Hello,

New to the forum, and new to old ford trucks. I've just bought a 74 f100 that has manual brakes. I'd like to convert the brakes to a power brake setup, and was wondering what my options are. Specifically, can anyone tell me of an aftermarket kit, that would bolt in and have the necessary pedal/booster/cylinder required.

I have disc brakes in the front and drum brakes in the rear. I would rather buy new than scavenge for the parts if possible. I can find power boosters/cylinders out of lmc and the such, but i understand i need a different pedal assembly as well. Help a newbie out. Thanks.

 

Theres only one option I would consider and thats hydroboost off a newer SuperDuty.

 

This is a common conversion. If you search this site you will find many posts. There was one only a couple of weeks ago asking the same thing for a 74. Now to answer your question more specifically. I purchased a new booster and master at local parts store for $150 as I did not have a core to turn in. I then picked up the booster bracket that attaches the booster to the firewall from a local guy who has a bunch of these trucks. You will probably have to go to the boneyard to find one. And while you are there get the whole brake pedal assembly from the same truck. You could possibly get the brake pedal, the booster, and the bracket...you would then have a core to go get a new booster and save some money on core charge. The brake pedal should have a stamping on the side of the arm that says "auto" or something to the like. The manual pedals I believe have "mnl" stamped onto them. Bolt it all up and you are good to go. Nothing else needed.

 

I spent 150 bucks for a complete hydroboost setup off a wrecked SuperDuty, one stop shopping. All I had to do was make a bracket to mount the booster to my firewall. See pics in my gallery. Overall it was a no brainer upgrade and it spanks any vacuum booster.

 

When you say complete what all did that include? Did you have to build the bracket to mount the booster and to make the pushrod the correct length to attach to the brake pedal? How does the hydroboost work as compared to the vacuum assist? I was just giving him the low down on the factory way "original" way to upgrade.

 

yeah, i'm after the simplest bolt in method available. I would pay more if someone could recommend a kit that is straight aftermarket that works without any real modification in terms of having to fabricate any parts/brackets etc.

Ideally, I'd like to have an option available which doesn't require me spending months trying to hunt these few parts down even if it costs more.

 

You won't find one brake pedal that says auto or mnl on it = not a single one.

There's a very good reason why: 1973/79 F100/350. There are 22 different brake pedals = TWENTY TWO!

The only marks on brake pedals are Ford stamped ID numbers, which when decoded, give the part number and application.

1973/79 F100 2WD with manual discs, the brake pedal is marked: D3TA-2455-CA.

If power brakes are installed, you must match the brake pedal with the booster. Some of these brake pedals are specific to only one year, some are not.

1973/74 F100 2WD & 1975/76 F100 2WD w/o Cruise Control, use with power discs. The brake pedal is marked: D3TA-2455-AA

 

The first thing I better check is do you have power steering? If not it could still work if you have some basic fabrication skills and a little understanding of how the hydroboost works..
This is how it worked for my 78 F-250 4x4. The complete setup from the wrecked SuperDuty includes hydroboost and MC assembled, all hoses and ps pump. As Bill says there are so many combinations of pedals and their relation to the firewall and other areas will dictate how to build the adapter bracket. I dont know if I could give you a duplicate bracket without getting your measurements. Altho I do have a 73 cab with manual brakes and manual tranny so I could use that as a template. Any way what was interesting that I found was the SuperDuty ps pump matched the bolt holes on my 78 bracket and the old V pulley fits on the SuperDuty ps pump shaft. The pump is of simular design to other pumps of that era but has 2 return lines going into it. So it sits naturally on the older bracket. I had anticipated having to buy custom made hoses to connect everything. But since I had the SD MC and ps pump the hoses matched between those parts. I only had to bend the tubing parts of the hoses for proper routing in the engine compartment. Now there was one hose that comes from the booster to the ps gear box and all I had to do there was grind the tip of the fitting and add a flare. The SD fitting had the same threads as my gear box so it was a perfect fit. Then from the ps gear box I added a ps filter and basically connect to the SD ps pump. I never had to shorten or lengthen the rod from the booster to the pedal. And the booster rod was the same diameter as the brake pedal pin and the electric thing that hooks on the end of the rod snaped into place (I think thats for the cruise). I did have to adjust the brake light switch a bit. As for the brake lines, I had to re-route them and one was an exact match to the new mc and for the other I had to cut the fitting off the SD brake line and flare it on to mine.

 

My apoligies...It is definitely stamped "Pwr Brk" on the right side of the arm....along with the D7TA LA. Take a look. Doesn't look like the ONLY mark was part numbers? I am almost positive that my other arm was stamped "mnl" , I will have to pull it out of the barn to get exactly what it says, but definitely a different shape than the "pwr brk" pedal that I installed. But I did recommend getting the booster, the booster bracket, and the pedal all from the same "donor" in this thread. My pedal and booster came from different sources and are probably not matching years and I have no problems...don't remember all the details of the booster that I have, but I purchased from Autozone.

 

Yes, my truck has power steering. That's an interesting setup. I may eventually try something like that if it is a huge improvement, but might have to work up something a little different cause...I have a 92 F150 5.0 with the '92 power steering pump and bracketry...v-belt, I think the booster is a reman '73 pwr steering booster, and the pedal is a "pwr brake" pedal see above from whatever year that D7TA LA...and the numbers above that are from? Maybe the above numbers are date? 8 15 78? Dunno.

 

D7TA-LA = D7TZ2455B

1977 F100/150/250/350 / M/T / PWR BRKS.

1978/79 F100/150 / M/T / PWR BRKS / w/o Cruise / Before serial # DJ0,001.

1978/79 F250 / M/T / PWR BRKS / w/o Cruise / Before serial # DJ0,001.

1978/79 F350 / M/T / PWR BRKS / w/o Cruise / Before serial # DJ0,001.

Parts catalog only makes references to 1975/79 Econoline brake pedals being marked Auto. trans or Man. trans.

 

Cool..thanks for the info..just fyi stuff for me. I assumed the numbers above the part numbers was the date of mfg....it read 8 15 78, so I figured it was a pedal from a 78. It still will bug me until I go dig out that other pedal to see if it was stamped. I know it was original to the truck.

FordTrucksKickGM.....I also could see where your setup would be highly advantageous if you have big cammed motor with low vacuum. Thanks for the info!

 

There were a couple reasons why I went with the hydroboost. Being that I was building a 429 with a mild cam I wasnt sure what I would have for vacuum. Thats why a lot of street rodders are going to hydroboost. And with the tall valve covers I was going to have clearance issues with the vacuum booster. I still had clearance problems with the AC box but a 1" body lift took care of that. And I felt with an increase of go power it would be wise to increase the stopping power since this truck will be used as a hauler. I had read a few things about the hydroboost and going with the one ton dual diaphram vacuum booster. Guys with the one ton booster said they noticed an improvement but not as much as they were hoping. The guys with the hydroboost said they couldnt believe the difference. The big test for me will come on thanksgiving weekend when Im going to tow my trailer to pick up a backhoe attachment.

 

alright, update....

i finally got out to the pick and pull and found a bracket/pedal assembly. However this assembly came off of a 77, instead of a 74 like mine. Looking at it, it seems the bolt pattern and all matches up to what's on my firewall.

My question, is when buying a new booster/mc, do i need to get one for a 77 model truck, seeing as how that's what my bracket came off of?

Additionally, do I need to buy a different proportioning valve, than what is on my 74 manual brake truck?

 

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