nixon was in office, and the result was that the new shoes were ruined quite quickly.

The ridge that was left from the gouges in the drum locked the shoes in place, preventing the removal of the drum itself. Once we knew what we were dealing with the other side came off a little quicker just because we knew where to hit it. It was pretty annoying, but of course I went through a similar experience with the drums on my 68 C20, so I had no right to be surprised. I have no idea what people have against brakes. I like them. I never, ever complain about having to buy brakes, batteries, or tires, I am not a rich man but I really enjoy replacing those things.

That said, I did ask if these drums were worth turning and got a real are you crazy, how cheap are you vibe, so new drums and whatever else is required, it is.

I have not exercised the park brake cables yet, but one is kinked and overall it would be kind of surprising if they were not seized too. But we will see.