This is a 'food for thought' post... Has anybody thought about a design to put the brake booster behind the dash rather than in the engine compartment? I'm not talking about those bellcrank arrangments where both the booster and master are there, I don't like those because of the difficulty of monitoring fluid level. Yeah, you can do a remote reservoir but cramming all that plumbing and whatnot under there is not repair friendly. Under the floor has most of the same problems plus you have a lot more parts all competing for the same space (exhaust, clutch linkage). This is aimed at the pre-49 cars, the later cars have much more space and in the case of OEM installs that's where they go. But they look out-of-place on the early cars. Hanging pedal conversions are traditional on the older cars but didn't have boosters 'back in the day'. I'm thinking of mounting the booster-only behind the dash, sandwiching the firewall between the booster and the master. This would require offsetting the booster to one side, also moving the master towards the outside of the car. This can reduce poor access/interference with the engine install. My avatar has a power booster, it limits the size of the air cleaner I can fit among other issues. You'd need some sort of linkage to do this but in the end you'd have a much more traditional looking install. Anybody done this? Comments, opinions?
I like the idea. Providing there's enough room between the firewall and the back of the dash, it should be doable. Coming up with workable linkage may be challenging though.
Brake booster from a Geo metro is the smallest one ever and I have crammed them in a lot of places. Nothing else will fit. Available from parts chain. I’ve got this little gizmo I’ll be playing with. Its relatively small unit as well.
Ran across those remote boosters the other day, looking into a future boosted brake project. Perfect for cars with no room.
Seems like it would be a good idea. I found a brake booster/master cylinder setup on a '84 Toyota vanwagon that was mounted behind the dash with the master cylinder pointed toward the driver - the reverse of how they normally are. Did it fit for me? No.
You could do similar to what BMW did at the factory on RHD BMW E30's [325i etc] They had a slant 4 or slant 6 engine and there was no room for the brake booster and M/C in front of the drivers pedals [the steering column just cleared under the engine] BMW simply left the booster M/C in the LHD position and used a bellcrank and a pullrod system behind the dash to the RH side pedals. here is the BMW booster /bellcrank assembly All you need to do is similar but instead mount the booster inside and M/C outside the firewall, on the opposite side of the dash to provide room [or even slightly offset]
The remote unit I haven’t played with yet. My buddy has a 34 roaster with a remote system on it. I think it’s 50s Tbird unit. Very nice built car. He’s got a little jelly jar on the firewall, hanging pedal and the remote is back by the rear tire. That one stops great except the footwell is so small. A while back I posted up a ID request thread on it. There’s some decent pics. For the geo metro unit The most extreme tightness one I did was a 1959 Mercedes 190sl. Stuffed a big V8 in there. Fought like hell to get pedal ratio up to 3.99”:1 with the metro booster and master. 4 wheel disc and it stops great. Nice pedal feel to it good foot ergonomics too. Others I’ve done have better pedal ratio and stop good too. Seems it’s the hot ticket for the falcon crowd, that’s kinda where I got the idea from.
With swing pedals under the dash I fail to see where the room for the booster would come from. Most 40's and 50's cars don't have that much room between the dash and the firewall.
I did exactly what the OP was inquiring about. I bought the ECI offset swinging brake pedal setup with 9” booster. I also didn’t want to look at the MC and booster hiding most of my engine, so I built a bracket to place the booster inside of the firewall behind the dash, and sandwiched the firewall between the booster and MC. I don’t mind the MC there and it is more accessible there than under the dashboard or floor.
I have one of these (but an Australian made version, and same part number as the ad shown) on my '36 (disc/drum with a proportioning valve installed), and am putting one on my '47, same set-up. Works well, and can be mounted virtually anywhere, even under the fender of a fat bodied car. Not sure how much boost is supplied, there are also different sizes of bore available. Very common aftermarket mod here.
Here’s that thread with pictures. You can see the rear shock and wheel https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/remote-booster-and-master-cylinder-id.1193709/
Lots of great ideas here, thanks guys! Now, I also want to fit mechanical clutch linkage but I also have a wider cowl with my '47 so I see this as doable. Just move the booster further outboard, it should give enough room for the pedal. The key will be a small enough booster.
I did that Mercedes job with the metro booster in 2015. There’s info here https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/what-size-brake-booster.984980/ I talk about it more and it was fresh
The 2 examples shown look to be late 20s/early 30s cars. I don't get why such a small, light car would need boosted brakes. My '36 pickup, with less than ideal pedal ratio, doesn't need power brakes and stops good without too much effort. Gary
So am I correct in thinking that you swapped masters onto that booster? The Falcon link is gone, no help there...
I think ECIbrakes had ad a trunk mounted remount power assist system. I believe was from a Cadillac, call and ask.
I remember that a classmate had a late 60's Vauxhall Viva that had a really long pushrod that came through the firewall to engage a bellcrank which worked on a booster and master cylinder mounted on the rad support.
My sister's Mitsubishi Colt had a conventional firewall mounted booster/master cylinder but it was on the passenger side with linkage to make it work behind the dash. More than one way to skin a cat.
I get what you're saying, Gary, but I will say some folks may have physical limitations that a boosted brake system could help a great deal with, and the same goes for power steering. While I get along fine with full manual everything, I have a friend who is becoming more like Steve Austin every year, and he really likes the power assisted stuff we have started installing on all of his rides.
Hi Yes this is already available and on the market the design is by Coo ee Components Australia check out the website cooeecomponents.com.au It is an Australian design and has been installed into many hot rods and classic Chevies and early Falcons Same unit fits left and right hand drive Auto and manual versions available It is easy to fit and comes with fitting instructions. The booster under the dash takes up less room in the engine bay and allows for more room under the car to run exhaust Contact sales@cooeecomponents.com.au
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