quick stock brake m/c question

[danheit]

on my 57, with stock brakes, fresh out of the field, I open the cover on the master, and find nothing but some congealed looking little pieces of trash in the dry bottom. I fill with fluid, crack open the rear bleeder and I start to pump the pedal.

Keep in mind, that I am accessing my master cylinder through the nature provided hatch (big rust hole in the floor), and can thus operate the pedal and view the m/c at the same time. the first few times I depress the brake pedal, the fluid level in the m/c rises (I assume from the pressure building up) and overflows. I do this a few times and now I have no movement in fluid whatsoever when I depress the pedal. I am getting no fluid anywhere. No, the pedal doesn't just sit on the floor, but it is spring loaded, so I don't expect that it would. I have tried to loosen the brake line, but it is rusted tight. Used a line wrench and it just started stripping.

Big question here is: should I clip the line and try to get it out, in hopes that it is the line that is clogged up? Should I spend the time to get the m/c off the frame (mounting bolts are rusted solid) and rebuild it? Should I just suck it up and get a new m/c? Keep in mind that I am trying to do this as cheap as possible as it is close to xmas and I have NO extra funds. I am fine with the truck just sitting there, but my wife is not, and she wants it out of the driveway and into the garage, which I understand, as that was the initial agreement. However, I want it able to move in and out of the garage under it's own power, and be able to stop upon doing so.

What is the most likely scenario? Is my m/c shot, or does that not usually happen with these? I know that I can get by with a rebuild if the cylinder bore isn't pitted or tore up, but part of me says if I am going to go that far, maybe I should just spend the $200-+ and get a proper booster and mounting bracket. I can probably pick up a hydroboost unit from the local jy, but then I am having to add in all kinds of extra crap like a power steering pump to run the booster. I am working with the stock 235, and would like to keep the truck as unmodified (read that as cheap) as possible.

[_Ogre]

55 year old mc and lines, mmmm....
personally the least i'd do is cut the line, soak it in bp blaster and put a pair of visegrips on it to remove the fitting
pull the mc (2 bolts and the pedal), pull it apart to see if it's pitted, hone it and throw the 2 seals in it.
a rebuild kit should be $40 or less (i was going to say $15 but it's been a while for me)
as for the rest of the line go back to the nearest fitting and replace the line, don't try to splice or re-flare the old crusty rusty line
you should replace all the lines and probably will end up replacing them all, but this is a minimum to get it mobile again.

[mr48chev]

Get your buds over on the pretense of having a beverage of choice be it hot or cold beverage and push the blooming truck in the garage and keep the wife happy. Keeping the wife happy is paramount to being able to drive the truck 50 feet at the moment. That's from a guy who's been married for 43 years and has a wife who hasn't always been happy with my projects blocking where she wants to park.

On the Master cylinder. I'd pull it off and take it apart and see what it looks like. Use a pair of vise grips on the fitting on the line as someone previous to you most likely rounded the fitting off using the wrong wrench. If the master cylinder will clean up and hone out you can probably put a kit in it and expect it to work ok. If it isn't any good you are out the time it took to take it apart and check it out but gained a bit of education in the process.
Personally if the master cylinder is cruddy that means that the wheel cylinders are also cruddy and I'd get it in the garage and rebuild the whole brake system before driving it. It's better to push and be safe than try driving it and have a wheel cylinder pop after you spent the day rebuilding the master cylinder or replacing it.

I'm trying to send a fender to a kid in Phoenix now because he drove his newly bought 54 Chevy pickup around the block and found out that the brakes failed when he went to turn back in his driveway and hit a post.

[Highsider]

I visited mine on the (hospital) hoist today.
I do most all of my own work, but I was too scared to set it on jack stands as high as I needed...thing weighs a feekin' ton...but, I am getting a new MII booster and m/c.
Interesting thing was one "name brand" parts store said they couldn't find the assembly, so my mechanic called 50-miles to the other same brand store and the assembly will be here tomorrow for Monday installation.
They are replacing the IFS dust booties and checking the alignment, too.

[OrrieG]

I'm with Mr48, iff you had globby crusties in the MC, expect the same in the wheel cylinders and maybe the lines. If the fluid in the lines dried up, condesation and rust is present. Its the same amount of work to replace it with a modern MC with front rear separation and in the long run parts will be easier to get if you need them.

[meter swinger]

I rebuilt the MC on my truck when i first got it. I also did the lines. If I remember correctly I got everything at NAPA. Take a real good look at the hoses too. Therye probably rotted to hell. another thought...If you just need it in the garage and can't lure extra hands over with beer, check your local rental place for a power pusher. Its just a simple two wheeled electic device. I just watched one move an 18 ton glovebox.
If you tear into your brakes in your driveway youll likely end up redoing the whole system there. Jus sayin.
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[Russell Ashley]

When you operate a m/c with the lid off you will normally get a squirt of fluid straight up. If you aren't getting this I suspect that the plunger is not returning to it's forward position, which probably means that the bore is rusty. It definitely means a rebuild or replacement is called for. If you are going to fix the truck up for an occasional driver it sounds like you might as well plan on rebuilding the entire brake system.

[danheit]

Holy crap that was an ordeal getting the master cylinder off! Started at 2pm, finished at 5. Took some off the wall tools, standard wrenches and metric wrenches (for the rounded off bolts), a sledge hammer, a ball peen hammer, channel locks, a line wrench, a breaker bar and other assorted tools and a conundrum of foul language. I still have no idea how to separate the brake pedal from the m/c arm. I know that there is a 3/4" bolt that holds the two together, which I have removed, but it appears that one is pressed into the other. I am exhausted, but the m/c is at least out of the truck. Once I got it into the vice, I was able to get it broken down with the help of more big tools, a sledge hammer and a 1 1/2 inch drive (yes, big one) socket set. Got it all pulled down and was able to find gobs and gobs of crud in the m/c bore. It appears that a good bit of the brake system has been recently worked on as several metal lines were in surprisingly good shape, some still with the paper tags on them, and the rear wheel cylinders are new. I'm still going to replace all the lines, and take my chances with the wheel cylinders once I get it back together. It doesn't appear that the bore on the m/c is pitted at this time, but time will certainly tell. It was time to come in and get cleaned up before the wife and kids came back home. Unfortunately, this was a driveway job, not a garage job, so it will sit where it is for a little while longer.