Thread: Brake Booster riddle - can you solve it?

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This sunday morning I had a little time on my hands so I decided to RE read this entire thread, all your posts and assess where we are at. I have some questions but also need to point out a few things:

1- I do have a dual master cylinder. We JUST replaced the old one and put a brand new one in. Although I do know for a fact it is DUAL (I would never drive around with a single master cylinder, I am just not suicidal enough LOL) I do not know the bore size on it - but will find out.

2- Yes my IQ is 163, but I don't think 163 is that high. Is it? At some point long ago I did have the highest score in my entire school. But that was long ago and I got dummer as I got older . I did IQ test about 6 years ago though, so that 163 figure is pretty accurate.

OK now back to the brakes. I do know I have 41 ford wheels, not sure what the backing plates are? I will find some photos showing the other side of the plates and post them monday.

BUT LET'S TALK ABOUT MY BRAKE LINES. At least 2 of you pointed they are "scary" and I was not aware of this, so I'd like more info, explanation. What is wrong with them? My hot rod specialist did not mention anything, but him and I usually dont see eye to eye, I seem to see more things that need fixing than he does, probably because I care about my car much more than he does. He did catch a few vital problems I had not seen though, and he does do a LOT fo work on a LOT of hotrods, some of which real expensive, or original, or rat rods, and comes very recommended. When you see so many people pull into his garage with original HF roadsters and coupes, it makes me feel he must be doing something right.. LOL... He is the EXPERT and I am just a little greenie. So what do I know? I'm just an obcessed newbie... I did have a broken break line braket near the MC which we replaced, so the line is now very secure.

Please tell me what is not right about the way the lines are right now and what I should do to fix it.

2- Yes my IQ is 163, but I don't think 163 is that high. Is it? At some point long ago I did have the highest score in my entire school. But that was long ago and I got dummer as I got older . I did IQ test about 6 years ago though, so that 163 figure is pretty accurate.

Girlie, 140 is genious, albert einstein`s was like 170, so yes that is that high, that probably puts you in the top 2% in the world

Average: 85 - 115
Above average: 115 - 125
Gifted Borderline Genius: 125 - 135
Highly gifted and appearing to be a Genius to most others: 135 - 145
Genius: 145 - 165
High genius: 166 - 180
Highest genius: 181 - 200
Beyond being measurable genius: Over 200



so i was a little off

I used to be 167, and eidetic, but fortunately many years of booze and several concussions got rid of that. It's a bitch to not ever forget anything!

This thread has degenerated into "I'm smarter than....."

Phew

No its not like that,its just the fact that not everyday does one come across a human that has an iq that high, in no way was i implying im smarter

So, if I fall into the IQ measurement somewhere between the upper and lower extremes, how come everybody thinks I'm stupid?

Originally Posted by hotroddaddy

No its not like that,its just the fact that not everyday does one come across a human that has an iq that high, in no way was i implying im smarter

Actually, I wasn't referring to your earlier comments

And, C9, I'm also in the same situation

Denny - its probably a Wagner(-Lockheed), like most of the "old" pre '49 Ford brake parts were.

Originally Posted by C9x

So, if I fall into the IQ measurement somewhere between the upper and lower extremes, how come everybody thinks I'm stupid?

Now I thought we had been through this somewhere else....It does not matter what your IQ is, if you dont use it with plain common sense it doesn't usually add up to a lot...

Now then, so using different bore wheel cylinders, they worked by extra fluid displacement in the front or leading shoe cylinder, so they added more force to the front shoe. Did you get increased wear with this system ? Obviously... so people used to swap the leading and trailing shoes around.

Faith
The only thing i can see that needs attention (baring in mind i can only go on the information and photos shown here) is that 18" of rigid brake line seems to floating in the air without any type of fixing. It then goes into a union which again seems to be floating about. Not exactly 'scary!', but could use some attention.
It's good practise to fix the rigid brakes lines to the chassis every 8-10" if possible. Your rear lines could possibly fracture (with vibration) at the point where the two join. I can see why this was done, if you said you had a broken line into the master cylinder then, it looks as if only the front section was replaced.
With regards to improving the efficiency of your system...(there has been plenty of advice so far).
But before you go and change things and spend money unnecessarily, I would start by getting the linings adjusted up so the entire length of the shoes make contact with the drums. Do a few miles and get them 'bedded in' and re-evaluate.
The pedal ratio can altered fairly easily, get someone to weld up the orginal pivot hole and redrill accordingly, or you can probably use a smaller bore master cylinder once you know which one you have. I would consider examining the rest of the brake lines and get them replaced if workmanship looks 'dodgy'. You may have to anyway if it turns out they are connected back to front.
BTW i'm learning things from this thread also
Cool cars are even cooler when you know everything is well engineered enough so you know it will never let you down.

