Just wondering what it takes...
1968 Newport... Do I want power brakes? How hard to do?
- Thread starter MBar
- Start date
You will need the power brake booster, mounting plate and pedal assembly. You will also need the vacuum fitting that goes into the manifold and a section of appropriate vacuum hose.
The pedal assembly and the mounting plate are donor car or wrecking yard items. The booster is still a stock item for drum brakes. Recommend that you do not install a Cardone rebuilt booster as their quality control sucks.
This conversion is a fairly straight forward bolt in which is not difficult if you have some mechanical skills. The operating pressures with power brakes will be higher, so be sure your wheel cylinders and brake hoses are up to spec. Would be a good idea to replace the master cylinder while you have it off.
Dave
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Thank you for that Dave,
Sounds straightforward enough...so no proportioning valve? Same master cylinder?.. would you know the range of years and models i can pick from? I have a 68 Newport 4dr 383 and I'm in southern California.
Also, is this worth the effort?
The booster went back to '66 and probably up to '70 or so, for power drum brake Chryslers. Same booster that's on my '66 Newport is the same as the one on my '67 Newport and same as on my '70 Monaco. All factory power drum brake cars. '67 is the first one to have the dual master cylinder, which your '68 should have. Seems like the same booster was on some B-body cars, too? I, suspect it would also be the same for similar Dodge and Plymouths, too?
At the salvage yard, be sure to get the booster pushrod, when you get it all apart. From a dual master cylinder donor vehicle, be sure to get the brake lines between the cylinder and the fluid divider block, as the booster will push the master cyl several inches toward the front of the vehicle. Or you might get them from a brake line repro vendor.
Worst thing will be the "inside work", under the dash.
Enjoy!
CBODY67
At the salvage yard, be sure to get the booster pushrod, when you get it all apart. From a dual master cylinder donor vehicle, be sure to get the brake lines between the cylinder and the fluid divider block, as the booster will push the master cyl several inches toward the front of the vehicle. Or you might get them from a brake line repro vendor.
Worst thing will be the "inside work", under the dash.
Enjoy!
CBODY67
Chryslers did not run a brake portioning valve for your year car. The brass block under the master cylinder is a brake warning valve. You only need to add the portioning valve if you are converting from drum to disc brakes to re-balance the system. Chrysler used a metering valve on the front cross member to balance the brakes, but no one that I know of is reproducing those, so the portioning valve on disc conversions is the usual choice. I would probably order a rebuilt booster unit rather than trying to find a good one at a salvage yard. Some of the rebuilt units come with a push rod, some do not. If you order the C-body unit and it has a push rod, it should be the correct one. The other choice would be to get the complete conversion from the salvage yard and have that booster rebuilt by a competent rebuilder. In line tube can supply the correct brake lines from the master cylinder to the brake warning valve.
Dave
Dave
70bigblockdodge
Old Man with a Hat
Don't do it unless you have problems with your lower extremities working properly, or your just lazy. Non power brake car is much better drive.
MoparJim
Active Member
I hear conflicting stories that aftermarket systems are great, or they are difficult to get right. It is also getting hard to find good used OEM systems in junkyards, but some buddies of mine did just that last year, and I am thrilled with the improvement. My 2 cents is that if you rarely drive your car then manual drums are probably OK, as long as you keep them in good condition. However, if you drive your car with any regularity, or you drive it in any kind of traffic, you should do the upgrade to power discs. I live in rural central California, but I take my car over to the coast and up in to the Sierra Nevada mountains on pleasure trips. I can be rolling on lonely country roads, cruising on busy interstates in the Bay Area or Sacramento, or driving on twisty and steep mountain roads in and around Yosemite or Lake Tahoe, depending upon which direction I go. I can also be sitting in stop-and-go traffic at any time of the day or night. I drove my car with the original power drums for years with only one close call: some idiot tourist stopped in the middle of 55mph highway to make an illegal left turn in to roadside fruit stand. I, along with the cars in front of me, were all able to stop, but it was obvious my drum brakes were challenged to their limit by the emergency stop. Knowing this was not the last time I would be sharing the road with an idiot, this convinced me I needed to upgrade my brakes. The reality is manual brakes simply can not and do not perform as well as power disc brakes in an emergency stop. That is a fact, not an opinion. I now have a set of power discs from a 73 C body Chrysler on my Sport Fury and I am thrilled with them. There are still lots of dummies on the roads around me, but I am now much better equipped to deal with them than with the power drum brakes my car originally came with.
Master cylinder is the same for power or manual drum brakes. You do not need a portioning valve with drum brakes.
Dave
rags
Senior Member
yes. do it. ask yourself after you have to panic stop it once "was this worth it?" i think you'll agree. of course it might make you appreciate a.b.s.
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Thanks for the comments. I think I will wait on this... I have other projects (non-mopar) and this is my only solid happy driver. Only weekend cruising usually errands... I think the power disk option is best but it will have to wait. I am thinking some AC would be nice.... I have gotten quite lazy about wrenching, having only done the necessaries on my Honda Daily. But I did get to the Chrysler lately (noisy water pump, tightening pans and exhaust etc...) and it has re-inspired me to look toward my other projects...I have a 69 vette convertible sitting with all new parts waiting to be assembled and I just haven't seemed to motivate until now. Regardless, I LOVE my Newport and I don't think I will ever sell...
1966newport
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car will not stopany better unless u lact the leg strenght to use manual brakes
MrMoparCHP
Old Man with a Hat
I'd put the money into disc brakes and forego the power brakes. You will notice the difference with disc, the difference in braking with power is negligible.
Power is all about pedal effort and has little to do with the actual braking effort.
Alan
Power is all about pedal effort and has little to do with the actual braking effort.
Alan
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