After converting my ol' rag to the SSB power disc brake kit from the original manual drum setup, my manual drum pedal still sits at the same height above the gas pedal that it did before. The pedal arm's attached to the booster rod at the bottom hole (top hole wouldn't make any difference) - is a factory PDB pedal angled any differently at the bottom (towards the firewall) to lower the pedal height closer to the gas pedal :shock: ? My manual drum pedal arm hangs straight down from the pivot with no bend towards the firewall.
With a factory set-up you need to change locations for the rod from the master & the bracket for the brake light switch. Not sure who's system you have.
I have the Stainless Steel Brakes A123-1 GM A-body setup - my brake pedal is the factory manual drum brake unit, (straight arm that leaves the pedal hanging at the same height above gas pedal as before) with 2 master cyl peg holes (currently using the lower one).
My car was also manual drums when I bought it. Installed factory master, booster & spindles for discs. By changing mounting locations on the pedal arm I had no issues. Possible the geometry is a little different for the after-market kit? Use bottom holes for both the rod & the switch if your booster is factory style. The original boosters were mounted in such a way that they were pointed up at about 20-25 deg., making the connection point at the end of the rod lower. I've seen after market kits that use a different style booster that stays parallel with the car.
SSB uses an aftermarket 9" booster - if I change the switch location, wouldn't I have to adjust the booster rod to keep it from dragging the brakes if the pedal shifted downward?
My stock PBD (power drum) setup the brake pedal is considerably higher than the gas pedal... same as on my manual drum other car.
I replaced my master and booster about five years ago The aftermarket brake rod ("booster" rod) was the same physical length, but the power primary and secondary piston in the master were different lengths from the original. brake pedal was low and the brakes stunk. Just because it looks like a direct swap doesn't mean it really is. I had to change the distance the yoke was attached to the rod to fix it i suspect that something similar is causing your problem By the way, my power drum pedal is considerably higher than the gas pedal and always has been
Well, I don't see from any other pedal pics I've come across that there was a different pedal arm designed for pdb so I guess it is what it is - I'm sure I'll get used to it over time - Since everything came together so well, I'm not messing with success at this point... :beer
