'57 Ford Custom 300 Tudor Sedan

[Elliot949]

Originally Posted by Vic1947

Well in this case, I can't really blame Hydratech. This is how the boosters were originally manufactured. H-T just incorporates the adapter plates and pushrods for a specific application and maybe does a little "dress up" before sending them on the way. But whoever designed them with the weird threads in the first place needs to have their head examined.

It's the "Built to Perform" show in Lone Jack, MO on Saturday, October 3rd. We've never been to it, so I have no idea what the turnout will be like. Right now, the weatherman is a bit pessimistic, but we'll know more when it gets closer. Meanwhile, I need to get the plumbing done and the brakes bled so I can do a test drive. Had to order a few fittings from Jegs that won't be here until Wednesday, but if I get motivated I'll make it.

Work work work... LOL

[Xeen]

Very nice Vic, I like the nod to the cars side trim.

[Xeen]

Now see I can just hear those guys at the shop when they were remanufacturing it, I am gonna screw this guy by using some obscure thread pattern that no one and I mean no one uses and he can't even get <enter evil machinist revenge laugh here> Mhmm.

[Elliot949]

Nice work Vic...

[knomadd]

Wow, I'm sorry to hear you've had so many issues with the hydratech booster setup. It makes me wonder if I'm just lucky or ignorant to these issues on my setups. Looks like you've got it figured out. Nice work, as usual.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by knomadd

Wow, I'm sorry to hear you've had so many issues with the hydratech booster setup. It makes me wonder if I'm just lucky or ignorant to these issues on my setups. Looks like you've got it figured out. Nice work, as usual.

I think it's just me being overly critical, Duane. All the time spent waiting on the booster unit and the endless runarounds took the fun out of what should have been an interesting project. However, I continue to believe the unit will perform as intended when it's all said and done. There's always problems when the metric world collides with SAE and different folks solve those issues in different ways. If I end up with great brakes, I'll forget all about the hiccups.

[sduckworth13]

Nice work on the valve covers Vic. Glad you got the hydrobooster also, hope the booster works out this time around.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by sduckworth13

Nice work on the valve covers Vic. Glad you got the hydrobooster also, hope the booster works out this time around.

Hey Scott, thanks. I was hoping to have it all together for a test this weekend but looks like it will be delayed again. The (in stock) parts I ordered from Jegs on Monday morning didn't leave their warehouse until this evening. Tracking info now says they'll arrive on Saturday. Just gotta relax... took me 25 years to get to this point, so a few more days won't kill me.

[Xeen]

There will be quite a few very nice days coming up that you can take full advantage of and enjoy the hell out of it before winter sets in.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Xeen

There will be quite a few very nice days coming up that you can take full advantage of and enjoy the hell out of it before winter sets in.

You bet.. and I plan to do just that!

The post office delivered my Jegs order ahead of schedule this afternoon, so I did some tube bending. Previously, I'd bent up some aluminum welding rod to use as guides for the real deal. Carefully straightened the coiled SS tubing and used the front guide to lay out the bends. The photo makes it look pretty close, but trust me when I say, I made at least a dozen trips between the underside of the car and the workbench getting the ends to line up just right. AN fittings no likey offsets or angles!

With the front line installed, I got busy on the rear line. All I had left to do was to flare the end that connects to the m/c. That's when I realized the flaring dies wouldn't fit the cut length I needed. The solution is to build the line from the opposite direction. So that's my project for tomorrow morning.

[jlsanborn]

Looks great Vic! I'm facing the same battle someday. Anxious to hear your results!

[knomadd]

I feel your pain. It took me several tries to get my lines re-bent. I purchased a pre-bent line kit, but with my custom setup, I needed to fix the master cylinder to frame lines.

Lines look great! Nice work, as always.

[Low Elco]

Good lookin' stuff. Glad you're getting on top of it. Hope to see you tearing up the street soon!

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by jlsanborn

Looks great Vic! I'm facing the same battle someday. Anxious to hear your results!

Originally Posted by knomadd

I feel your pain. It took me several tries to get my lines re-bent. I purchased a pre-bent line kit, but with my custom setup, I needed to fix the master cylinder to frame lines.

Lines look great! Nice work, as always.

Originally Posted by Low Elco

Good lookin' stuff. Glad you're getting on top of it. Hope to see you tearing up the street soon!

Thanks guys! I'd hoped to be able to do a full report tonight, but other stuff got in the way. (Some welding, helping my brother replace a u-joint in his truck, several long distance phone calls and so forth.) Anyway, I finished all the plumbing last night and followed the recommended steps to prep the unit for service. Unfortunately, with the car back down on the ground, I had no power steering. After some anxious moments, I realized everything was acting as if there was no pressure coming from the pump. Then the light bulb went on and I recalled when I reassembled the spool valve into the pump, I wasn't exactly sure how it was supposed to go. Instead of checking an online resource, I made an (incorrect) assumption about which way the spring went. After consulting a rebuilder resource, I realized my error and set about fixing it. Fortunately, it was a very easy to do, so once the valve was in the correct location, I went thru the steps again and the power steering is now working. With company here, it was too late to make a test run, so that will happen tomorrow and I'll let you know how it goes. Oddly enough, the pump never complained at all about the misconfigured valve. I'd have thought it might whine a little, but it was quiet as a church mouse.

