Now on to the brakes...

[68NewportDDD]

Back story can be found in my intro thread (Welcome 68NewportDDD to FCBO!)

Long story short I recently purchased a 68 Newport base 2 door slick top with a 383 and 3 speed auto. It has just under 60k original miles and (obviously) has been sitting more than it has been driven. It has been sitting (in a garage) for the past 10 years, driven a total of 2k miles during that time.

So we have it running (could probably still use a carburetor rebuild - has a Edelbrock 750 4 BBL). The fuel delivery was a bit challenging (see fuel pump rod...YOU KNOW what I am talking about!) but we figured it out with the help of Youtube University. Funny that I saw a VERY similar issue on a recent episode of Rust Valley Restorers (Netflix) the same night that we discovered and resolved the issue on the Newport.

Now on to the brakes - believe it or not we pulled the front wheels and drums and it looks like a recent brake job was performed. Fresh grease, bearings looked good, very clean, minimal brake dust. My guess is that the previous owner had to put new front brakes and tires in order to pass VA safety inspection. That is the good news - the not-so-good news is that we pulled the caps on the wheel cylinders - they look original and a lot of water and rust! As well, the booster is shot and the brake fluid looks like mud.

So I have ordered / am ordering new wheel cylinders, brake lines, hardware kits, and a new master cylinder/brake booster combo. We should have everything replaced by this Saturday and then we can take it for a test drive.

Only question is parts vendors. The hardware kit and wheel cylinders are from Dorman. Looks like I am going to be ordering the Master Cylinder & Booster combo from Leeds. Any feedback about these companies?

 

[mrfury68]

Craig @ mobile parts will have what you need. Good quality parts too. Reach him @ 516-485-1935. He will return your call. He is also a member here.

 

[68NewportDDD]

Craig @ mobile parts will have what you need. Good quality parts too. Reach him @ 516-485-1935. He will return your call. He is also a member here.

Thanks for the tip!

 

[mobileparts]

Thanks for the shout out, again, mrfury68 !!! You are the best !!!!
68NewportDDD,
Welcome Aboard and congratulations on the new toy.
98 % of Newports have
11" x 3" in the Front & 11" x 2 1/2" in the Rear....
The remaining 2 % have
11" x 2 3/4" in the Front & 11" x 2" in the Rear....

That changes some of the parts.... Definitely measure.

I have some +++ CRITICAL +++ parts --- like N.O.S. ++
Asbestos ++ Brake Shoes Front & Rear , the nicest, softest, smoooooothest braking surface known to mankind.... Now discontinued due to Asbestos Laws.

Also Dorman is all repackaged Chineseum parts --
On brake hydraulics, etc., etc....
On Power Brake Booster / Master Cylinder set ups ---
Much / Most of the aftermarkets are WRONG.....
DO NOT DO NOT release your cores (the old ones),
Such that R & R (Rebuild & Return) is still an option....
I utilize the best rebuilder in the planet -- over 35 years of friendship without a single defect yet !!!!!!

Always best to simply call me --- Craig ---
516 - 485 - 1935.... New York.....

 

[James Romano]

Hello. Welcome.

I did the same as you on my 65 Sport Fury. I decided to gut the entire system other than the brake shoes, as they were all good.

First and most important...your booster. As Craig mentioned...DO NOT give that up. The original quality of your booster can be returned by sending it out to Booster Dewey and having them rebuild it. Their quality is outstanding and worth the cost and wait. It's about 3 weeks if not more to turn around. The crap from Cardone is worthless and will not look or fit OEM specs for your car. Crapshoot at best. If you're buying a high end chrome booster/MC combo...just need to plumb it. Make sure the booster and MC are for DRUM brakes and not disc/drum or disc/disc.

Wheel cylinders can be bought from Craig NOS, but honestly... Raybestos are good and having used them on 7 different cars I own, I trust the quality. Get all new spring kits while your at it. The wheel cylinders are cheap. What fluid are you going to use? DOT 3/4, DOT 5? Now is a good time to think about that.

Lines: I went with Stainless Steel... Total ball breaker I know, but I live in Long Island and very close to the beach....so every bit helps. I got mine from Inline Tubing and Right Stuff. Both are very good quality.

Master Cylinder .. this all depends on the look you are going after. Will it be OEM or restomod? Again...related to the booster, if you're buying a high end combo that comes together, well you just need to plumb it in. If you're going for OEM, talk to Craig or again, Rockauto and whatever suits your budget. I have a Raybestos 1967 dual MC in mine as I converted from single MC to a dual. I wanted it to look as OEM as possible.

I hope that helps. Here's my setup...

 

[Big_John]

I would stay away from the Leeds generic booster and master cylinder too. They look to be a GM conversion that may or may not fit and work correctly.

As said, have the booster rebuilt by Booster Dewey. Power Brake Booster Exchange | Providing Parts for Classic Cars

You can also rebuild the wheel cylinders if they aren't too bad, but stay away from the Chinese stuff. I buy NORS Wagner brake cylinders off eBay that were built a while ago and are identical to the OEM stuff. I'll rebuild them as necessary.

