The next task I am going to conquer on this 67 is the braking, but I want some input. Truck is CV swapped up front, and will utilize the stock setup there, and the stock 9" with drums is still in the rear. This winter will swap to a late model mustang 8.8 with discs.

I am going to order the nicopp line, and brake bending tools this weekend.

The truck came with manual brakes, and I have seen builds on here that stayed manual brakes but upgraded to wilwood parts and loved it.

What should I do? Keep stock and just run new lines, or upgrade? Feel free to share brands and parts, this is the first time I will be doing brakes from scratch.

Thanks folks

 

If you're upgrading/swapping parts and want to get the full potential out of the brakes, the best component to do this with is a brake booster.

Dual diaphragm booster on my '69 F100 with a 1-1/16" bore '95 Ford Explorer MC.



Same setup I installed on a friend's '72 F100.





....setup I'm currently working on in a friend's '65 F100: (mockup) dual diaphragm booster with a '95 Ford Explorer MC. The actual booster that will be installed will be built by Prior Automotive (in Dallas, TX) tomorrow (Monday) and shipped to me this coming week.



The dual diaphragm booster can be bought through Prior Automotive under part number 3700131. Specify a dual diaphragm booster for a '68-'72 F350 with front discs and an adjustable booster input rod code of "FT8."

The 1-1/16" bore MC for a 1995 Ford Explorer (without cruise control/without proportioning valve) can be purchased through NAPA under part number NMC M3246.

The MC will require (1) 10M x 1.00 metric bubble flare fitting and (1) 12M x 1.00 metric bubble flare fitting. These fittings can be purchased through Classic Tube under the part numbers ST8036 and ST8040, respectively.

 

I agree with the dual diaphragm booster. I used a kit to upgrade my '77 a couple of years ago and it made a world of difference. I used the MC that came with the kit and it works, but I think if I had to do it all over again, I would go with a factory style MC like Ultra recommends. I have plumbed 2 trucks with the Nicopp line and it is a joy to work with.




We are doing something similar on my dads '85 we are building. We will use the factory booster from the truck and the MC from the donor car (Mercury Grand Marquis, same car as Crown Vic). His truck is CV swapped and we installed a 8.8 with discs on the rear and are using a Wilwood prop valve.

 

I've been eyeing a booster/mc set up on summit sold as a kit with proportioning valve for $328.

Is there benefit to using the explorer setup over one of these kits? Or is it just cheaper?

 

The advantage with the F350 dual diaphragm booster/bracket arrangement is it's engineered to directly bolt up to the firewall of a '68-'72 F100 through F350 without having to drill/cut on the firewall and/or the brackets and you don't have to fiddle around with multiple input rod pieces to connect directly from the booster to the brake pedal. Bendix quality, even in a rebuilt booster, is hard to beat.

I don't know what MC you're specifically referencing but, I presume it's a reproduction Corvette cast iron MC. Port configuration on them is backwards, compared to a Ford MC and, the Corvette MC is only available in two bore diameters: 1.00" or 1-1/8".

The Explorer MC is a Ford MC designed to fit the 3-3/16" spacing of the mounting studs on the booster, has a 1-1/16" bore diameter, the body is constructed of light weight aluminum, weighs about 1/4th of what the Corvette cast iron MC weighs, the Explorer MC doesn't rust (inside or out) and doesn't require removal of the cap to see what the brake fluid level is inside the reservoir.

Removing the cap introduces air, dirt/contaminants and worst of all moisture into the brake system. The less the cap has to be taken off the MC, the less polluted the brake fluid/system becomes.

If the Bendix booster or Explorer MC ever failed, you could get a replacement booster or MC from the parts store by the very next morning. In the case of an aftermarket booster failure, it would be several days before you would receive a replacement and you wouldn't be able to get it through any of the parts store chains.

 

You sir, are a saint. I will follow your recommendation and get these parts ordered up tomorrow.

Follow up question: are there some kits out there for fittings to make life easier? and is 3/16" line still a good choice for this setup?

 

Ultraranger(Steve), I know somewhere in the past you mentioned switching out your rear drums for discs. I plan on doing 4 wheel discs on my 67. Your setup should still work for this correct? Thanks, Winter

 

The standard size inverted flare nut for 3/16" tubing is 3/8"-24. Ford also used fittings in 7/16"-24, 1/2"-20 and 9/16"-18. The 3/8"-24 fittings can be bought through the parts stores but the 7/16"-24, 1/2"-20 and 9/16"-18 flare nuts (for 3/16" diameter tubing) are generally not available through the parts stores. They are available through Classic Tube though.

3/16" diameter tubing is the standard size line that was stock on the trucks.

