Converting to power brakes

[Rstahl]

I have a 1975 chevy c10 with manuel brakes and I was wondering if there was any way to convert to power brakes. does anyone have advice?

 

[MadOgre]

Go to Hydro Boost brakes! Way more stopping power. Takes up way less space, Don't have to worry about vacuum leaks, And if you ever decide to run something like a thumper cam, you will have no braking issues when the cam drops the vacuum below 1500 RPM.

Only down side is that over the years it costs a bit more to maintain the Hydro Boost system. You usually have to replace the high pressure hoses at least every 10 years or so.

 

[MadOgre]

If you do Hydro Boost you need to grab everything from a donor truck. You need the whole brake pedal assembly inside the cab. And you need the power steering pump and reservoir that has 3 ports on it, which is different from a power booster set up that only uses 2 ports. And obviously you need the Hydro boost with the hoses.

 

[quaddriver]

I have added PB to vehicles without, unfortunately, mostly ford. (ford is way easier to 'franken truck' than chevy)

but brakes is brakes. a few things to consider:

because the vehicles had to stop in a certain distance with a certain pound force of application, MB (manual brake) vehicles typically had larger equipment in terms of rotors drums shoes pads, than the PB version.. is that bad? no, once you add a boosted unit you tend to typically have what was considered the HD option (like JA8-ish RPO)

so, that being said, find a booster (yeah people like the hydros, but you can install a vacuum system with kitchen utensils) and at the risk of being shot at, if originality is not an issue, convert it to ford. Fords booster and master are typically better) and get a new or reman MC. no sense worrying over used equipment.

now, when all of this is done, consider this: the fulcrum point of the brake pedal has more mechanical advantage in a MB system for obvious reasons. Trust me when I say, should you hook up a PB system, but use the same brake pedal, that first hurried stomp will cause you to lock up a few wheels. grab the brake pedal assembly off a donor truck as well.

 

[Keith Seymore]

I happen to have the brake system release charts for the '74 pickup handy (I actually have all of them). '75 should be the same.

I'll post it here so you can see the differences, by size and part number, of the various components.

The foundation brakes (disc, drums, wheel cylinders) are the same for JB1 (manual) to JB3 (the lightest duty power system). Pedal ratio is different, as stated above, as is the master cylinder.

I'll also post the '87 for comparison sake and since it is a bit easier to read.

K

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