I am converting to power disc brakes and am wondering if it's worth the extra money to go with the Walton's firewall mount swing pedal set-up instead of the unit that mounts under the floor? I think it would obviously be easier to service the unit mounted to the firewall but any other problems with either? Someone told me that under floor PB set-ups had a bad habit of bottoming out on speed bumps and stuff???
I've got the Walton's setup on my Chevy...UGLY as sin, but it works well. It really won't matter once I put my hood back on, but if I could do it over, I'd go with some kind of under-dash setup. And ditto to what Chopolds said,,,you don't want important shit to scrape... Bryan
I have heard of the power boosters hanging up once in a while. I had a manual dual master setup disc/drum under the floor and it was fine, but once I went V8 I had to rip it out to use that space for exhaust. I have the Watson's setup not and am happy with it. Except that there is no place to put a brake light switch and no provision for a return spring. That bummed me out. I know guys that have adapted an S-10 pedal, brace and booster/MC. It depends on how much you want to spend or how much time you want to spend fabricating stuff.
I have a 1" master, no booster, mounted aft of the stock piece, exhaust tucks between it and the t5. no problems scraping, it all sits above the k-member. eci - 70s gm disc front/ stock drum rear.
That's a great post! The only thing I want to know is whether or not he experienced a lot of flex in the firewall when he hits the brakes. I know a guy on the HAMB here that did an S-10 pedal that way, and the firewall would flex when he used the brakes. The Walton kit ties the firewall in with the dash, which is a welded-in structural unit on the 49-54 chevys.
A local guy just did the firewall conversion on his 54 Chevy. (he's in his 70's, I understand his desire for PB) He put a steel plate behind his. I think it depends on what you plan on doing with the car. Being in his 70's he had no desire to perform maintanence on an under floor unit. It works great but I think it's ugly and looks out of place.
I have mine on the firewall its ugly as hell but it works great,I used a Ford Aerostar pedal.....I will post pics later
you can always add a bracket from the pedal assy to the dash. useing a 1/8 plate shouldn't cause it to flex much, i think.
I picked up a bracket and pedal assy. from a '73 Nova for my '51. (12 bucks on e-pay) .It has to be shortened about an inch or so, a real easy job. Also has brake switch on it. Bolts to firewall and dash. Really strong. Then you put your power booster and master cylinder on underhood side of firewall and you're in business. Nice clean job...Ole Pork
I have a '55 Chevy pedal and bracket for my '50. I figure that way it will match the clutch pedal and fit where it's supposed to... up through '60 or so are the same. If you bolt it to the firewall, and dash over the column, nothing should move around - I can't see where the '55 firewall was any thicker in that area than the '50 is. Putting it on the firewall just makes it easier to work on, easier to adjust, to bleed and so forth. I'm not even going to run power brakes, the car is only 3400 lbs or so, but by doing the swap I can use a $20 master cylinder I can buy anywhere.
Using power brakes you dont bet much flex in the firewall unless you lose vacuum and have to bear down on the pedal. I put an 85 cutlass pedal assembly in my coupe that just bolts to the firewall and it works fine. Of course i built a smooth 16 ga firewall too. I did have a booster go bad and had to get rough with it a time or two and noticed some flex.
Well, for better or worse, I ended up buying a under the floor set up made by Master Power brakes. I would have preffered the Walton's one I guess, but I got this one for $166 from EBAY and it has never been installed. I saved $200 so I hope it works out ok??????
What about the cluch pedal? i have a 51 chevy sedan, and am trying to find a clutch and brake assembally that mounts on the firewall, so far all I can find is just the brake pedal. Thanks for any help
I was able to cut and fit the hanging pedal assembly out of a '74 Nova under the dash of my '51. Sorry I don't have pics, but it was very easy. Remove the firewall cover and you have access to it for fit-up and tack-welding. This allows you to use a GM column mount also.
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