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Ok so here's the deal... I pulled the master cylinder off of my '54 cavalier and it turns out that it is a complete piece of junk. I sent it out to Kanter to have them "evaluate" it and spent $20 just to get the thing shipped from CA to NJ. After waiting what seemed like a lifetime for them to get back to me, they finally told me that they could not do anything with it. Now they want $600 to give me a new master cylinder or $50 to ship my piece of junk back to me. This is where I'm hoping you guys can help me out. I want to know if anyone has a master cylinder in good condition or at least a rebuildable core for a '54 cavalier with power brakes. I really don't want to spend $600 on a new one if I don't have to. Thanks in advance for the help.

Might try Dan Yocum in Sylmar or David Moe in Seattle or Mike Dulinsky to see if they have a core. As to rebuild, many have recommended Ed Strain in Florida as the preferred choice.

Some of the contact info is in the directory-vendors section or do a search of the forums.

Also note there are at least 3 versions, yours would be 53-4 version. All would fit, but there are some internal differences and plumbing changes.

What makes it un-rebuildable? It is only a cylinder, re-sleeving them is commonplace. Of course, if nothing is available and they have machine a sleeve, costs might get out of hand.

Depends on what is damaged. If it is the vacuum portion and there's a dent, then the piston and seal won't work properly without some incredibly smooth bodywork.

The master cylinder is actually not a cylinder in the true sense. It is a casting where the fluid is displaced by essentially a round bar. The bar doesn't touch the sides at all other than the area where the seal between the vacuum section is. If the casting has had moisture to the point the potmetal has corroded and the sealing surfaces are pockmarked and shot, it would be almost impossible for it to be refinished & hold liquid. The actual "piston" could be welded or hardchromed if the seal point is the only place damaged, but also should be easy to turn a new one and have finished properly.

It is only a cylinder, re-sleeving them is commonplace.

The hydraulic portion of Bendix TreadleVacs don't really have a bore, so there is nothing really to re-sleeve.

Cores for the V8 units are commonplace and relatively inexpensive, so I'd suspect you should have little trouble getting a core for a 53/54 for $100 or less perhaps. Ed Strain who I think is among the best in the business gets about $225 (last time I heard) to rebuild a TreadleVac. Ed is in Pinellas Park, Florida I believe.

I assume you are speaking about a power master cylinder (TreadleVac). If you are speaking about the non-power master cylinder, than you can get it from Napa for about $60 for a brand new unit.

I'm not exactly sure on what makes it not rebuildable, but it doesn't seem far fetched for it to be true. I mean I took the thing off of the car and it was just caked with mud all throughout the inside. I first had it analyzed by a shop that Napa sent it out to and they gave it back to me partially dis-assembled and there were a bunch of internal pieces that were on the verge of crumbling. I wish I had some pictures to show you, but like I said Kanter still has my core and it doesn't seem worth it to me to even have it shipped back :(

Sorry that NAPA couldn't help. I think well of them. Their re-building is done somewhere in Pennsylvania. The last one they did for me was the master from my '64 Plymouth convertible.