Projects Help with Brakes on 53 Chevy

Hi All,

I tried to drive my 53 Chevy yesterday and it wouldn't stop and I found a shredded up brake line that must have pinched by the spindle. I have hardly driven the car since I bought it but am wondering whether to change the brake system now. It has a Mustang II front end from what I know and it has Ford Pinto brakes. The car is pretty hard to stop on steeper hills.

If I replace the calipers and rotors with bigger ones, will I have issues temporarily if I don't get a power brake setup? I am planning to do it when I have more time and can put a booster on the firewall, etc. For now I was just thinking, instead of spending money on the current line replacement, I should get a non power setup and add the power later. Any advice?

If I just replace the line that broke right now, is it something I can probably get from Auto Zone? I'm not sure what car/year to look for.

I've attached photos. Thanks!

 

I'd take the one you have to a real auto parts store and see if they can find one to match. Autozone would not be my first stop. be sure to see if you may need a longer one to avoid what happened before.

"pinto brakes" ... do you have 9" rotors? that is what the Pintos came with, Pintos were 4 lug as well. most if not all aftermarket MII setups come with 11" rotors, if you still have 9" there are many companies out there that can set you up with proper rotors, bearings and brackets to get you going.(or stopping)

you can add power brakes later if you feel the need to do so down the line

 

Thanks for your help!

I think the brake calipers and pads were from a pinto. The previous owner had told me the brakes were from a pinto but I am guessing the rotors must be something else if it has 5 lugs? I'm not sure but I had attached a photo in my previous post.

I'm guessing the hose that tore is only a $10 part more or less so I may just get it and leave things as they are.

Does anyone know what would happen if I bought larger rotors and calipers sold for the Mustang II front end? Would it stop any better than what I have now if I connect larger calipers to the lines already there or will I have any issues with the master cylinder not providing enough power? It seems I won't make things worse doing that and I can add power when I have more time.

 

priority #1 ; brakes!
call Ralph at eci in ct. or scarebird here on the hamb and tell him what you have; brake pedal ratio, master cylinder size, caliper # and rear wheel cylinder bore. they will get the brakes right, now.

 

Oh thanks I will get in touch with eci. The problem is trying to figure out what I have. I need to keep bugging the previous owner to get most of the info.

 

Anyone have a guess whether it's possible the previous owner put the calipers on the wrong sides? The hose seems to squeeze through such a tight spot and I can see with turning hard that the hose can pinch. This picture shows the left side hose going through the tight space. I remember making a u-turn prior to the right side shredding up. I wonder if flipping the calipers will route the hoses safer.

 

flipping the caliper would put the bleeder at the bottom. try flipping the hoses side to side

 

Thanks. The lines are identical for the right and left so I don't think that would do much. I'm not sure what else to try?

If I bought some generic mustang II kit like this one:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/MUSTANG-II-...Parts_Accessories&hash=item2ecff06930&vxp=mtr

is it likely to work and stop better than what I have now which I believe is a 9" rotor? I'm having a difficult time determining what bore size, master cylinder type etc. The previous owner just tells me brake parts for a ford pinto were used.

I do know it has a Mustang II front end.

 

I also wonder if I can just use whatever master cylinder I have for now, supposedly from a ford pinto according to the previous owner.

 

Anyone know if this is a decent kit for the mustang II front end?

http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Musta...Brake-Kit-5-x-4-3-4-GM-Bolt-Pattern,2007.html

I'm not sure if I should look at slotted or drilled rotors for maximum stopping performance given im not going to put a power booster for a while. Thanks.

 

A lot of guys use that kit. I've got a stock Pinto/Bobcat/MII front suspension at home that still is intact and has the calipers on it. I'll look when I get home and see if I can get a photo or two of how it is set up to give you an idea of what might be out of kilter on yours if anything is. Link to hose at O'Reilly's http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/detail/BHH1/BH80013/03349.oap?year=1976&make=Ford&model=Mustang+II&vi=1134537&ck=Search_03349_1134537_4398&pt=03349&ppt=C0066

Thinking about it for a minute your brake line issue may have more to do with where the other end was mounted on the frame as compared to on a stock Pinto or MII.

