1954 Corvette master cylinder piston question

[Tim M.]

I replaced the master cylinder in my 1954 corvette with one from rock auto about 10 years age. Recently in started leaking out the back so I bought a rebuild kit from rock auto. The top piston in the picture is the one from the master cylinder, the lower one is the one in the kit. The lower one does not have the extra material behind the secondary cup. Are these 2 pistons interchangeable?

[Joe L.]

Re: 1954 Corvette master cylinder piston question

I replaced the master cylinder in my 1954 corvette with one from rock auto about 10 years age. Recently in started leaking out the back so I bought a rebuild kit from rock auto. The top piston in the picture is the one from the master cylinder, the lower one is the one in the kit. The lower one does not have the extra material behind the secondary cup. Are these 2 pistons interchangeable?

Tim------


I suspect they are interchangeable but I can't say that for sure. However, I like the design of the top piston rather than the lower. The hard chroming of the aluminum does not appear to be worn in any way. So, why not just clean up the old piston, remove the old seal, and install the seal from the new piston? Of course, you would need to inspect the seals when removed to ensure that there is not some configurational difference which would preclude using the new seal on the old piston.