66 Dart GT HT Whatsitgonnabe?

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moparmat2000 said:
Anders, i contacted TheRamman on ebay about his brake booster rebuild kits, and brake parts. Specifically the mopar A body one from 1973 - 1976. This is a Midland Ross type unit with the strap holding the halves of the booster together. He told me a rebuild kit for this booster would cost me $145, he just doesnt have it listed on evilbay. So yes the kit to rebuild this is out there. I mentioned to him about putting this kit on ebay.

I took mine apart, and yesterday i dropped the steel parts in a water and molasses mixture to remove the minor rust on everything Just checked it today. Everythings looking good. Almost all cleaned up. Some minor pitting from where dot 3 brake fluid caused a bit of corrosion from a leaky master cylinder. I plan to sand this smooth, and may just have the canister halves powdercoated black. This solves any rust issues inside the unit. I would have painted it , and coated the inside with the epoxy primer if it was pitted badly , but the metal is really nice and for the most part smooth and will take the powdercoat nicely.

Hope this helps
Matt
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Geez! $145?! Well, that's not happening. Thanks for looking, though. I started wiping the rust flakes off the rubber and much of it is in surprisingly good shape. Feels soft and elastic.

I'll probably powder coat the parts that don't have rubber attached.
 
360DartGT66 said:
Geez! $145?! Well, that's not happening. Thanks for looking, though. I started wiping the rust flakes off the rubber and much of it is in surprisingly good shape. Feels soft and elastic.

I'll probably powder coat the parts that don't have rubber attached.
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I thought that price seemed high also. I don't know the exact booster you're using but I've seen complete rebuilt setups for around that price.
 
Yeah, I suppose they sand blast them, throw some zinc coating on it and re-sell if they're not leaking.

I think this will be a very likely leaking spot if I don't even the pits out somehow; grind, paint or filler. It's the mounting hole for the check valve. The inside looks better, though, so it might be ok. I'll fix it nevertheless.
2016-08-16 09.41.18.jpg
 
360DartGT66 said:
Yeah, I suppose they sand blast them, throw some zinc coating on it and re-sell if they're not leaking.

I think this will be a very likely leaking spot if I don't even the pits out somehow; grind, paint or filler. It's the mounting hole for the check valve. The inside looks better, though, so it might be ok. I'll fix it nevertheless.
View attachment 1714958971
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They didn't even bother to put the zinc coat on the one we got. You could tell it had been sandblasted though. We tried to duplicate the zinc look with translucent paints. It might've worked but we didn't try polishing the metal first.
 
I was thinking of the rust-proofing grey zinc coating, it's a paint that goes on in a very thin layer. Like the grey parts in this pic:

2016-05-23 15.11.12.jpg
 
360DartGT66 said:
Yes, a refurbed booster/MC setup is $128 on Rock Auto: More Information for A-1 CARDONE 506101

An even $100 if you turn in a core.
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I may have to look into that then. Some of the rubber parts on mine are visibly dry rotted and have small cracks. At the very least if the canister halves on mine are in better shape than the cardone one, i can use the seals, diaphragm and pieces from it, to rebuild mine.
 
Try appliance paint I swear by it it is a epoxy paint and dries like powder coat and is really touch!
 
halifaxhops said:
Try appliance paint I swear by it it is a epoxy paint and dries like powder coat and is really touch!
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Can you get it in gloss black? How do you prep before applying it?

BTW Anders, are you planning on running DOT 3 ester based brake fluid , or DOT 5 silicone based brake fluid.

I plan on running DOT 5 silicone based. Waaay better, and it doesnt eat paint.
 
Yes comes in three colors all gloss. Black, white and beige. Available at most hardware stores for around 5 a can. That's all I have been using for gloss the last year. Even stands up to pretty high heat Like brake drums etc, and you can beat it with a hammer and it does not chip either. Use it like any other type or spray paint same prep. Warning do not spray hinges with it unless the joints are taped off. Bent a hood because of that then could not get the hinge to move at all. LOL
 
360DartGT66 said:
Yeah, I suppose they sand blast them, throw some zinc coating on it and re-sell if they're not leaking.

I think this will be a very likely leaking spot if I don't even the pits out somehow; grind, paint or filler. It's the mounting hole for the check valve. The inside looks better, though, so it might be ok. I'll fix it nevertheless.
View attachment 1714958971
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I have similar issues there with mine. I plan to sand it smooth with a dual action auto body sander to smooth out and lessen the pitting before taking it for powdercoating. Or even using the appliance paint Mr halifaxhops mentioned. The powdercoat will fill smaller imperfections, either way, a new soft rubber grommet for the check valve should seal pretty well.
 
halifaxhops said:
Yes comes in three colors all gloss. Black, white and beige. Available at most hardware stores for around 5 a can. That's all I have been using for gloss the last year. Even stands up to pretty high heat Like brake drums etc, and you can beat it with a hammer and it does not chip either. Use it like any other type or spray paint same prep. Warning do not spray hinges with it unless the joints are taped off. Bent a hood because of that then could not get the hinge to move at all. LOL
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Sounds like just the ticket for spraying my K frame when the time comes. Does it flash over quickly, or does it stay wet long enough to spray everything without getting dryline on it. Do you shoot it over bare prepped metal, or use a type of primer?
 
