As many of you know, I purchased my '47 tonner a couple springs ago as a first foray into old trucks and restoration. When I bought it, I knew next to nothing about what to look for, but fell in love with the thing despite its many warts. It turned out that the steering was bad, the brakes were bad, the wiring was bad, the starting system was bad, the gauges were dead, and there was more rust than my lovestruck eyes had been able to see at first pass. Over the past couple years, I've spent too much money and a ton of sweat equity to address these issues, and the truck is certainly in much better shape than when I bought it. Because of its lingering starting issues, I've been able to drive it only 4 or 5 times since I bought it, and the last time I drove it (over a year ago), the brakes failed heading into a roundabout. This isn't what I'd envisioned when I bought it...at the time, I'd pictured whipping it into shape in short order and then having a reliable though quirky vehicle to use as a daily driver.

Because of my mounting frustration, with a heavy heart I've been scouring Craigslist in hopes of finding something that could scratch the 'old truck daily driver' itch. I was starting to think that I'd recoup the cost of a new old truck by selling the '47, no doubt at a loss since it isn't a reliable vehicle right now. I thought I'd finally found something this weekend - a 1966 GMC (blasphemy!) 3/4 ton for sale in a town near where I live. From the description and the photos, it looked like it was ready to use as a daily driver without any work. This evening, my wife and I drove up to look at it, and I quickly realized a couple things. First, all of my work on the '47 had actually taught me a thing or two, and I now had a much more discerning eye in looking at old trucks. Second, a few photos and a description often paint a much rosier picture of a vehicle than reality. It turned out that the steering was sloppy, the brakes were frighteningly poor, there was a lot more rust than had been indicated in the ad, and to cap it all off, it took a Herculean effort to get it to start.

On the way home, I told my wife that the truck was in worse shape than the '47, and that my affection for the '47 had been reignited by this failed attempt to replace it. She pointed out that despite my frustrations with the '47, I'd learned a lot from it, and she said it was as though I'd needed to date around a bit before realizing that my old girlfriend was the right one for me. I've never felt compelled to shop around since meeting my wife (of 26 years now), but I think she hit the nail on the head with the analogy. Anyway, I'm recommitted to making my relationship with the '47 work - I hope she feels the same way and can show me by becoming a more reliable rig.

Cap'n Sygo

 

 

Congratulations on that fire being reignited. You're not alone when it comes to that feeling. I've been there many times with my own project vehicles. But what I've learned is to sometimes take a step back, let the truck sit a bit and get back to it. Or sometimes I'll do little projects so I'm still working on it, but not focusing on the issues causing you the most frustration.
As for your failing brakes, I'd recommend ditching the stock single chamber master and going dual, if you still have the stock MC. It's nothing that will be seen unless under the truck, and it's a safety upgrade.
Good luck on your truck, hopefully the little issues will be straightened out soon and you'll soon be cruising worry-free.

 

Thanks for the encouragement, Gary. Is there a particular dual MC that you've used for these trucks? How does it work - one for front brakes, one for back?
Thanks again,
-The Cap'n

 

From what i've been able to glean from the internet, it sounds like the dual MC is something people put in when they've done a disc conversion, which I've not. Or does the dual also work with drums?
-Captain Sygo

 

It also works for drums. I have not done it on mine. My truck has discs in front with power brakes now. But dual chamber Master cylinders with drum brakes was a fairly common combination in the late sixties. It was in 1967 that dual chamber Master cylinders became federally mandated in the US. And plenty of cars and trucks back then still run around with drums. I believe I heard that a early seventies Mustang dual chamber master cylinder for a drum brake car will work. Try Googling that and see if you can find some more information from that. Or hopefully somebody will come along here that has some experience with adding a dual chamber to all drum truck. I know the experience of losing breaking from a leaking in the system somewhere. I had a rear wheel cylinder go out on me one time, and the truck ended up on the curb, luckily the hand brake worked. No damage to the truck or property, but still, an eye opening experience. This is when I still had a 100% stock brake system.

 

I've done some Googling, and the best I've found is some references to the idea that it can be done with a Mustang MC, as long as one has an adapter. But there aren't a lot of specifics on what parts one needs, whether there needs to be any modification of brake lines, etc.. Gary - you're one of the folks who comes up when I do a search - in a 2009 FTE post on the subject in which you mentioned this idea to another person.

It's clear that my MC is bad. I filled it and then tried to bleed one of the rear brakes today, but hardly anything came out of the bleed tube even when I repeatedly pressed the pedal (but lots came out of the filler cap of the MC). So, I do know that I'm in the market for a new MC, but whether I go dual or single is up in the air. I'd like to go with dual for safety reasons, but only if there's an easy-to-follow example that I can mimic. If anyone out there has done a dual MC conversion on their truck, I'd love to hear about the details.

-Cap'n Sygo

 

This looks like a good starting point to explain things. Even I understood it.

 

Cap'n,
I understand your frustration with the ole truck and have been there myself. Hang in there. You will get the problems sorted out. Regarding the brake MC, if you take a look at Steve Christensen build thread, he used a MC from a 74-80 F250. I'd post a link but I'm not that computationally savy.

 

Comment from Steve C to another Steve:
G'day Steve, I just looked for a dual circuit master cylinder that had the same bore size as the original.... 1 1/4'' , your 1 1/2 ton will be the same as mine,
1 3/8'' bore front wheel cylinders...... 1 1/2'' bore rear wheel cylinders.

Link to Thread:
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1423122-cabs-on.html

 

Not sure if your master cyl is the same as the later 48-52 trucks, but there is an adapter made for those. Or would it be possible to just redrill the mount holes?

 

Hi Steve,
I love the build you did on that truck - especially the forward tipping hood!
Did the F250 master cylinder have the same bolt pattern as the original master cylinder, or did you have to get an adapter to make it fit? Also - you had to adjust the pushrod for this different master cylinder, right? And one last question - are those 10psi residual valves?
Thanks!
-Cap'n Sygo

 

Thanks, Lee - that's a good summary.
-The Cap'n

 

Cap'n, you still having starting problems? I think I will be in Bellingham on Wednesday afternoon with a bit of time to kill. I could bring a few extra parts to test with.....

 

Hi Gary,
I sent my distributor and coil to the legendary Bubba's, and it's on its way back to me. Apparently, the distributor and vacuum canister both had issues. I'm hoping this solves the starting troubles. I'll see if I can figure out how to PM you to see about setting up a meeting.
Thanks,
-Captain Sygo