Brakes not working?

[Oklacarcollecto]

I'm no expert.. That looks like a drum drum master cylinder because it has 2 equal reservoirs. Given the age of the car, raised paint from a brake fluid leak could be ghost of leak past.
If you have fluid leaks at the brake assemblies you'll find a mess on the backside of the wheel and tire.
I think I would just start pouring fluid at it. Pump the pedal until my leg is tired and walk away. If the fluid is all gone tomorrow morn the evidence is there somewhere. If fluid is still there I'd pump the pedal again and come back in the evening.
It will show the leak(s) eventually.

I agree with this since you have no driver's license and can't drive the car. Looking at the fire wall I suspect the master cylinder will end up being the issue.

 

[Shnarz]

Well all, I put fluid in the empty reservoir last night, pumped the pedal until I could get a nice firm push on it then let it sit and went to bed. Woke up to check this morning and the fluid is still there. What do you guys think?

 

[67Dart273]

Have you looked around the brake system and under the car for leaks? That stuff does not evaporate. It had to leak somewhere

It might be "right there" in the booster / master. It can leak out the rear of the master and into the booster. It will likely damage the booster (rubber) in enough time.

 

[Shnarz]

Have you looked around the brake system and under the car for leaks? That stuff does not evaporate. It had to leak somewhere

It might be "right there" in the booster / master. It can leak out the rear of the master and into the booster. It will likely damage the booster (rubber) in enough time.

There was a tiny little puddle near the drivers side front wheel, but I smelt it and it didn't smell like brake fluid

 

[Oklacarcollecto]

Have you looked around the brake system and under the car for leaks? That stuff does not evaporate. It had to leak somewhere

It might be "right there" in the booster / master. It can leak out the rear of the master and into the booster. It will likely damage the booster (rubber) in enough time.

His picture shows his car to be a manual brake system so there would be no booster to be concerned with.

There was a tiny little puddle near the drivers side front wheel, but I smelt it and it didn't smell like brake fluid

Did you look to see where the puddle was coming from? If it wasn't brake fluid, what was it? It came from somewhere so take a flashlight and take a good hard look. If it is brake fluid check the fire wall, brake lines, rubber hose, fittings and see what is wet.

 

[nm9stheham]

Brake fluid does not have much of a smell; get some on your thumb and index finger tips and rub them together. It will feel an odd sticky-slimy-oily when you rub your finger tips together, and when you wipe it off, it will not feel entirely clean at first. If you are not sure, try this with some of your fresh brake fluid to see how it should feel. Just don't over do it and wash your hands clean afterwards; brake fluid eats the daylights out of paint. (And don't drink it!)

As above, get a flashlight and look up to where this is coming from; it is in the right area to be a brake system leak. The back reservior in your master cylinder was empty, which feeds the front brakes. As others have said, the car's firewall to which the master cylinder is mounted looks wet, like the master cylinder is leaking so that is likely an issue too.

When was this car last driven?

And retry the pedal again. I bet it will push down far again at first try, and will pump up harder and higher up again with repeated pumping. Let us know.

 

[Shnarz]

http://imgur.com/xUQituU (bad picture, sorry) This the firewall from the inside
http://imgur.com/ackkiU5 and this is where I found the leak. The thing circled in orange is where it's dripping from. Not sure if it's coming directly from that, or if it's dripping off the MC, onto that, then dripping on the ground. Does this help any??

EDIT: The pedal still has a good firm feeling. The rear reservoir is still full.

 

[BillGrissom]

In my experience (2 times), when an MC fails it acts erratic. Sometimes you will get a firm pedal and sometimes it sinks. The tiniest nick on the rubber piston seal can make it leak. In one case, the MC was fairly new. When I pulled out the piston I found a clean cut on the rubber seal, apparently because the rebuilders had bored the cylinder but didn't bevel the corner where the ports come in, leaving a sharp edge that cut the seal.

 

[Oklacarcollecto]

http://imgur.com/xUQituU (bad picture, sorry) This the firewall from the inside
http://imgur.com/ackkiU5 and this is where I found the leak. The thing circled in orange is where it's dripping from. Not sure if it's coming directly from that, or if it's dripping off the MC, onto that, then dripping on the ground. Does this help any??

EDIT: The pedal still has a good firm feeling. The rear reservoir is still full.

There is no doubt that the master cylinder is leaking from the back side.