 

[68NewportDDD]

Thanks for the tips! I certainly am not letting go of any of the parts I am pulling off of the car. Right now my goal is to get it road worthy. I will PROBABLY send the original booster to Dewey to rebuild it.

In the meantime I spoke with Leeds brakes. They are sending out a set up that will work but will need slight customizations in terms of fitting sizes. I believe the application I am getting is for a Ford but the folks at Leeds said it would work - they are super nice and cut me a decent deal. It is not chromed or anything; MC is cast iron and the booster is that brassy color.

For the wheel cylinders I went with Dorman. They had decent reviews and were available to be delivered by this weekend (they have already shown up). We were going to rebuild the stock cylinders but they were shot. In the interest of saving time I ordered the Dorman cylinders though I will probably rebuild the ones from the car as I am sure they are original.

Will keep the thread updated!

Hello. Welcome.

I did the same as you on my 65 Sport Fury. I decided to gut the entire system other than the brake shoes, as they were all good.

First and most important...your booster. As Craig mentioned...DO NOT give that up. The original quality of your booster can be returned by sending it out to Booster Dewey and having them rebuild it. Their quality is outstanding and worth the cost and wait. It's about 3 weeks if not more to turn around. The crap from Cardone is worthless and will not look or fit OEM specs for your car. Crapshoot at best. If you're buying a high end chrome booster/MC combo...just need to plumb it. Make sure the booster and MC are for DRUM brakes and not disc/drum or disc/disc.

Wheel cylinders can be bought from Craig NOS, but honestly... Raybestos are good and having used them on 7 different cars I own, I trust the quality. Get all new spring kits while your at it. The wheel cylinders are cheap. What fluid are you going to use? DOT 3/4, DOT 5? Now is a good time to think about that.

Lines: I went with Stainless Steel... Total ball breaker I know, but I live in Long Island and very close to the beach....so every bit helps. I got mine from Inline Tubing and Right Stuff. Both are very good quality.

Master Cylinder .. this all depends on the look you are going after. Will it be OEM or restomod? Again...related to the booster, if you're buying a high end combo that comes together, well you just need to plumb it in. If you're going for OEM, talk to Craig or again, Rockauto and whatever suits your budget. I have a Raybestos 1967 dual MC in mine as I converted from single MC to a dual. I wanted it to look as OEM as possible.

I hope that helps. Here's my setup...

View attachment 377318

 

[68NewportDDD]

I would stay away from the Leeds generic booster and master cylinder too. They look to be a GM conversion that may or may not fit and work correctly.

As said, have the booster rebuilt by Booster Dewey. Power Brake Booster Exchange | Providing Parts for Classic Cars

You can also rebuild the wheel cylinders if they aren't too bad, but stay away from the Chinese stuff. I buy NORS Wagner brake cylinders off eBay that were built a while ago and are identical to the OEM stuff. I'll rebuild them as necessary.

Thanks for the tip Big John! I already ordered the stuff from Leeds - we will see how it goes.

 

[68NewportDDD]

Hey hey hey! Wheel cylinders and booster were both shot. I went all of the way around and replaced just about EVERYTHING. New wheel cylinders (Dorman), the shoes (oddly enough) were in good shape, new brake hardware kit for each axle (also Dorman), new flex hoses (NAPA)(in the front). The booster was compromised; a lot of fluid leaking out on the bottom of the booster: I replaced both the booster and the Master Cylinder. Leeds Brakes sent me a custom set up (not specifically for a Newport but it fits). Those guys were great, incredibly helpful, and the kit came completely assembled. The booster even came with a custom bracket in order to get it to match up to the original brake line locations on the Master Cylinder and also to match the mounting locations on the firewall. I have not tested it yet but looking good so far. I still want to get the original booster rebuilt though - will send that off to Booster Dewey.

This was my first foray into messing with a brake pedal. I did not see any springs under the instrument panel. The rod going from the brake pedal to the booster may need to be cut down a little more though. All in all a pretty simple job. The biggest problem I am encountering right now is getting the brake line fitting threaded back in to the brake line block for the passenger side rear; it is acting like the threads on the block are gone.

I will keep everyone posted.

 

[James Romano]

Pics ...we love pics!

Good call on the Leeds. I mean in the end, it's your car and man, they're so much fun to drive rather than sitting on the side of a house. When you have the extra cash, definitely get that OEM booster done. You can't find those anymore, will pay through the nose to find one and it's always good to have the original equipment, even if it's not installed. At least you have it. I tossed my original single bucket MC... It was toast, I'll never go back to it, and they still sell them for cheap anyway. So what's the point. All the stuff you can get NOS or aftermarket gets tossed ....but that booster...Gold!!!

 

[mobileparts]

mrfury68,
Your inbox is FULL. Empty what you can get rid of!!!!
Want to send you a P.M. !!!!!!!
Yours, Craig.....