This was coming out of the master cyl on a 62 T-Bird. You can see right thru it, so it doesn't seem to have a purpose. Thoughts?
Was the previous owner of that 'Bird a Control Line model airplane flier? That part looks suspiciously like the tank and priming cylinder from a 1934 Brown .30!
Looks like it could be a brake light switch, of the old pressure operated variety. Or is that a bleeder screw, hard to tell since it is cut off by the photo.
Pretty sure that's an aftermarket 'anti-skid braking valve'... These turn up from time to time, usually sold by the same sort that used to hawk Slick50, Franz oil filters and stuff like that. Supposedly these 'modulated' your brake pressure and came with claims of better braking performance, less brake wear and improved fuel mileage. 'Worked' via a spring-loaded diaphragm in the line which somehow 'smoothed' the brake pressure. Pretty much snake oil....
Possibly what Crazy Steve posted. I was just thinking possibly a bleeder assembly with a check valve for the master cylinder. The "ribbed" portion (at least from pics) appears to be non-functional, probably perfectly aligning with Steve's theory
Crazy Steve has it, now who has a 1960 or so JC Whitney catalog near the computer?? Early attempt at anti-lock-anti-skid-pro-money brake device. There were several in the '50's and '60's, all sold via tiny ads in the margins of car magazines and in the Shlock sections of the catalogs. This could be a theme for a car build! That thing needs to be accompanied by a Judson Electric Magneto, a Mini-Supercharger with little fans twirling in the breeze between carb and manifold, at least 4 or 5 different versions (idle screws, manifold fitting, etc.) of the commercially built vacuum leaks, a toilet-paper oil filter...by George, before you know it your T-Bird will be a Car of the Future, gliding along at up to 97 miles per gallon and costing nothing to maintain!
What I find amazing is the guys who make fun of the Frantz toilet paper filters have never used one. Of if they did didn't use it properly. And those who actually use one following the manufactures instructions believe in them. I bought one and I was skeptical. I used it and it actually does what the manufacture claims. Even if the O P gadget In question does nothing I would still use it. The brake bleeder at the master cyl could be of benefit?
the '51 Ford i had a couple of years ago had some kind of power brake add-on installed that had nothing connected to the master cylinder at all..... apparently, it had worked when new and did so for some time, but i damn sure wasn't keeping it..... this thing looks like it defaults to just being a flow-through adapter fitting if it quits doing whatever it did, so i'd be comfortable leaving it. it darn sure does look like a big RC gas motor glow plug....
Good going Crazy. Interesting it was on a T-bird, I spun my '64 across all lanes of oncoming traffic years ago by hitting the brakes too hard. Amazingly hit nothing.
I knew I had seen it before, and found it advertised in a '59 J.C Whitney catalog I have. Supposed to "Eliminate front wheel slide", "Ends skid and fishtailing in panic stops" Gives equal pressure on all four wheels instantly", etc. Complete BS as Bruce and others have stated, and it wasn't cheap at $14.95. Anyway, now you know.
$14.95 in 59 was a buttload of money. Probly a whole day's pay, even at minimum wage. I wonder if they sold very many of them(?) THX
Looks like a later version of the same thing. These have been around off-and-on for years; I used to have a neighbor who was always hawking 'miracle' stuff like 'trick' oil additives, rainbow vacuum cleaners, septic tank additives, you name it.... He tried to sell me one of these 'antiskid braking valves' too. Wanted good money for it, around $150 IIRC...
FWIW, my Buddy Doc is into MLM crap and he bugs the hell out of me! Latest is trace minerals, much less ROIL Oil and such. pdq67
The OEMs used something like that inside the brake proportioning valve when disc brakes came out...slows down the "shock" of pressure going to the rear wheels in a fast/panic stop. As far as I know, they're still in use.
Multi level marketing. A lot of those questionable additives and such are set up that way. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
We've had a couple of those Rainbow vacuum cleaners. Liked them pretty good, no bags to fool with, just dirty water. Damn pricey though, paid nearly a grand for our first one, last one got it for $100 at an estate sale. Talking about the "miracle" stuff, y'all remember the spark plugs with 4 or 6 electrodes? Or the VX6 stuff that was supposed to revive bad batteries? And you can't forget the 100 mpg carburetor that supposedly the Govt bought the plans for, then locked them away, never to be seen again. PT Barnum was right, there's a sucker born every minute!
That POS valve is no way comes even close to the actual operation of a proportioning valve, which limits, in percentage, the pressure going to the rear brakes after the initial set or crack point pressure has been exceeded. Proportioning is still in use, but has been electronic and integrated into ABS systems since the mid-late '90s.
When I was young and my 283 was smoking I bought "rebuild" pellets from JC Whitney to put down the plug holes. Fouled the plugs..
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