[sduckworth13]

Very nice work Vic. That really looks great.

[jlsanborn]

Sooo clean. Nice work Vic!

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by sduckworth13

Very nice work Vic. That really looks great.

Originally Posted by jlsanborn

Sooo clean. Nice work Vic!

Thanks, guys!

Well, I took Maybelline out for a drive this afternoon and I believe all systems (transmission, steering and brakes) were performing the best they ever have. I wasn't sure what to expect with the brakes since the only bleeding I'd done was using the reverse pressure method, where you pump the fluid from each corner back thru the lines into the m/c. Afterward, I didn't even gravity bleed or "pump and hold" to evacuate any remaining air. However the brakes worked very smoothly and applied with very little effort. No pull to either side when braking at low or high speeds. Didn't try a panic stop, but it felt like there was enough power to easily make 'em lock up. So despite all the heartburn associated with the vendor, the booster unit seems to work flawlessly. WooHoo!

The lessons I learned were:
1) Don't assume they know your setup. They may tell you they have it covered, but verify all the measurements. For me, the problem areas were the firewall bolt pattern, the firewall to brake pedal distance and the master cylinder actuating piston depth.
2) Go ahead and pop for the extra $$ to buy one of their master cylinders. That removes it from the list of things that can go wrong. In my case, my SS Brakes m/c was off just enough to not work. Even though it was in perfect operating condition, either it or the booster rod would need modification. H-T threw a fit over my request to modify the rod, so save yourself the grief.
3) Be prepared for a long wait. They may promise 2-3 weeks delivery but add at least two weeks to their estimate.
4) If something does go wrong, it will be your fault. (See lesson #1) And get ready for another really long wait. Paying customers go to the back of the line.
5) Don't get mad and call BS when you hear the same lame excuses over and over. You may need them at some point down the road. If you've burned your bridges, the only resource you'll have is the collective wisdom/stupidity of the internet. Don't ask how I know this.

I'm really looking forward to this Saturday. There's a cruise/BBQ at Vintage Fabrications in Independence, the weather is looking great and my alignment guy says I should put a few miles on the old girl before my appointment on Monday. Sounds like a perfect chance to mix business with pleasure.

[sduckworth13]

What a relief, glad you got the hydrobooster setup the way you want it and hopefully you can have many trouble free miles out of it.

[Xeen]

The engine compartment looks clean enough to eat off of.
You worked hard to make everything perfect and it shows, I see many more awards in Maybelline's future.
Well done Vic.

[Low Elco]

Glad it up and running well. If I'm lucky, I may see you out at Vintage.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Low Elco

Glad it up and running well. If I'm lucky, I may see you out at Vintage.

Thankfully, Chip made it out to the Vintage show. Just as we pulled into a parking spot, the power steering hose puked the last of the fluid out of the reservoir and the pump started squealing. There wasn't any oil up topside, so I knew the problem had to be underneath. But there was no way to get to the lines to find out what happened. We were parked on a steep incline in grass that came up to the rocker panels.

As I was dialing information for the number of a local towing service, we bumped into Chip and his son Aaron. Chip graciously offered to go get the rollback trailer he's used several times to transport CRLS and haul Maybelline home. So that's what we did. After stopping to buy some PS fluid and hitch up the trailer, we made it back to Vintage Vehicles and refilled the reservoir which allowed me to drive up onto the trailer.

On the way home, our alarm company called to say they'd dispatched the fire department to the house for a carbon monoxide alert. When we got there, they had already left but the alarm was still active. Kathy cleared it, but it fired back up again very quickly and then we had an instant replay. The fire truck arrived in short order (firehouse is right around the corner) and the guys came in with their meters and checked the whole house. We finally decided that when I started the Ford to go to the show, the fumes must have filled the shop and it took awhile for them to migrate to the detector. All in all, more excitement than I'd planned for.

The leak turned out to be a loose fitting, so it was an easy fix. Chip had brought along some wrenches but it would have been impossible to get under the car without a jack. Today my plan is to retighten every fitting, top off the fluid and purge the system again. Tomorrow I have an appointment to finally get the alignment finished. Hopefully, nothing interferes with that.

Big thanks to Chip and Aaron for bailing me out!

[knomadd]

As the saying goes. "It's always something." Or so it seems to be with my vehicles. Either needs attention, or wish list items... At least you know what needs to be done.

[Xeen]

It sounds like packing an aluminum jack and a basic portable tool kit wouldn't be the worst idea in the world while you are still bug testing the car.

[swamp rat]

All's well that ends well, glad you got it all worked out.

[Low Elco]

Glad we got you and Miss Kathy and Maybelline home ok. Made for a fun afternoon, and we got ribs out of it at Dad's, so right on! Glad the fix was an easy one!