1963 LeSabre. Brakes are TREACHEROUS! Need pointed in the right direction

My Buick has the original drum brake system and the single reservoir master cylinder. I was considering upgrading to disc brakes using parts from Scarebird.com. However on this board I'm seeing this is not really a huge gain.

I could rebuild all the drum brakes cheaper than conversion. I would like to upgrade my master cylinder to have some more oomph when stopping.

Any suggestion?

Power brakes upgrade parts?

Year/make/model?

Direct fit, or mods required?

I searched the board and fell like I could use some more direct input on my Lesabre.


Thank you all in advance

 

Is there a year that would be direct fit, or would I look for after market? I've never had to change brake parts out that were not stock.

I need to get an anchor on this ship so I can stop it! Putting my new intake and carb on is a pipe dream until I can get it road worthy. I thought about rebuilding the stock master cylinder, but I figured there had to be something just a tad better. Dual reservoir sound perfect. Just which one?

Thanks for the quick reply, I look forward to scouring this board for the great info.

 

Andy (CameoInvicta) will probably weigh in on this as he has been where you are and did the dual MC conversion on his '62. If not, shoot him a PM for more info.

 

Count me in too. I would also like to know if there would be an easy swap out to a dual master. o No:

 

Here I am! :beers2:

I wonder if I did a proper write up for this a mod could make it a sticky?

Here's a link to the thread where I did the conversion -> http://www.v8buick.com/showthread.p...o-a-dual-reservoir-master-cylinder&highlight= .

In a nut shell, I sourced a master cylinder/power brake booster combo spec'd for a '67 Wildcat (any 1967 fullsize car should suffice). You do need both the master cylinder and booster, as your original booster will not work with a later master.

The only other additional parts required are brake adapter lines, and a small section of brake line to incorporate the factory brake pressure switch.

If you guys give the thread I linked above a good reading, it should all make sense. It's a long thread but has all the required info.

And for what it's worth, I think the factory system works pretty well. After I lost the brakes early last summer, I went through the whole system. New shoes, had the drums turned, installed 2 new wheel cylinders, and of course updated the master cylinder. If you stomp on the brakes you better be prepared for your head to bounce off the dash.

 

Wow! This sounds like a bit of a pain in the arse. I just had my booster rebuilt by Booster Dewey and replaced my master with an nos master from Ebay. I guess I should have thought of this sooner. I wonder if its worth the trouble at this point. Maybe I'll give Dewey a call and see if he has any ideas.:idea2:

Also, Dewey tells me that the booster for 63's are one year only. Thats would probably complicate things even more. I guess it would stand to reason that you would have to repalce the booster and master together.

 

I called Booster Dewey last week about putting a dual master on my '63 Electra. He left me a message back saying a '67 and up master could be retrofitted but it had to have a recessed groove for a seal as the master is part of the sealing system for the booster itself. It was a matter of getting the right booster (piston diameter, extension from sealing mounting surface, way to seal it to booster). I haven't had a chance to call him back yet, but it didn't sound like a big deal once you knew which '67 application to buy. If you talk to him before me please post here and I'll do the same if I get to him first (if the OP doesn't mind, that is).

 

For what it's worth, a thorough rebuilding of all components will do wonders. I know the single master cylinder has it's limitations, but I never had any problems with the brakes in my 63 Wildcat. I drove my 63 daily for 10+ years (1986-1996) and logged over 70,000 miles in that time and never had a failure. The Wildcat had 225k when I sold it.

The braking system was designed and engineered to stop a car of this size and weight. Buick knew what they were doing. It was the best they could offer for their day. It will never stop like a disk brake system, but it still more than adequate for daily use.

You did not say, but it kind of sounded like your LeSabre was not equipped with power brakes. If it is not, find another 63 full size car with power brakes and remove the booster and pedal assembly. I know stopping this car without power brakes can be a chore.

Just my two cents worth.

Chris

 

There is a 63 Electra on Ebay right now. The pics show a dual master. The booster doesn't look like mine. I wonder what was used on that.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1963...4596509?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item257c06969d

P.S. I tend to agree with chriswildcat. It's probably not that big of an issue. I might do it if it were easy enough but reading the other thread posted by cameoinvicta I think I will pass on it for now. Too many other things I would like to do before that.

 

Ron, I can't get the pictures to load from that eBay ad. I would like to see what you are talking about.

Chris

 

Chris, let them load. It takes a while. Must me huge file size. They will load eventually.

 

Ken:

Here is a picture of the master cylinder grove and seal:



I am lucky enough to have an original 1963 master cylinder with the correct thumb screw type lid. I bought a master cylinder rebuild kit from Rockauto for less than five bucks. Easy rebuld.

http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=310281&cc=1319655

Chris

 

Here is a direct link to the one on Ebay I mentioned.

http://box349.listingfactoryhost.ne...ra/images/bc01b31e05dc4b95b40c1d2ba_large.jpg

 

You can see it's a different booster and the proportioning valve looks to be attached directly to the bottom of the master cylinder. Looks to be late model. ???? Probably from a 3/4 ton truck!!

Chris

 

My '72 Cutlass had four-wheel drums and a tandem brake system. Perhaps one of those master cylinders and pressure differential valves would work. Note: Some of the early pressure differential valves were not self-resetting.

 

Just found this on Ebay. Seller seems to elude that it will just bolt up. I wonder. Somehow I doubt it.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/63-64-65-66...Parts_Accessories&hash=item53f602d60f&vxp=mtr



Looks like the same master used by Cameoinvicta as pictured in his thread mentioned above.

 

I can't be certain, but it looks just like the one I selected from Rock Auto found here:

http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=964517&cc=1346127

Rock Auto price is much better at $26.79. DORMAN Part # M71277

The one at Rock Auto is listed for manual brakes, which is what I have.

 

Yeah, thats what I thought. How did it work out?

 

Haven't done it yet, but I plan to. My current master is almost new and I'm not driving it much, so that will probably be one of the last things I do to my car.