S/SS Brake safety

[Steve Polhill]

On My Escort the Pedal is attached to the Master cyl Rod with a pin right from the factory.

[Hacksaw]

I went off the end at Martin about 10 years ago. Frightening to say the least. My fix was to form a "top hat" from heavy sheet metal flat bar with the two outer holes matching the master cyl mounting holes and a center clearance hole for the pushrod to go through. After a mockup, I marked the exact spot for a flat washer to get welded on the rod, on the cyl side of the "top hat" with a slight amount of clearance. Simple and works.

[Kevin J. McHugh]

Thanks Tom, your advise is greatly appreciated!

[Chevy55]

CPP Tech Article..........................

Check Booster Pushrod Adjustment

The pushrod that actuates the master cylinder must be properly adjusted. Ideally there should be only slight clearance between the booster pushrod and the master cylinder pushrod. Interference will preload the master cylinder. When the system is preloaded, it builds pressure each time the pedal is pressed. Since the master cylinder is not allowed to fully release the pressure from the previous stroke, the system will eventually lock the wheels. Too much clearance will cause excessive freeplay in the pedal. In almost every case, if you bought your booster and master cylinder from us, we pre-adjust the booster pushrod and master cylinder for you so this is not a problem.
To make 100% certain of a properly adjusted booster pushrod for your master, we offer a master cylinder depth gauge (PN: CP2003) to determine correct pushrod length. The following illustration demonstrates the proper usage of this tool. First measure the length that the booster pushrod extends past the face of the booster with the "head" of the pin. on the tool. Then measure the depth of the master cylinder piston with the other end of the pin on the tool. If the pin hits or there is too much space on step two, then adjustment is necessary.

There are basically two different master cylinders that we use for our Chevy and Ford kits, the Deep Bore master cylinder and the Shallow Bore master cylinder. To determine which master cylinder your booster is setup to mate with, you can do the following simple check. For Shallow Bore master cylinders, the pushrod should be approximately flush with or below the booster face. Deep Bore master cylinders will protrude past the face of the booster body by about 1" to 1-1/2". Note that Deep Bore master cylinders are required for manual brakes and Shallow Bore master cylinders are generally used for power brake systems. We now supply a master cylinder piston adapter to accommodate both master cylinders. You will only use this adapter when you have a Deep Bore master cylinder with a short booster pushrod.


http://www.classicperform.com/TechBo...oubleshoot.htm

[Chevy55]

If you have manual brakes you must use a deep bore master or the pushrod will fall out in a hard braking situation.

[David Lee]

Originally Posted by Tom Goldman

After seeing the result of Lou Centelazzo's unfortunate crash this past weekend , Id' like to remind my S/SS friends about something I find on all too many cars I see in my shop.
Many cars ,regardless of the type of master cyl. do not have a push rod retainer or a positive brake pedal stop to prevent the pushrod from disengaging the master cyl. .
Since many cars have had the brake light switch removed there is nothing to keep the pedal from disengaging the pushrod but a small rubber retainer .
A small bracket with a stop bolt in place of the brake switch will prevent this ,just be sure to keep a small amount of clearance between the stop and pedal.
Another method that works if you have the Mopar master cyl , which most cars have is the Jerry Bickel push rod retainer kit .
This retainer is simple and will work on almost any application ,and it's only about $70 .

i must be daft, can you explain where this goes. I am converting to a mopar mc as we speak and last thing I need is an unsafe brake system

[Buick6]

I went to a local wrecking yard one day this summer and found 3 Chevy S10's with manual brake master cylinders with the retainer cups and push rods. I also grabbed a couple manual steering boxes since manual brake S10's usually have manual steering boxes. Cheap too!

[Mark Yacavone]

I seem to remember drilling out the piston in a power master for a longer rod, years ago.
Maybe it was just a dream, but it sounds like something I would do.

[Tom Goldman]

Originally Posted by David Lee

i must be daft, can you explain where this goes. I am converting to a mopar mc as we speak and last thing I need is an unsafe brake system

The Bickel retainer basically replaces the rubber boot .
The pushrod has a shoulder that can not go thru the hole on the retainer

[HandOverFist]

Originally Posted by David Lee

i must be daft, can you explain where this goes. I am converting to a mopar mc as we speak and last thing I need is an unsafe brake system

You can see it behind this M/C...