Re: '56 Patrician Brakes

Posted by John Payne On 2012/10/17 19:46:05

G'day Brian. The pedal is a little too firm, but not dangerously so if you have a reasonably strong leg. I have had the booster rebuilt, fitted a new check valve and replaced all the vacuum hosing, so I think the issue is how the BTV was setup when it was rebuilt a couple of years ago (by Karps, CA). I don't think there is a problem with the reservoir, but that's something I should investigate. I'm pretty sure that there are no vacuum leaks otherwise, and am toying with the idea of fitting an alternator with an integrated vac pump, similar to what Peter Toet (Peter Packard) has done. This is only an idea at this stage but I would like to find out whether hooking up an auxiliary source of vacuum might be helpful (ie, stronger vacuum = reduced pedal pressure). Apart from this, as I have A/C and an electric pusher fan wired in with it, I have been thinking that an alternator might be an asset, especially in summer when the A/C and lights are on. The generator seems OK most times, but it's hard to read the instruments when idling at night in traffic because they are so dim. Regards, John