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67 p/b..convert or not to convert

ZRGator

Gone but not forgotten
Joined
Aug 26, 2004
Messages
322
Location
West Friendship, MD
Corvette
1993 40th ZR1, 1967 Red 427/400 coupe
O.K. thinking about putting p/b on my 67. Mixed feelings, though, cause it's an all original 58,870 mile car.
Question is...does the 67 p/b booster have a date stamp or other identifying marks since I would like to have a correct car?

Would simply having my master cylinder rebuilt help with the problem I'm having with stopping the car (before you say all mids w/o p/b are hard to stop, I gotta tell you I autocrossed a 67 in the 70's and it never felt like this, also I spent time at an academy as a power lifter and my legs are not weak).

So....convert to p/b and try to keep it correct and be with an option my tank sticker doesn't have or stay w/o p/b and rebuild?
Going
crazy.gif
here.
 
I have had the opportunity to drive a 67 427/400 without p/b and in comparison to my 64 drum p/b system....I would stick with the drums....

Never seen such a worse and insecure reaction on braking....my legs are not weak to....

If it comes down to security I would give a damn about someone telling stories about orginality....being able to stop the car before I crash into something is slightly more important to me....unless it's a trailer queen anyway.

Adding a PB booster is nothing that could not be converted back.....
 
What excactly is the problem your having?

It just may be your pads are glazed over or you have too hard of pads,Alot of these warrentied forever pads are just too hard to have on a NON power brake car,as a matter of fact they are too hard on a power brake car. Use softer pads and they give you a more secure stopping feel.(may not last as long) but on a collector car that acumulates less then 2500 miles a year you might have to replace them in 10 years from now.

As for the booster to properly install one you would have to drill addtional holes in the fire wall and put in a little nut boss plate and then rivit that into the car. Allot of mid year have been converted to power brakes its not that big of a job




ZRGator said:
O.K. thinking about putting p/b on my 67. Mixed feelings, though, cause it's an all original 58,870 mile car.
Question is...does the 67 p/b booster have a date stamp or other identifying marks since I would like to have a correct car?

Would simply having my master cylinder rebuilt help with the problem I'm having with stopping the car (before you say all mids w/o p/b are hard to stop, I gotta tell you I autocrossed a 67 in the 70's and it never felt like this, also I spent time at an academy as a power lifter and my legs are not weak).

So....convert to p/b and try to keep it correct and be with an option my tank sticker doesn't have or stay w/o p/b and rebuild?
Going
crazy.gif
here.
 
Dennis

I'd have to agree with Larry - maybe you have the wrong pads, or as you mentioned maybe have a good shop (like Tony in Gaitherburg) check out your master cylinder for proper operation.
Are the brake lines on the car still the original ones? After almost 40 years they may be starting to swell inside but you can't see that from the outside of the lines. If they swell inside it restricts movement of the brake fluids.
I'm not sure if you have made it to Tony's shop yet but you know Rick and I swear by him and the quality of his work and i've even noticed that Ken that runs this site has sat through one of Tony's NCRS trainings and was very impressed by Tony and his knowlege.

My '65 doesn't have p/b and i have no problem at all with stopping power or pedal effort. I realize you are carrying more weight up front with your BB than my car with it's SB but i don't think it should make THAT much of a difference should it?

i'd hate to see you change your correct car to something that isn't original and not on your tank sticker. If it was already a NOM car than maybe, but since it's all original and correct it would be a shame to change that.

BTW, if you are getting the car up to 130+ MPH and than slamming on the brakes, don't expect it to stop as quickly as when you do that with your ZR1! ;LOL
 
Ok, so Barry and Twinray and IH2Lose win...gonna check out the other components of the system.

I'll put in a call to Tony today but I still have the alt problem to solve before I can get the car to him. Guess I'll wait on hold for Pirkle to see if he has an alt that will replace mine for a bit.
 
Dennis

can't you go to Autozone or another autoparts place and get a standard alternator to run until you get yours rebuilt by Pirkle? at least that will allow you to use the car for fun while you still can for the year and also get it over to Gaithersburg.
 
BarryK said:
Dennis

can't you go to Autozone or another autoparts place and get a standard alternator to run until you get yours rebuilt by Pirkle? at least that will allow you to use the car for fun while you still can for the year and also get it over to Gaithersburg.
I've had good luck for the past 3 years (granted I've only put about 3000 miles on the car) with an alternator that I bought from Pep Boys for my '69 ( with power everything) - I would think it's a 60 or something amp +. My original was working fine but it needed a lot of clean-up work for it to compliment my detailed engine compartment. It also was the original except for work done to it in the mid-70's. I thought, because I use the car annually for a 800 mile round trip event, a new rebuilt one would also be more reliable. The guy behind the counter gave me a special price discount without me even asking? They must get commission on their sales and I bought other stuff at the time and the bill I guess came to about $200. He figured he could be my salesperson - he said to see him specifically when I came in. I mention this cause you might want to cut a deal with the counter person.
 
Stopping ability (as it relates to pedal pressure required) in an otherwise unaltered manual mid-year brake system is primarily a function of the relative hardness/softness of the pad. Hard pads ususally (not always, depends upon the composition) require higher pedal pressures to get the same braking results, my experience. Changing to the correct pads will make a world of difference in my estimation.
 
BarryK said:
Dennis

can't you go to Autozone or another autoparts place and get a standard alternator to run until you get yours rebuilt by Pirkle? at least that will allow you to use the car for fun while you still can for the year and also get it over to Gaithersburg.
Yes, I have several near me. Now all I have to find out from them is whether or not it would have the plug in for the TI.

Thanks, Ron for the pads idea. also. I'm gonna have it all checked out.
 
ZRGator said:
Yes, I have several near me. Now all I have to find out from them is whether or not it would have the plug in for the TI.
There's no special plug-in on the alternator for T.I. - it's exactly the same as any other alternator of the era, just has a few more amps output than the base unit; any rebuilt will work fine.
:beer
 

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