1966 El Camino Brakes - Brakes In a Box

We locked in the axles and buttoned up the differential cover. We also reinstalled our rear brake lines. Finally, we slid the new drum cover over the studs to finish off the assembly.

MANUAL TO POWER
To get this sled stopping like it should, or at least to modern-day standards, we also ordered Master Power's booster and master cylinder kit. First, we loosened the four 9/16 nuts that held in the original manual master cylinder and pried it away from the firewall. In our case, the piston rod that ran through the firewall to the pedal fell out. Next, we disconnected the stock piston rod fork from the stock pedal location by pushing out the stock pin. Master Power even supplied us with a new one so we could toss the original piece.

Like the front and rear brakes, the master cylinder kit and booster come fully assembled with the bracket that mates up to the firewall already attached. We fed the piston rod through the original opening in the firewall and tightened the new booster and master cylinder down with the original hardware, using the 9/16 nut and lock washer. This particular kit will sit at a slight upward angle, so know that it's completely normal.

For the fluid to get to its specific location, be it the front or rear, we had to install the universal distribution block. The good news is the supplied hard lines will only fit on one way. We made sure to position the distribution block with the proportioning valve facing the front of the car, while the hard lines will face the inner driver-side fender.

We began by threading in the new hard lines but made sure to leave them somewhat loose so we would have enough wiggle room to move the hard lines as necessary when we installed it in the car.

To arrange the lines, they must be criss-crossed over one another. Then we threaded in the hard lines to the bottom of the master cylinder. This may take some massaging and patience to get in, but it will fit. We should mention that the kit also comes with a universal bracket, but we're not going to use it at this time, at least not until we shoehorn the big-block we have on standby.

With the master cylinder and brake booster at an angle, the piston rod that attaches to the pedal will follow the same path. In our case, we could simply reattach the brake pedal into the original hole set by the factory. We inserted the new pin and locked down the cotter pin as well. This will give us our 4:1 pedal pressure ratio. Anything more than 4:1 would probably send us flying through the windshield.