[PRHeloPilot]

Originally Posted by vinniekq2

when you get to doing or planning your brakes:
First,your truck originally had a single reservoir master cylinder,it has been upgraded to a dual reservoir(the red thing)
Do you have front disc brakes now?will you ever have disc brakes added to the rear?
The master cylinder needs to fit the application.

next is the proportioning valve. Thats the junction for the brake lines after the master cylinder. You can get adjustable valves.This makes it possible to limit the pressure to the rear in the back tires tend to lock up or allow more pressure if you carry heavy loads.
NOTE: disc brakes require more brake pressure than drum brakes.
Basically Im just saying you need to plan a complete brake system before upgrading or if you are repairing or dealing with any issues.

I read about that last night while doing other research. They were talking about how bad jeep rear brakes are. The rear I have on now is a drum brake Ford and it doesn't have emergency brakes so I'm replacing it with a '95 TransAm rear with disc brakes and emergency brake system. It would help so much if I was totally sure my front stuff is all from a '79 Camaro because I would then know if it had factory rear disc brakes. Then I'd be sure my system was designed for discs all around.

Right now I have 2 lines from the proportioning valve to the the front brakes and 1 line coming to the rear to this valve that divides it to the rear brakes..

[vinniekq2]

not sure I would bother wiring header bolts,at least not with new gaskets.They need to be re tightened once a week until they take a set. Make sure the wire does not make a mark in the tubes or cause rust to form(stainless wire) or wire the other bolts without crossing the primary tubes. good luck with back bolt.

69,a lot of home built aircraft use automotive power. Subaru goes with out saying.Here at our local airport there is a modified taylor craft with a v-6 ford and home made amphib floats.Its quieter than most air cooled aircraft engines and climbs like a home sick angel.

[PRHeloPilot]

Originally Posted by 69 widetrack

There you go...both methods will work. Myself I like the shiny ones, they do the same job, but they are shiny...Kind of a personal preference and if you have safety wire, your good to go. Carlos, it's good to see that your using the experience that you have gained from the aviation industry. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if you don't come up with new and revolutionary ideas that can benefit everyone in the hobby. These 2 industries have overlapped since their infancy and I'm sure there are many more ideas that can be utilized one from the other.

Being retired U.S. Air Force I prefer silver over Navy gold every day of the week but:

1- the silver ones are 60% more expensive and
2- my engine is going to be painted Chevy orange so the gold won't stick out as much.

[vinniekq2]

take the top off the master cylinder. the brake fluid reservoirs are divided into 2 compartments.If you have one large res and one small resits most likely a disc/drum set up. if both reservoirs are equal its for disc/disc.
If you swap different disc systems from different cars you can use that adjustable proportioning valve.
different diameter discs will convert different amounts of friction to heat and when you stop,inertia puts more weight on the front brakes,so they need more pressure and or bigger discs. The system will take tuning if you use salvaged parts from random donors

[vinniekq2]

Another thing as I can see you will upgrade/replace the rubber flex hoses for the calipers and the T juction on the diff,,,use braided steel lines. If you have someone stomp your brake pedal,watch what the rubber lines do,they deflect quite a bit.Brakes react faster with braided hoses and they dont weather crack

[PRHeloPilot]

Originally Posted by vinniekq2

take the top off the master cylinder. the brake fluid reservoirs are divided into 2 compartments.If you have one large res and one small resits most likely a disc/drum set up. if both reservoirs are equal its for disc/disc.
If you swap different disc systems from different cars you can use that adjustable proportioning valve.
different diameter discs will convert different amounts of friction to heat and when you stop,inertia puts more weight on the front brakes,so they need more pressure and or bigger discs. The system will take tuning if you use salvaged parts from random donors

My current one has big front and small rear reservoirs so I'm going to take a look at my TransAm and use it's booster and proportioning valve. Thanks for hat tip! I bought that TransAm just for the rear end but it looks like it was $500 well spent. I'm also thinking about using its bigger wheels and tires for now (16" vs 14" I currently have) and if I'm now going to use the brake booster even better. I also need to check to see if the 2 front coil springs will fit mine because one of my current coils is bad.

[69 widetrack]

Originally Posted by vinniekq2

not sure I would bother wiring header bolts,at least not with new gaskets.They need to be re tightened once a week until they take a set. Make sure the wire does not make a mark in the tubes or cause rust to form(stainless wire) or wire the other bolts without crossing the primary tubes. good luck with back bolt.

69,a lot of home built aircraft use automotive power. Subaru goes with out saying.Here at our local airport there is a modified taylor craft with a v-6 ford and home made amphib floats.Its quieter than most air cooled aircraft engines and climbs like a home sick angel.

All good advice Vinnie...Just a personal preference, I like to use clip locks over wire right away, yes you need to tighten them often in the beginning but you have less chance of that one bolt backing off rapidly and blowing out a gasket. They are easy to take on and off and I feel that it's just good insurance.

You've got the brakes covered very well Vinnie. I don't think I would add a thing at this time.

[PRHeloPilot]

Originally Posted by vinniekq2

Another thing as I can see you will upgrade/replace the rubber flex hoses for the calipers and the T juction on the diff,,,use braided steel lines. If you have someone stomp your brake pedal,watch what the rubber lines do,they deflect quite a bit.Brakes react faster with braided hoses and they dont weather crack

Yes, all hoses and seals are going to be replaced on the entire vehicle. I want this to be a good looking '49 on the outside but it primarily HAS to be a safe, modern, and reliable truck on the insides.

[PRHeloPilot]

Originally Posted by 69 widetrack

All good advice Vinnie...Just a personal preference, I like to use clip locks over wire right away, yes you need to tighten them often in the beginning but you have less chance of that one bolt backing off rapidly and blowing out a gasket. They are easy to take on and off and I feel that it's just good insurance.

You've got the brakes covered very well Vinnie. I don't think I would add a thing at this time.

OK then I'll just order them right now since they don't have them at the local Advanced Auto store. I'll just use the springy wire for a while until everything settles in and then finally safety wire it if I decide to later.

[vinniekq2]

the little details I think will come as the project progresses.look at the cables and related hardware for the emergency brakes.common sense things like replacing old steel brake lines.beg borrow steel a brake flair tool kit.If you dont already know all brake flairs are double flairs.dont worry very easy to make. When bending steel breaklines bend them over a curved surface,resist the urge to bend them with your bare hands.Ive kinked more than one and thrown it away.

[PRHeloPilot]

Yes my neighbor has the flaring tools and also a tubing bender gadget. I also just called AutoZone and they have the locking bolts for $10.99 so there's another couple of dollars saved ! The entire emergency brake system is coming from the TransAm and everything will be replaced also.

[PRHeloPilot]

OK so instead of ordering the header bolts online (prices ranged from $14 to $28) I found them locally for $10.99 and they included the hex tool so I went and bought them. These are the ones I ended up buying: Spectre 4668

It's dark already so I'll check the TransAm brake booster and proportioning valve tomorrow and post pictures.

[69 widetrack]

perfect Carlos, I'll wait to see your posts tomorrow.

Ray

[cobalt327]

The transmission is a TH350.

[PRHeloPilot]

Originally Posted by cobalt327

The transmission is a TH350.

Hi Cobalt. How did you come to that conclusion?