PINTO CAR CLUB of AMERICA
Welcome to FordPinto.com, The home of the PCCA => General Help- Ask the Experts... => Topic started by: pintoguy76 on December 14, 2015, 09:27:42 AM
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I am thinking about changing my manual brake car to power brakes. The car is a 4 speed. I have the plate that goes in the firewall to mount the booster to, but its very rare to find the correct pedal for the power brake/manual trans car. Can someone remind me what the difference is, and tell me if its possible to modify mine to make it work correctly???
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you have to have the whole setup on hand to be done right and quick , the pedal is the same ,you have to change the master cylinder, it is a diffrent bore and does not have the pedal rod on it , and the lines are longer and have a larger fittings that go one the master cylinder , you have to pull the steering wheel unit along with the upper brackets , remove speedometer , they have one little bolt in the center of the dash that bolt down into that long bracket that holds steering wheel unit , and take extra care , every thing is sharp and wants to cut you , ask me how i know :o
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This is not an easy job. While you have the plate (EXTREMELY IMPORTANT), you also need the correct master cylinder. Now here's the issue - the stock power brake pedal is TOO WIDE and will interfere with your clutch. I had to have a friend REMOVE the pedal from the bracket, and weld on a smaller pedal (same size as the clutch pedal) so that the clutch was not interfered with.
I love the setup, personally - in fact I wrote an article on this conversion in one of the old "Pinto Times" magazines. Having power brakes on my four speed wagon is superb - but that's gonna be your sticking point. Everything else is "drop in" as Pinto One said, but make sure you have ALL the hardware/brackets/plates/etc.
Chris
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I do or did have the brake booster and master cylinder as well, but they were used so I am getting new ones. I will probably go with a reman ranger master cylinder, because they are available brand new, where a pinto master cylinder is not. Plus its got the new style with the plastic reservoir... I am also looking into a new (most likely adjustable) proportioning valve, so some brake plumbing will need to be done anyways.
The car is a factory 4 speed, manual brake car. So I have the pedal that will clear the clutch, but I remember the power brake/manual trans pedal being different from the manual brake/manual trans pedal..either by length or location of the clevis that connects it to the booster or something...ca nt remember for sure. Correct me if I am wrong...
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I can check and find out for you , I have a 79 cruze wagon that has the power brakes but i am changing it over to a 5 speed T-5 , have to remove the pedal to install the new clutch pedal and brake pedal , I can compare them and take a few photos , done the swap a long time ago and can not remember , now when i find out it will be posted for future power brake swaps , will know this weekend for sure if they are the same or you have to mod them ,