The Force Awakens...

The next step was (once the old master cylinder was removed) using the supplied template, plot where the holes for the studs should be and the enlarged center.

I carefully cleaned the firewall and used a white out pen. That worked fine.

1A Template.jpg


And it's smiling at you...
1A smile.jpg

The instructions then suggest using a sawzall to enlarge the center hole and shape in to an egg-like form. I found that, as it is glass... hand tools and a drill are sufficient. The four bolt holes need to be enlarged. I found that on my car, under the glass, the top bolt holes were already there in the right position. Good, good ! Enlarging the four bolts required a cobalt bit. The metal is tough !!!
1A sawzall.jpg

Be mindful of the matting on the other side of the firewall.

Remove the push-rod and the brake like switch bracket. Taking these of was easy. Replacing them was a nightmare. I would suggest reinstalling the bracket BEFORE putting the booster on. The clevis pin and retaining clip were not so bad. BTW the bracket and push-rod swap places. No bid deal there. Once installed, the pedal will be lower; so you will have to readjust your brake light switch.
 
Pretty !
1A Booster.jpg

The kit also came with a vacuum hose and clips. I fortunately had a free barbed port on the back of my carb. The kit included a manifold fitting to split vacuum. I didn't need it.

The next step was to install the new master cylinder... it was 2300 when I finally managed to get the hydraulic lines (also supplied) installed. As anyone who has worked with these lines and fittings... the angle a has to be just right.
1A New Booster.jpg
 
The next morning all I had to do was bleed the system and reinstall the driver seat... Yes, it took a while to get over my stubbornness, but it was very helpful to remove it.

There are two bleeds on top of the new master cylinder - make sure they are tight. I also could not figure out why my pedal was still spongy after bleeding. Well, the rear calipers have TWO bleeds per caliper. In my hubris, I did not read zip-corvette's instructions where they point this out; this was the only step I did not bother reading.

Hmm, paint on my rotors???
1A blue.jpg

Am I pleased with the results??? Hell yes !!!! MUCH better !!!!!!!!!!! It will take some getting use to, tho' ;)
 
Incidentally, it now performs better (brake-wise) than the TT which came with power brakes, OE.
 
Nice quality work Dorian !!!

What abut the brake lines going to the master cylinder, did they fit without modification? Didn't the MC move forward with the booster behind it now?
 
good job, , and yes painting the brake calipers improves the look measurably.


 
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Thanks gents !!!

Indycars said:
What abut the brake lines going to the master cylinder, did they fit without modification? Didn't the MC move forward with the booster behind it now?
Click to expand...

Zip-corvette actually supplied pre-bent hydraulic lines.

I'll test more this weekend...

Hmmmm, paint calipers? Body color seems like a good idea ;-)

I also noticed that there is some slack in the throttle cable. I'll need to sort that out - with the crappy intake, it makes moving off the line even more difficult.
 
Um, not to rain on your parade, but you forgot 1 really important step - bench bleeding the new MC.
And it must be level while doing this. With the upward angle when installed in the car, you can NEVER
remove all of the air. Your only option now is to re-bleed with the car parked on a hill with the wheels
chocked so that the MC is level. Either that, or take it back apart.
 
He can bleed the master on the car Mike with a Helper.
Depress the brake pedal firm to the floor.
Crack one brake line off the master.
The helper does not lift at all.
Shut the line.
Do it till fluid runs out with no air.
Repeat on the other master brake line.

I have fittings with Brake lines pre made up to bleed on the car too for GM.
 
Loves302Chevy said:
Um, not to rain on your parade, but you forgot 1 really important step - bench bleeding the new MC.
And it must be level while doing this. With the upward angle when installed in the car, you can NEVER
remove all of the air. Your only option now is to re-bleed with the car parked on a hill with the wheels
chocked so that the MC is level. Either that, or take it back apart.
Click to expand...

Hmmm, there seems to be two bleeder screw on the MC. I'll bet that is what those are for !

Thanks for flagging this point.
 
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Bled the two screws on the side of the master cylinder and, indeed, some bubbles came out. This weekend, I will once more go around to all calipers to see if any trapped bubbles shook free.
 
So, the intake came in. It was approx. $150 with shipping included. It looked in reasonable condition...

AA1.jpg

I gave it a good clean, a lick of paint and went through the threads...
1.jpg

Looks like a crack here (painted epoxy?) possibly from a helicoil? The threads look fine.
1 a.jpg
 
Turning my attention to the old Torker 1; removing carb, etc.
1 c.jpg

Note to self: thread sealer needed on some of the intake bolts; there is some oil puddled up there.
1d.jpg

A good idea to put at TDC 1 firing right about now

1 b.jpg
 
Intake comes off... the gaskets look in reasonable shape. Not that I am reusing them; but good to see.

1 a.jpg

After cleaning, I like first smearing some on, even before I apply the 1/4 inch bead at the front.
1 b.jpg

1 c.jpg

On she goes. Nice to see the power break conversion kit included a vacuum fitting.
1 d.jpg

Then the thermostat. Unsurprisingly, there was none under the thermostat housing of the intake I bought.
1 e.jpg

Now we let things rest...
1 f.jpg
 
As I was tinkering around, I did notice that in addition to the slack in the throttle pedal, the secondaries were not fully opening either. I will address both of those before taking for a spin.
 
Hmmmm. Not sure where to post this, so I’ll continue here. I’m getting used to the power brakes and they seem to work quite well.

While I was tinkering with the thermostat, or rather lack of, I went for a test drive.

Until now, acceleration to me has been nothing to call home about with a nearly stock cam and 882 heads. On deceleration, I had also noticed popping in the mufflers. Rich condition? Lean condition? Exhaust leak?

Anyway, I tried swapping the vacuum advance from ported to full. I remember that the TT liked that. This raised the idle RPM (not too surprising) but two other things changed... the acceleration seemed to improve significantly and, I seemed to notice there was less popping in the muffs (could it be the colder engine?). High speed cruising seems to have improved and the vibration seems to have faded!!!!

I think I’m going to get ready for a big invest in this car:
- a new, qualty 8 inch damper
- a new aluminum radiator with a new thermostat and seals
- new plug wire
- an MSD box
- possibly a new, quality, distributor and coil

That way, we’ll also be sure the timing is squared away.
 
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