Anyone know if the brakes from a '39-47 are the same as the '48-53? Same spindles/hardware..etc?

Not on mine!

Check rock auto to see if they cross reference.

In those years, Chrysler did what they called "running changes". Whenever they made a mechanical improvement, it was installed when the parts were available, and didn't wait until a model year change to upgrade most things. What that means is that if they made improvements in the brakes, the "new improved" brakes had to fit onto what was already existing. That means that if there was an improvement, the new stuff should be able to be swapped as a complete system. A brake improvement would likely have involved the backing plate, the shoes, springs, wheel cylinders, and maybe even the drums, but it probably fit on the original spindles. Major changes, like spindle changes, or axle changes coupled with brake changes would have been done at a model year change, or a major body redesign.

That said, Dodge dis a major body redesign between the 47 and the 48 model years, and another major body redesign between the 53 and the 54 model year, and another between early 55 and late 55.

Personally, I'd bet on the same spindles between 39 + 53, but the shoes, springs, wheel cylinders, and backing plates might be a different story.

Might find the guys at www.robertsmotorparts.com helpful, they know a lot about these trucks, and have some brake parts available. Gene

my hollander says the drums [front & rear] fit back to 1935 and were used in many chrysler, plymouth, dodge and desoto vehicles as well as the 1/2 ton dodge and plymouth truck up to the 47 model year. then it jumps to truck only for model years 48-56. the passenger car line seems to split apart from the 1/2 ton truck line at this point. this would be in line with what gene has said. remember, i just looked up the drums, but i'm sure if the drums interchange, the rest does too. it seems for some reason, the pickup and passenger car lines went their seperate ways untill about the mid 60's, then started interchanging again. i'm basing this on the info from my wagner master catalog that covers from about 1950- sometime in the very late 90's.

Makes sense to me, by the mid 50s cars were getting more powerful motors and began putting on more weight, it took more brake to stop them. For the most part, trucks were, by nature (and gearing) traveling at much slower speeds, so there wasn't much need for better brakes. By the early/mid 60s trucks were getting more powerful motors, and carrying more weight, better brakes became more important. Gene