 

Oh great thanks for the response. The previous owner says it was definitely the Pinto MII setup on my 53 Chevy but doesnt remember bore sizes, etc.

Will a drilled hole/slotted rotor setup make a big difference for my particular application? I'm hoping to upgrade to 11" rotors and the bigger calipers so it stops a bit better down hills. I don't know if it's going to really happen without a power booster setup though. Hopefully someone knows.

 

If I am not going to use a power booster for the mean time, will I likely see a big difference between smooth rotors and drilled/slotted when changing from the pinto rotors to 11" ones?

 

If the brake system is designed correctly you will not need a power booster.

 

Oh ok thanks. Assuming I keep the master cylinder in there (I guess its from a Pinto brake setup) and the rear drums, should I look for slotted/drilled rotors? The speedway kit I was looking at seemed like a great price but had smooth rotors.

 

You wont see nay benefit from drilled or slotted rotors, lots of full size cars stop fine with 11" rotors(10 3/4' or whatever they actually are).
If the brake system is matched correctly it should stop fine with manual brakes.

 

The routing of that pinched hose bothers me. Can you take a couple of shots with the caliper & hoses back on?

 

ditto

 

Thanks for your concern and looking out for a complete newbie. I will take a picture of it tonight or tomorrow once I bend the new line and connect it back up. My instinct tells me it shredded up on a hard (but slow) u-turn at a light but I'm not sure.

 

Thanks so much. Anyone know which kit looks better:
The caliper brackets look flimsier on the speedway one but the price is lower:

http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Musta...Brake-Kit-5-x-4-3-4-GM-Bolt-Pattern,2007.html

The caliper brackets on this kit look a little stronger and it doesn't come with hoses:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/MUSTANG-2-I...Parts_Accessories&hash=item338c9f2c74&vxp=mtr

Anyone have advice?

 

If either kit bolts up to your spindles, great. Is that whole clip MII? I'd still like to see where the brake hose clip mounts on the frame just so you don't get yourself in trouble with it again.

 

Supposedly its all Mustang II. Since I'm new to this, I have just relied on information the previous owner supplied me with. I'll take some pics tonight. Thanks!

 

Even pix with the hose just laid in would be good. For it to chafe and pinch like that it has to either be too long or routed strangely.

 

I'll post some pics on here soon to show the hose routing.

So the caliper brackets on the speedway kit should be good enough? I know the ebay ones look much stronger but I don't know it if matters. I have read some kits mentioning their caliper brackets are so much stronger than the others but I don't know from experience if this matters much in my case?

 

What was rubbing on the wheel? That looks curious.

 

I think this image shows it. You can see the hose passing under the spindle real tight to the nut on the side because of the angle coming off the caliper, not the angle going onto the frame where it meets the steel line. The front end is Mustang II and supposedly the brakes for a pinto setup came from ECI (but the previous owner said he thinks). I suspect on a u-turn, I may have caused the hose to rub tighter but I'm not sure.

 

Consider longer brake hoses too. The ones you had look too short.
Speedway sells a kit with 2 braided stainless in 18" length for reasonable money

 

Curious... is the brake hose retained to the frame somewhere? It should have a bracket where the hard line from the master meets the hose.

 

Yes there is a bracket on the frame. I'll try to put some pics up soon.

 

Thanks!

Does this look like a good combination then?:

Brake kit:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/MUSTANG-2-I...Parts_Accessories&hash=item338c9f2c74&vxp=mtr

17 1/2" line kit: (the old line was 16-9/16 inches)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DISC-BRAKE-...Parts_Accessories&hash=item4ad7a1837e&vxp=mtr

I can't tell if the above parts are good quality or not.