1952-59 Ford Help with power brakes

hello
im having trouble with my brakes on my 55 customline I put a power brake booster and dual diagram master cylinder all brand new. I have a hard brake peddle its very hard to stop. I also put self adjusters on all 4 drums. I don't think in getting enough vacuum to the booster I can pull the vacuum line off the motor while its running and it make little difference

need help please

 

From your album pictures I see you are running an Edelbrock carb so I ***ume you are getting vacuum from the rear port of the Carb,for the booster to work you need a reading of 16" or better,hook up a vacuum gauge at that port and see what you are getting.You may just want to add this:http://www.summitracing.com/parts/cca-5201/overview/

 

what kind of booster is it? got a pic

 

If the motor has a stock cam, it should pull 20 or 21 inches of vacuum. Mine pulls 11 on a good day down hill.

 

Had the same problem when I installed power brakes. The master cyl. was not letting the booster come all the way back to release the brakes. I first put 1 washers between the master cyl. & the booster. And everything was OK. I/8" MADE A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE.

 

this is a pic of the first booster set up i put on mine its not enough booster. its hard to describe how the pedal felt. you could tell a difference in the pedal with the car running. pedal felt good. just didnt stop for anything. i sent it back got a replacement one and installed it. same thing no change. so now those a garage ornaments.





so went a got me a little jeep cherokee booster and put on my car. stops great just like a new car built today.

 

what year of jeep Cherokee did you get the booster from
are they the same bolt pattern as the 55 ford

thanks
bobby

 

1996 i think. no its a little different not alot. i did have to shorten the push rod in the booster on the pedal end to make it all work.

 

ok thanks
on my brakes when I pull the vacuum hose off of the back of the carb the motor don't make much difference I know it should cut off but mine keeps running I can put my finger over the vacuum line and it don't feel like im getting much vacuum I don't have a gage to check it

 

This should be in your toolbox:http://www.harborfreight.com/fuel-pump-and-vacuum-tester-93547.html A lot of test and tune can be done with these.You'll find it's a wise investment for $15.

 

your booster hose should pull your finger hard to it. is there a vacuum tree on your intake with a 3/8 ****** on it? if there is try it

 

yes I tried it also but same thing no vacuum. the motor does have a cam in it I know that it will take the vacuum away

 

thanks jeffb2 im going to get one tomorrow

 

on your cam specs chart does it say dont use with power brake? or does it require a big stall converter.

 

I don't really know about the cam specks but I do have a stall converter I think its a 2100

 

I second what RDAh said. There is an adjustment between the booster and the master cylinder. If the push rode is not allowed to return all the way you get little to no pressure to the brakes. Even one turn too much on the adjust will keep it from working. I had the same problem with my convertion until I got it adjusted correctly.

 

You can also check to make sure you have full travel. If the pushrod is too short for example maybe the pedal is bottoming out or hitting something under the dash simply not allowing anymore travel making the pedal very hard and have poor braking. I have had this before on my tbucket. As well, the donor m/cyl has a lot to do with it. A larger bore will have a much harder pedal. The booster compensates for that so you don't notice it but if you are having vacuum problems then there is not booster help which in turn makes the pedal very hard.