Disc Brake Booster

[DKheld]

Been traveling guys - so sorry about being late to the show.....

I added A/C to a non-A/C car - the booster needs to move outward 1 3/4 inches. That will give you "almost" 1/4 inch clearance between the booster bracket and the factory style A/C evap. plenum on the firewall and 3/4 inch between the booster and the valve cover. Don't forget that the pedal "rod" will need to be lengthened by the same amount or replaced with an adjustable one to have the same pedal height when the booster is moved out. The booster does not "have" to move up but for ease of installing the bolts on the newly made bracket I would suggest about 1 inch or a little better on the height.

My booster is a rebuilt stock unit with the modified face to accept a modern style master cyl. (Booster Dewy) Never had any trouble with the boost feeling insufficient. Maybe less pedal pressure is needed with the newer dual style boosters but my system feels just as it did before (same amount of pedal pressure needed to stop the car) only with the disc's it stops in a straight line - as many times as I want to.

It's been a while since I did mine (wow! - almost 6 years?) but I believe I used a 72-77 Lincoln Mark V master cyl to fit the modified booster. Probably could have looked around and found one where the lines came out on the fender side (Mustang?) rather than the motor side but I was glad to find one that worked. I used a common plumbing washer to seal between the master cyl and the booster. I can get that seal number later if any one wants the info.

Grant - the set-up looks great. It would have been so much easier to add the spacer bracket in between the stock bracket and booster but as you mentioned they are riveted together. Didn't want to tear into a newly rebuilt booster so had to add mine where the dealer would have added the spacer if they were adding A/C to a car - between the firewall and booster bracket.

Looking at your pics again - you might want to consider putting the proportioning valve on top of the mounting bracket if it will fit there - the bracket would act as a heat shield for the proportioning valve rather than having the valve closer to the manifold.?. Mine was really close to the manifold so I remotely mounted my proportioning valve down on the frame.

Eric
registry 5347

[jopizz]

Eric,

Do you remember if he charged you extra for modifying the face above the prices that he has posted.

John

[ncbird]

yes

I talked to Dewey and he is going to charge you for the new face over and above what it costs to rebuild your booster. I have a booster that he had done and it was going to be just as expensive to have him just put a plate on the one I had as if he was rebuilding it again. That is why I had a second booster to send him. I finally decided that it was more cost effective to get the OID booster/MC and remove the brackets from the second "core" booster I had. I have to say I am very happy with my decision which I made after a lot of research.
Grant

[DKheld]

X2 on Grant's comments. I wanted to keep my original booster so I just ordered one already rebuilt and modified from Dewy. In the initial call he was going to charge $50 extra for the modification. Think mine was about $300 including shipping but that was 6+ years ago and I was blazing new ground - you just couldn't find anything - Dewy was the only one I could find that knew what I needed - prices may be a little less now.?.

Dewy doesn't actually modify your booster face but replaces it with an exact replacement model that has the 2 studs rather than the current 4 small ones - may be from a Lincoln but never was able to find out.

His site currently shows $135 to rebuild + whatever the going rate is for the mod (probably still $50 ?) so you are looking at $185 + shipping if you send yours. I bought the master cyl from Advance for about $20.

http://boosterdeweyexchange.com/

Advantage is ease of fit - it's original so no mods to get it to fit unless you extend it to miss the evap box. Then you only have to lengthen the pedal rod as I did (just cut in the middle and welded in an extra 1 3/4) and add the extender bracket.

Disadvantage is if the booster went bad after the 1 year warranty you would have to pay $135 for a rebuild rather than hopping down to NAPA or Advance for a cheaper replacement booster. Mine has worked flawlessly all the time I have had it. I should have worked out a deal with Dewy - so much per plug for his work - he'd be owing me money now....heh heh.

Has anyone supplied a replacement booster part number or price for the new ones? - not complaining - just curious. can you get one at NAPA, Advance etc or do you have to go back to OID?

Eric



Guess the secret is out. This has to be it.....a '61 - '64 Lincoln booster. You could probably cut the old Tbird booster off the brackets and use this one but it is $220 + shipping yours in for rebuild - free return shipping if I read it correctly.
ebay Item 220969959890

[lawyercalif]

I am in the process of trying the same thing. Using the same booster & MC. Taking Grants idea a bit further I am leaving the Jeep bracket it's original size and mating it to the original TBird Bendix Booster Bracket. That moves it almost seven inches forward and about 3 1/2 inches up. I have taken preliminary measurements on my 59 with Air and it all looks like it will fit.
I am waiting for the booster and MC to arrive then I will check again.

My plan B if it doesn't clear the valve cover is to make a new attachment that will allow me to rotate the whole bracket clockwise about 30 - 45 degrees which would then move everything closer to the drivers side inner fender and away from the valve cover and the AC box.

John, here are a couple of pictures of my setup during mock up. I have been taking it on and off while working on the brake lines so yes the nuts are loose. This is the unit Dave mentioned except mine has a cosmetic upgrade. I looked at several options and finally decided that for me this was the most cost effective. The bracket extension is an MBM bracket for a Jeep that I cut down and had tig welded. Note that the adjusting rod fits the stock bell crank with adjustment available. Grant

[ncbird]

full bracket

Lawyer, here is a picture of what you are describing, I hope this helps. It does clear the valve cover of a 352 and if you compare pictures you get a sense of where it will sit. I chose the jeep bracket because of the saddle top and its strength. I did mock this up and chose to cut it because I did not need the space and with out the a/c box on the firewall (Iam trying to keep mine as clean as possible) it looked out of place. I would probably build a plate to go under the original bracket that spreads the load and takes advantage of the fifth bolt.
Grant

[lawyercalif]

Thanks Grant. I will once again follow your advice and fabricate the plate you suggested.