1959 Ford  Galaxie Town Sedan
Body Style: 54-A
 

Trim Section

Retrofit for Replacing the Master Cylinder Pressure
Switch with a Mechanical Brake Pedal-Mounted Switch

I tend to be picky when it comes to the use of automotive-duty electrical parts.
A car is a hostile environment with temperature and moisture extremes, and lots of vibration.
Under the arduous stress of millions of cycles, sometimes OEM parts fail.  Sometimes better parts
are (or become)  available at a cheaper price.  Sometimes I look towards Industrial-duty parts or
time-proven household items, if they are suitable.

#1
This is the basic wiring diagram.  It's easy and it eliminates two wires in the harness
that go to the engine-side of your firewall.

Note*  Regarding the firewall electrical block:  You can re-assign one Brake Light wire
as a, 'ON WITH KEY SWITCH' wire, which is necessary if you ever install a modern Ford
alternator, Pertronix ignition system, or an electric fan.

The above drawing shows a plunger-type limit switch; an industrial-duty switch.
There are many switches that will do the job quite nicely.  In the following pictures, I used a
Lever-type limit switch, commonly found in every computer mouse.  They are sealed from the
environment and they perform millions of cycles, flawlessly.  By the way, they are REAL
inexpensive.

Here is a 1959 Galaxie Brake Pedal Assembly for an Automatic transmission:

#2
It is a simple sheet metal stamping with a steel lever for the brake pedal, and another lever for the
rubber bumper.  This is the view you get when lying on your back, looking up at the brake pedal
support.

#3
Side view.  Why Ford chose not to paint the whole assembly, I will never know. 
Maybe they didn't want paint interfering with the nylon bushings or the pivot pin.

#4
Top view.  (Most people never see this side).

#5
This is the flange that mounts to the firewall.  Notice it has cage nuts.
They just 'clip-in' and are replaceable if you lose one.  As soon as the
studs or bolts are tightened, these nuts will never move.

#6

#7

#8
This particular switch, made by Omron, is entirely metric.  The holes are on 10mm centers.
Electrically, it is a Double throw Single Pole (DPST) 5-amp switch.  I am only using the normally closed contacts.

#9
Hard to see, the far right terminal (1) is Common.  The far left terminal (2) is Normally Closed.

#10
I used hardened metric screws and nuts with lock washers.  The screws are long, but will be trimmed, later.

#11

#12
Notice the witness wear mark made by the bumper over the past 50 years.  For my first switch, I
drilled a hole in the center of that mark and mounted a plunger-type limit switch.  It became to
hard to access.  Now, I use a much better (and cheaper) approach.
Even though rust is showing, it isn't bad.  I use acid to de-rust my parts, then I paint.

#13
I'm attempting to show my center-punch marks on the sheet metal bracket and the centers on the switch.

#14
Here is a picture to show how small all the parts really are.  The bracket is many time the size of the switch.

#15
Same picture, only closer.  I haven't marked my bracket's mounting holes (to the support), yet.

#16

#17
Drilled holes in the steel were perfect because I used small drill bits for my pilot holes.  All this is tiny.

#18
I have located the bracket and screwed one hole for perfect location.

#19
In the first instruction, I used the rubber bumper.  Now, I am using the side of the arm to trip the switch.

#20

#21

#22
Rotating the bracket will bring this limit arm into good location.

#23
Now that all the parts are mocked-up, time for disassembly and paint.

#24

#25
Now painted, the switch is mounted, screws are trimmed, and the bracket is ready to mount on the brake support.

#26

#27
I like using lithium grease a lot better than that white stuff I had to scrape off.

#28

#29

#30

#31

#32
The groove for the clip is barely showing.  I used a socket and hammer to drive the pin home.
This is done before mounting the switch.

#33

#34
Perfect alignment and fit.

#35

#36

#38

#39
Now that it is wired, it's time to mount and connect a relay.  The schematic at the top shows how it is simplyconnected.