1966 brakes; dual master conversion & brake shoes

[Michael A.]

Re: 1966 brakes; dual master conversion & brake shoes

Hey Richard - The thread is really interesting as I'm considering the same thing as you - either a dual master cylinder conversion on my 66 or going full bore with a proper 66 power brake set up. What did you decide on? Did you complete it? How did it go? Any lessons learned would be appreciated.

Thanks
Mike

[Richard E.]

Re: 1966 brakes; dual master conversion & brake shoes

Hi Mike,
Please accept my apology for the delay in reply, have not had time for computers lately!
Yes, the install is completed. I did not go with the power conversion, just the dual master.
I think power is possibly a better selection, however, here are some reasons I decided against:
On a BB car you need a valve cover that clears the booster.
As I recall you will need to remove some welded studs from the original brake pedal bracket and drill holes for the lower mount holes on the brake booster.
Installing upper rivets for the boost bracket appeared to be a challenge (at least for me).
Retro-fit back to the original master would be quick and fairly simple if desired.
The installation is straight forward, note: one brake line clamp (most forward on chassis as I recall) is difficult to remove as it is sandwiched between body and chassis.
I noticed no real change (improved braking) with the dual master conversion, stopping no better, no worse.
Based on memory this is my recall.
Hope this helps. Let me know what you do if you make a change. I'll try to answer any questions you might have. Thanks for asking.
Regards,
Rich

[Joe L.]

Re: 1966 brakes; dual master conversion & brake shoes

Hi Mike,
Please accept my apology for the delay in reply, have not had time for computers lately!
Yes, the install is completed. I did not go with the power conversion, just the dual master.
I think power is possibly a better selection, however, here are some reasons I decided against:
On a BB car you need a valve cover that clears the booster.
As I recall you will need to remove some welded studs from the original brake pedal bracket and drill holes for the lower mount holes on the brake booster.
Installing upper rivets for the boost bracket appeared to be a challenge (at least for me).
Retro-fit back to the original master would be quick and fairly simple if desired.
The installation is straight forward, note: one brake line clamp (most forward on chassis as I recall) is difficult to remove as it is sandwiched between body and chassis.
I noticed no real change (improved braking) with the dual master conversion, stopping no better, no worse.
Based on memory this is my recall.
Hope this helps. Let me know what you do if you make a change. I'll try to answer any questions you might have. Thanks for asking.
Regards,
Rich

Rich------

All big block Corvettes had a left side valve cover designed for clearance of a power brake booster. So, whether your car was originally equipped with power brakes, or not, you should have a valve cover designed for clearance of the booster.

With that said, I think you made the right choice of not converting to power brakes. In addition to the other reasons you mentioned, I've never found that there was really that much of a braking performance difference between standard and power brakes for a Corvette.

[Richard E.]

Re: 1966 brakes; dual master conversion & brake shoes

Joe,
You got me on this one! Yes my original valve cover does have the clearance indent. I have had a set of none original chrome covers on the car (for too long now) as I had removed the originals for cleaning and repaint some time ago and not accomplished the task yet. If a person does not have stock covers, beware if adding a booster.
Thanks.

[Michael A.]

Re: 1966 brakes; dual master conversion & brake shoes

Thanks Rich. I'm leaning towards the power brake conversion. Hopefully the rivets don't create too much of a challenge. The bigger challenge will be that forward brake line clamp. I'm doing this with the body on and will replace the brake line. Not sure now how I'll get at this without raising the body. Any suggestions out there would be appreciated.

Thanks
Mike