I have all the hardware and brake shoes to complete the rear brakes on my shop truck, Big Green. I will be able to finish the left side and install the parking brake cables on Thursday. To recap, I bought my truck from my brother two years ago with the plan of making it my shop truck. It was a family-owned ranch truck with great sentimental value. I learned to drive in this truck; that’s where the choices begin. This truck was ordered as a F250 highboy, cab-and-chassis. A flat bed large enough for hay bales was put on it. A “highboy” has a one-ton frame, 3300-pound front axle, and a 3600-pound rear, a divorced transfer case, and a factory five-inch lift—the super duty of the day. A dual rear was put on it for a budget dually. Since multiple components are broken and three frame crossmembers are damaged, it has been overloaded and overworked throughout its life. My first plan when I got the truck was to rebuild it as it was. The problem with that plan, while true to nostalgia, made the truck impractical for my use. I don’t have a ranch or farm. The job requirements for a shop truck are to tow a car trailer, pick up and deliver engines and other heavy parts, and serve as a marketing tool for the shop at swap meets and car shows. The flatbed will be redone with the addition of tie downs, tool boxes, a manual tire changer, and a shop crane. The dual rear wheels are a parts locating problem. I have two sets of drums, one that fits. I have the original hubs and drums, which need work. I need to separate rusted, frozen drums and wheel studs from the hubs so I can use them. They have 5/8-inch wheel studs that fit my dual wheels and brake drum, but will need work to make that happen. I have two replacement hubs, but they have 1/2 inch studs, so they will require drilling out for the larger studs. After that, I will have mismatched wheels and studs between the front and rear. If the truck got a flat in the pasture, the split-ring wheels would have allowed a tire change, no spare tire needed. The truck will honestly see mostly street miles, and the wheels were changed to a tubeless modern style anyway—two spares or a roadside tire change. So I plan to change the rear to a single-wheel 3/4-ton style. This will allow matching wheels and studs to a single spare tire and make the truck a little more practical in the shop truck roll. I have another brake drum coming this week. If it fits, I will change over; if not, I will continue with the dually. I will keep you posted. New cars are boring; fix something old.