54 Special Brake Cylinder Frustration Help ?

[Sickboy54]

The re-build on the master cylinder/ booster for my 54 Special 40 turns out to be very expensive (I'm hearing possibly well over $500!!) . Since my car is a mild custom and I don't care about keeping all origional , I 'd prefer to go with a viable upgrade solution at that price. But I am heving a heck of a time finding one. I've tried Cantor, Scarebird and a bunch of other sources with little luck. Maybe I'm missing something here, but apparently the 53/54 Specials are real odd ***** as far as this issue. Has anyone here dealt with this? Any ideas. I really need to get this sorted out.Thanks.
I would consider a re-build if I could get it done right for reasonable money.

[buicknut]

Yes I am having the same dilemma with my '57 which uses what they call the TreadleVac. I sent mine down to Florida to get rebuilt however it is not working. Also I just had it in a local service shop to get the brakes working better if possible. They replaced the rear brake linings only but when I drove the car to another shop to get something else worked on I almost went through a stop light. Very disappointed also after spending a lot of money on the brakes and still have nothing. I may have to modify also and install a dual brake system.
Lee

[rcfryer]

There is a guy in Portland Oregon that goes by Booster Dewey who works wonders with older brake boosters. He rebuilt mine for a fraction of what others wanted, and it works great! His website is
http://boosterdeweyexchange.com and the phone number is 503.238.8882
I converted my car to disk brakes and still used the same booster. This guy is great!

[Sickboy54]

There is a guy in Portland Oregon that goes by Booster Dewey who works wonders with older brake boosters. He rebuilt mine for a fraction of what others wanted, and it works great! His website is
http://boosterdeweyexchange.com and the phone number is 503.238.8882
I converted my car to disk brakes and still used the same booster. This guy is great!

Thanks, but the master cylinder is really the problem. Most places won't rebuild it alone, so that's why my post reads the way it does.( plus if your gonna re-build a 54 year old master cyliner, doing the booster at the same time kinda makes sense) I probably should have been clearer.

[Snake-Man]

I noticed you posted on Ol' Skool Rodz and I wrote you a reply on there as well, but your best bet is CARS, Inc. www.oldbuickparts.com they offer a full rebuild of your power-brake system for about $250.

[55Spcl]

Although my '55 Special has non-power brakes under the floor, I've heard nothing good about the TreadleVac power brakes. I would convert to a more modern and safer dual master cylinder before I'd rebuild the TreadleVac unit. There are a lot of hot rod vendors out there that sell dual master cylinders available with very small boosters, that can be mounted either under the floor or on the firewall with a little ingenuity.

[39CENT]

Thanks, but the master cylinder is really the problem. Most places won't rebuild it alone, so that's why my post reads the way it does.( plus if your gonna re-build a 54 year old master cyliner, doing the booster at the same time kinda makes sense) I probably should have been clearer.

Ive seen the same master cylinder on many GM cars from 1939 up to and including the 55 Buick. Don,t know why you can,t find one? But a master cylinder is a master cylinder, just get the right sized piston, or you can go to a more modern one and it will work on your Buick.Yes checkout the brake vendors they should be able to help. The best thing you can spend your money on is the brake system.

[39CENT]

in the search box, look under 'brake cylinders' and related subjects for more info on this site, also try these guys they may be able to help.

http://www.brakecylinder.com/

[Jim Carmichael]

Any 7 inch power brake booster should work and switch to a new dual master cylinder at the same time. As has been suggested look at the street rod / hot rod magazines and you should find one that works for about $225.00. I used one on my 63 Galaxie and you just have to build what ever you need to mount it and hook it up.

If you are staying with drum brakes you need a master cylinder with the residule valves so pick one for a car like a 1967 Buick that uses a dual master cylinder but has drum brakes.

With the drum brakes you will not need a proptioning valve.

[cees]

It's easy to do yourself, you can buy a mastercilinderkit and a booster leather from oldbuickparts for about $140 in acouple of hours the job is done.