I have just hit it over bare metal with great results. It is a epoxy paint and evens out by "flow" when it dries prob around a half hour to touch and a full day for the process to end. I hang what I paint with wires to be safe of no marks. ***** to get off your hands when it is dry.
 
Thanks for the tips, guys! I'll definitely use brake fluid that doesn't eat paint if I can. Don't feel like re-doing my calipers.

Speaking of which, I found the missing piston! It and the seven other old ones were not scrapped after all, merely moved to a more secluded area of my basement.

2016-08-16 11.24.32.jpg


So now I can insert that in stead of the crappy one I used a few months ago.

I am now officially a mini starter user! And I installed the dust cover I bought over a year ago as well as the inspection cover Don sent me. Much obliged.

But seriously, what's up with the 7/16" holes? They can't be for holding the dust cover?

2016-08-16 12.14.56.jpg
Dust cover bolts.jpg


I also improved the safety in my garage a little bit by mounting the fire extinguisher to the wall in stead of it sitting on the floor in the middle of everything.

2016-08-16 10.51.33.jpg
 
Ok, I just repeated my compression measurements and included the new Fel-Pro 8553PT gaskets Karl sent me. I bought a proper dial gauge and a magnetic foot a while back so this time I could actually get the piston exactly 2 mm i the hole. I also spent a little more time sealing the plate and piston-bore gap to avoid leaks.

This time around I got a compression ratio between 10.56:1 and 10:84:1.

I'm liking my car more and more. :D

I am, however, going to have to do something about this brake booster.

2016-08-16 12.31.41.jpg


Now, my mopar performance valve covers might be a tad lower but the booster isn't even properly seated on the brackets in the picture. I think I would have to offset the booster by as much as 1/2" to make it work.

I'm sure I'm not the first to have this issue so there ought to be threads on the topic.

The rust inside is pretty visible in this pic, too.
 
dust cover holes - - yep - just for holding the dust cover - there may have been a brace (I can't for the life of me remember if it was on the left or right side) that attached to the one on the right - but most people don't reuse it. Just put some bolts in there and move on. Your valve cover is likely on the wrong side - I had to mount mine so the breather is to the right and the PCV is to the left.
 
Support struts from engine to trans. Late model 318/360. Theres one on each side. R/H wont work with 90° filter adaptor. Not really needed.
 
360DartGT66 said:
Ok, I just repeated my compression measurements and included the new Fel-Pro 8553PT gaskets Karl sent me. I bought a proper dial gauge and a magnetic foot a while back so this time I could actually get the piston exactly 2 mm i the hole. I also spent a little more time sealing the plate and piston-bore gap to avoid leaks.

This time around I got a compression ratio between 10.56:1 and 10:84:1.

I'm liking my car more and more. :D

I am, however, going to have to do something about this brake booster.

View attachment 1714958984

Now, my mopar performance valve covers might be a tad lower but the booster isn't even properly seated on the brackets in the picture. I think I would have to offset the booster by as much as 1/2" to make it work.

I'm sure I'm not the first to have this issue so there ought to be threads on the topic.

The rust inside is pretty visible in this pic, too.
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SLot the bracket holes at the firewall end to move it off to the side about 1/4 inch, then slot the holes at the booster end of the mount bracket to move it up 1/4 inch. Should do it. The attaching arm to the brake pedal will need to be shimmed a bit, and the arm off the booster has enough play to move over a little. You may have to do a little more to prevent any binding.

I modded a setup like this for a 1960 el camino, using a 1960 chevy belair brake booster mount bracket (similar to A body one) and a GM oldsmobile cutlass metric booster with chevy S10 master cylinder, and threaded heim joints. Even used SAAB 430B overhead bin spacers between the booster and mount bracket lol.
 
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ScampMike said:
dust cover holes - - yep - just for holding the dust cover - there may have been a brace (I can't for the life of me remember if it was on the left or right side) that attached to the one on the right - but most people don't reuse it. Just put some bolts in there and move on. Your valve cover is likely on the wrong side - I had to mount mine so the breather is to the right and the PCV is to the left.
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There were braces on both sides from the factory. They can't be used with some headers and most people leave them off...
 
moparmat2000 said:
Support struts from engine to trans. Late model 318/360. Theres one on each side. R/H wont work with 90° filter adaptor. Not really needed.
Click to expand...

I've seen a 318 with the 90° adapter, stock 69 exhaust manifolds and the struts in place in a 69 Dart...
 
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