OK, I'll check how many brakets are holding my rigid brake lines to the frame.
Also, there were never any leaks, that I know of, in the lines. The master cylinder was VERY old and leaking out the top, so we replaced it with brand new one. Here are some photos taken from my "repair log" webpage:

THe old master cylinder:



The new one:




My buick finned drums (front) What year are those? Can you guys tell? Eric put those on but he did not seem to remember exact circa (year) of the drums.



Can anyone tell me what those are? (back wheels) - Are they also Buick? I think Eric put Chevy wheels in the back becauxe I have a Chevy S10 rear end and he said bolt pattern did not match... Which makes me then wonder what these drums are... Whatever they are, they will need some TLC soon (sand blast & powder coat?)



If you guys see anything worth mentioning in these photos, fire away

Now on another tangent a few things you guys need to know about me (nothing to do with cars, but entertaining nonetheless LOL).

1- I don't think I am a genious by any means. I did not mean to mention IQ to show off in anyway. It did not even cross my mind that 163 was a reason to "show off". I don't think it is that high of a score. Now I know 163 is a pretty nice number but I am reminded time and time again that compared to the amazingly intelligent people out there (inventors, researchers, engineers) I am real dumb . Oh, and ignorant, too.

2- However, there is oftentime a tendancy for people to conclude that a woman who is kinda pretty is usually also kinda "dumb", so a 163 IQ is a good way to prove the contrary . Not that anyone here has ever implied anything like that, I am talking about the general public, people out there, not you guys. You guys have actually been very supportive despite the fact I am a woman who is still VERY ignorant when it comes to hotrods (but learning Faaast).

3- About looks, notice I said above "kinda pretty". I usually shrugg my shoulders when people say: "you are beautiful" (yeah, right, sure!). Because I do not see myself that way. Angelia Jollie is beautiful, me, I am cute at best (on a good day LOL). Of course I look cuter when I am driving my roadter . But I have a mirror you see, and sometimes in the morning when I look at it I go: (HOLY SMOKES - I just gave myself a heart attack LOL). I grew up an ugly ducklin, skinny as a rail and I was a complete tom boy. I was by no mean the popular, pretty girl, cheerleader kind growing up. More like the nerdy, brainy loner, really. I think I never even wore a dress until I turned 18. No kidding. Fortunately, as years went by, the little catterpillar turned into a nice little butterfly and as more years went by, the butterfly did not lose too much of its pretty color, like some other butterflies its age have. In short, I am aging gracefully, like my roadster hehe...

So to conclude, I do not think I am either a genious nor a beauty, just a woman who, on a good day, can turn a few heads and still carry an intelligent conversation.

So there, now you know about my nerdy past hehe.

Originally Posted by DennyW

Did you replace that stop light switch ? From the picture, it's higher than your master was, and I see fluid dripping from the switch. Also, at the rear of the master, it looks like it was starting to leak out the rear.

Yes Sir we sure did replace the stop switch. Good job spotting it from a photo!

rear of master leaking... YOu are referring to the old MC I assume, right? That thing was leaking from every orifice - I am exagerating but that was the first thing I did on the car - GET RID OF IT!

Is this a Mopar master cylinder? (It's not the popular Corvette style master cylinder.) If it is plumbed backwards, it will make a big difference! There's a "balance spring" inside the master cylinder that's designed to compensate for the different amounts of brake fluid that's required to operate the front and the rear brake circuits. By the small amount of wear that's visible on your front brake shoes, I'd say that your front brakes aren't doing much. How many miles do you have on these front brake shoes?

FYI . . . if you'll look inside the reservoirs of your master cylinder, you should be able to see that one of the reservoirs is larger than the other. This larger reservoir is for the front brakes, which are frequently disc brakes, which draw more fluid from the reservoir as they wear, hence the larger reservoir.

I had to give a tow to a guy in a Model A that had Buick brakes. I was concerned that he might run into the back of my truck, so I asked him to step on his brakes whenever I raised my hand. He about put me through the windshield of my truck the first time he stepped on his brakes!!!!