Andgott
Active Member
I've been meaning to upgrade the master cylinder on my Valiant since I got it. It had the original single master cylinder, and I wanted a dual master cylinder for the added safety.
I figured while I was at it, I might as well check the entire system, and replace anything else that needed it. In the end, I put on all new shoes, new rear wheel cylinders, all new springs, self adjusters, new hoses... Many of which I've never replaced on my own. I'm going to post some pics of the job here, hopefully someone else who's new to this might get some benefit from it.
It was a really easy job, and not that expensive, Especially considering the added safety margin. The instructions on the Early Valiant & 'Cuda club helped a LOT!
http://www.earlycuda.org/tech/dualmaster.htm
This is the original setup-
First, I gathered all the part. I bought a new master cylinder, which was about $24 from Rock Auto-
I used one for a '68 valiant, which bolts right in place-
After the test fit, I changed over the connections at the junction box. This was easy- I removed the line that once led to the rear brakes, and plugged it in the junction box. I then used a union to attach a new hard line to it, which runs up to the rear port on the master cylinder.
The front lines are both attached to the junction block, and a new hard line is run up to the master cylinder's front port-
Then it was just a matter of running the new hard lines up to the master cylinder. I used NICOPP lines, they are SO much easier to deal with than steel! I'm used to them on boats and marine applications, but this is the first time I've used them on a car. I'll never use anything else-
I tightened it all down, then bled the system. It took me two tries, but I FINALLY got all the air out. I did bench bleed the new master cylinder first, but I'm not too sure that I did it correctly- I think that there MIGHT have been some air stuck there, but it all seems good now.
While I was doing this, I went ahead and inspected EVERYTHING, and replaced anything that needed it. All the hard line seemed OK, but I replaced the hoses. It was probably a good thing that I did, as some were brittle. One even broke when I was trying to remove it.
There was a little brake fluid in the rear drums when I removed them, so I replaced the wheel cylinders on both sides, the shoes, as well as all the springs and self adjuster hardware-
The wheel cylinders were fine in the front, so I left them-
But everything else is new.
I also removed, cleaned, and repacked the wheel bearings.
Then I put it all back together, adjusted the drums, and fired it up... I backed out of the shop, and it STOPPED... What a relief
I drove back and forth in the driveway leading to my shop to let the self adjusters do their thing, and after everything seemed to be OK, I took it for a road test. Once everything was adjusted, it was NICE. The braking is far better than before, I'm sure as a result of the new shoes.
After it was all done, and 'proven' on the road, I adjusted the Emergency brake, and now I'm ready for the road.
Overall, the entire conversion was about $50, with a new master cylinder, a plug, and a couple of hard lines. Of course doing the rest of the work that I did added cost, but I have about $100 or so total in the job. Not bad considering the vast improvement in braking- And also the peace of mind that comes with having two braking 'systems' in case one should fail.
-Andrew
I figured while I was at it, I might as well check the entire system, and replace anything else that needed it. In the end, I put on all new shoes, new rear wheel cylinders, all new springs, self adjusters, new hoses... Many of which I've never replaced on my own. I'm going to post some pics of the job here, hopefully someone else who's new to this might get some benefit from it.
It was a really easy job, and not that expensive, Especially considering the added safety margin. The instructions on the Early Valiant & 'Cuda club helped a LOT!
http://www.earlycuda.org/tech/dualmaster.htm
This is the original setup-
First, I gathered all the part. I bought a new master cylinder, which was about $24 from Rock Auto-
I used one for a '68 valiant, which bolts right in place-
After the test fit, I changed over the connections at the junction box. This was easy- I removed the line that once led to the rear brakes, and plugged it in the junction box. I then used a union to attach a new hard line to it, which runs up to the rear port on the master cylinder.
The front lines are both attached to the junction block, and a new hard line is run up to the master cylinder's front port-
Then it was just a matter of running the new hard lines up to the master cylinder. I used NICOPP lines, they are SO much easier to deal with than steel! I'm used to them on boats and marine applications, but this is the first time I've used them on a car. I'll never use anything else-
I tightened it all down, then bled the system. It took me two tries, but I FINALLY got all the air out. I did bench bleed the new master cylinder first, but I'm not too sure that I did it correctly- I think that there MIGHT have been some air stuck there, but it all seems good now.
While I was doing this, I went ahead and inspected EVERYTHING, and replaced anything that needed it. All the hard line seemed OK, but I replaced the hoses. It was probably a good thing that I did, as some were brittle. One even broke when I was trying to remove it.
There was a little brake fluid in the rear drums when I removed them, so I replaced the wheel cylinders on both sides, the shoes, as well as all the springs and self adjuster hardware-
The wheel cylinders were fine in the front, so I left them-
But everything else is new.
I also removed, cleaned, and repacked the wheel bearings.
Then I put it all back together, adjusted the drums, and fired it up... I backed out of the shop, and it STOPPED... What a relief
I drove back and forth in the driveway leading to my shop to let the self adjusters do their thing, and after everything seemed to be OK, I took it for a road test. Once everything was adjusted, it was NICE. The braking is far better than before, I'm sure as a result of the new shoes.
After it was all done, and 'proven' on the road, I adjusted the Emergency brake, and now I'm ready for the road.
Overall, the entire conversion was about $50, with a new master cylinder, a plug, and a couple of hard lines. Of course doing the rest of the work that I did added cost, but I have about $100 or so total in the job. Not bad considering the vast improvement in braking- And also the peace of mind that comes with having two braking 'systems' in case one should fail.
-Andrew