 

Currently, I do still have drums but you're correct that I will eventually add rear discs, running the same booster/MC setup that's on there now.

 

You will need to source the booster-to-firewall brackets and the hard plastic dust boot from a '68-'77 donor truck. They will not be included with a newly rebuilt booster --since they assume you're replacing an existing brake booster. The brackets and dust boot are the same on a truck with a single diaphragm or dual diaphragm brake booster (brackets/boot are interchangeable between the single and dual diaphragm boosters with the long input rod going to the booster).

NOTE: The brackets from a bellcrank (cantilever) style brake booster is not compatible with this style brake booster.

Brackets and dust boot needed to install the type booster I have in my '69 F100.



Bellcrank style brackets on a single diaphragm booster (different configuration, not compatible with this style dual diaphragm booster).

 

Are there any sites online that offer these or similar brackets? Finding a donor where I am at seems like a task.

 

Check here...Flashback F100's - New Products

 

The only ones I know of that sells the booster mounting brackets (and they are not an exact copy of the originals) is Flashback F100.

Scroll down page to see the booster mounting brackets.

Flashback F100's - New Products This page has new parts that have just come on the market

I don't know of anyone that reproduces the plastic dust boost for a Bumpside/Dentside truck brake booster. There is a reproduction plastic boot being made for GM vehicles (possibly for Camaro ???) that is sort of similar to the Bumpside/Dentside dust boot. I don't know how close it is and if it would actually work but, it's possible it might work.

.....the '68-'72 F350, FT8 adjustable input rod, dual diaphragm booster arrived today, from Prior Automotive in Dallas, TX that I'll be installing on my friend's '65 F100.





The '65 F100 has the same problem as a '67 Bumpside and that problem is the brake/clutch pedal pivot (fulcrum) is positioned further forward on the pedal support, closer to the firewall than where the pedal pivot is located on the '68-'72 Bumpside pedal support.

The eyelet of the booster input rod projects rearward, past the connection point on the '67-earlier brake pedal, by a good margin. --on a '67 Bumpside, the problem could be resolved by installing a pedal support and pedal(s) from a '68-'72 model Bumpside.





I pretty much had 3 choices to install this booster in the '65 F100: [1] I could have cut a section out of the input rod, threaded it and used a coupling nut to rejoin the eyelet to the input rod (didn't really want to resort to that). If the booster ever had to be replaced, the input rod on the replacement booster would have to be modified as well and would not be a direct bolt-in. Not interested in that hassle.

[2] Take the pedal support out, remove the pedals, knock the potmetal pivot bushings out of the pedal support, drop back the appropriate distance rearward on the support, drill a new hole all the way through both sides and install ball bearings --like the bearings I installed on this '72 F100 pedal support --although I didn't move the position of where the fulcrum pivot point was originally located. I just got rid of the sloppy potmetal bushing and installed much better and smoother ball bearings in their place. This would be fine on a truck with an automatic transmission, if you were having to move the pivot location rearward to line up with the booster input rod. On a truck with a manual, other modifications would probably have to be made to the clutch pedal and/or the release rod connection point at the clutch pedal, if the pivot location of the pedals was being moved back.







Or, choice #3 which is the one I decided on and is the one I was working on at my job today and that was to fabricate a spacer to place on the firewall to push the booster/brackets further forward, so the eyelet of the booster input rod would line up with the bolt hole on the brake pedal, with the brake pedal in its stock location on the '65 F100.



These are two 3/4" thick plates of 6061 T6 aluminum, stacked together, for a combined total of 1.500" thick. To put the eyelet of the booster where it needed to be, I had to have a spacer thickness of 1.245". ....soooo, I milled the back plate down to achieve an overall thickness of 1.245" and then bolted the two plates together from the back with a pair of counter-sunk Allen screws.





I still have to bore out the large hole in the center for the input rod to pass through and for the dust boost to go between the front of the spacer and the back of the booster but, I wanted to fit the spacer up and make sure it would line up with the four holes on the firewall/pedal support.

 

I would call Flashback first and ask them about their brackets. I called a couple of years ago and they had stopped carrying them. That is when I started doing some searching for my truck (1977 F100) and upgrading the brakes on it (thread here). If Flashback does not carry the bracket any longer, Google Part Number FT5772BPR, this is a bracket that is readily available and will work with most boosters. I agree with Ultra above and if you can find all factory parts, that is a preferred way to go, this is just another avenue for an aftermarket solution.

 

Does this mean the booster off a 78 f250 with two piston front calipers wont work on my 68?
It had the linkage/bellcrank from the pedal to the booster.
I got everything from the doner.
pedal.pedal support bracket.linkage.booster to fire wall brackets
Doing a crown vic swap.
9 inch rear getting disks