Anyone ever installed one of these from Chassis Engineering? The instructions say "The pedal can not go through the floor in the original position when using a Chevy V8." Well, my car has an original pedal and master cylinder with a Chevy V8. So I'd like some real life experience in working with this part. Before you say so, yes, calling the company is on my list to do, but real life installation experience is usually more helpful. Thanks in advance.
No experience with that bracket but I have put together 2 39's and a 37 using stock pedals. You need to mount the engine a little farther forward for the brake pedal to clear. I'm assuming if you use their engine mounts the brake pedal interferes. There are ways to use the stock pedal(s?) and put a dual cylinder under the floor. Updating the coupe? Edit- should have read their instructions first. They're removing the original master cylinders mounting point from bottom of frame a substituting theirs. From the looks of it the master cylinder ends up much closer to frame rails, makes me wonder where their pedal comes through floor.
Right. My concern is that the CE pedal will interfere with the steering column. Really don’t want to mess with that. My Chevy V8 fits fine with a stock pedal location so I’m not sure what they are talking about. Pulling the motor and trans this week so I’ll be able to get under there and eyeball it and see what’s what. Yeah, updating the coupe to a modern suspension that is verboten here on the hamb, will also do heads, cam and re-seal the engine, and hopefully add a dual circuit MC. It’s got an original single pot.
This is what we built for the 37. Basically recreating the master cylinder pedal mounting and frame attachment out of 1/4" steel.
if you dismantle the original master you can mount a new dual master behind it and run a longer rod through the old master shell
This is my 39 sedan, That's what we did here, just add a extra brace from the inner master bolt to the rear original master cylinder bolt.
Found this on ebay, made of chinesium most likely, but it looks like what you made for your 37 @24riverview Bolts where the original MC goes but hangs the MC and booster off the back, long push rod and the pedal is in the stock location. I'm not much of a fabricator so I'm going to give it a try.
I saw those when I searched for one like what I built, I'd swear someone use to make one like the one we made. Only issue I see with those is where the master cylinder ends up for filling purposes, definitely under the seat maybe behind it. It would be under there if you were going with power brakes anyway. Could set up a remote fill.
run far away from that pedal assembly. I used one like that in my 51, it had so much slop in the lever arm to pedal connection, that I had to shim it with pieces of feeler gauges. then once I got that tight the geometry was so bad that you didn't get full stroke of the master. I could barely make the car stop. I took it out and cut the entire thing up and threw it away so that it could never be used for its intended purpose. Went with a swing pedal instead. I would seriously think about just adapting a dual pot master to the original pedal assembly.
Kugel makes a nice remote fill kit I may step up for. It's a billet lid for the Corvette MC with fittings, and nice reservoirs. Something that could be made easily I suppose but this is my dad's car. Trying not to jerry rigg stuff. Well, I'll inspect all that closely when it comes. Thanks for the heads up. Was it a 51 Chevy or Ford?
it was in my 51 chevy. It all looked fine till you put everything together. and it was just garbage. the Pedal and lever fit was way loose and even tightened up it caused about 2 inches of movement in the pedal up and down because of the loose fit. once i got all the air out of the system, it would only push the master cylinder trough about 50 percent or the stroke. thought it might be the booster, took that off and it did the same thing. it was just not engineered well.
The nice thing about this setup is that it bolts to the original MC location. So if it sucks, I can bolt the original style MC back on. I really hope it works. But it might not.
I'd go with a swing pedal and firewall mounted Corvette MC due to its small booster size and match the disc brakes on the new front suspension to the MC. Why retain the underfloor stuff if you are updating the suspension? If you have to go back to the original MC, will it match up with the new brake system? I'm guessing it will include disc brakes.
A MC on the firewall looks like crap, especially on a Chevrolet. This has been a done car and on the road since 1982, the fuse panel and a bunch of other stuff would need to be moved. In addition, the firewall is all smoothed and striped. No way I'm drilling new holes in that. Under floor stuff works fine. The original 38 MC has been working pretty good with Corvette disc brakes for 40+ years now so I think it'll be fine even though the new calipers are different.
I'm adding this for anyone who stumbles across this thread in the same predicament. Chev's of the 40's has this bracket, it uses an original pedal, and adapts a dual circuit. And from the looks of it, the reservoir can probably be accessed through the stock hole in the floor. It isn't power, but at least it's a dual circuit. It takes a mustang unit. After @Nailhead Jason said the ebay unit is junk I might be inclined to try this. https://www.chevsofthe40s.com/detai..._Cylinder_Adapter_Kit_3739_Chevrolet_Car.html
I agree with the whole master on the firewall with any car that didn't come with one there. I hated putting one on my 51's firewall, but I used a Walton fab assembly that was one of the nicest pieces I've ever installed ant worked perfect. If i had found that bracket from Chevs of the 40's i would have used that for sure!
Alright, little update, this is what I'm going with: I'm using the bracket from Chevs of the 40's I posted above. I figured out that the stock pedal ratio for my car was 4.5:1, which is terrible for manual brakes, this is the ratio range for power. I moved the pivot point on the pedal arm up 1/2" and that gave me a 6:1 ratio which is good for manual brakes. To raise the pivot I also had to raise the MC on the bracket so the pushrod would be straight. That caused the MC to hit the underside of the floor... no good. So, I went with a Willwood remote MC, mounted the reservoirs on the firewall. I gotta think the better pedal ratio and the recommended 15/16" bore should help out a bunch. I'll report back when I have real world results. The reservoirs are ugly but at least it's not under the floor anymore. Filling a MC under the floor is for the birds.
Somewhere I have a drawing of the bracket using a stock master cylinder but adapting it to a dual reservoir if it happens to be the same as could be used on a 54... I'm not familiar with either since I was just drawing it up for my brother and have never messed with a car like yours. Edit: I should have read to the end of the posts to see you already have a solution you are working toward…. Sorry I was late to the party.
I gotta do what I gotta do to get this heap back on the road. I’ve got a deadline so to speak. Maybe later I can find some better looking reservoirs but at the end of the day it’s a closed hood driver. I don’t mind a little razzing. I can sure dish it out!
Put something like this to go to double mc in 39 in 1976. Ford MC with Plymouth Cricket toy like PB using 39 pedal and long bar. Added adj prop valve and rear check valve. Sure wish had used remote filler, too late now. Flushed system to run dot 5. All still working.
if you want something a little more vintage looking for the reservoir's check this out. Also, you can look for brake reservoirs for old British sports cars, a lot of them had something like this. doesn't look like these are available anymore but looks pretty simple to whip up. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/vintage-looking-remote-fill-master-cylinder-kit.1011375/
Dan, I have a bracket like you show from Chevs of the Forties that I got from Street Rod HQs. My stock master just took a dump, so thought I would use it now to go dual. Was thinking of going with a Maverick master with a 15/16” bore for a little more pressure. Not sure of part from Rockauto, should have manual drum but they show a power unit. (Reservoirs should be the same size, not one larger) Anybody use a Maverick master cylinder?
if it’s a two bolt style like a Mustang, should work, just check the height of the reservoir. Maybe buy one at your local parts store to check. You can easily return it if it doesn’t work, or if it does and you get it from Rockauto cheaper. Easier to return locally than rockauto.
Just my thought, but I'd rather see a cast modern master cylinder on the firewall than plastic reservoirs myself. I painted mine gloss black later on, and have open hood sides so it's right there fort he world to see.
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