Power brakes with manual transmission

[DD38]

I have a 1957 3100 that has been converted to 4 wheel drive. It currently has a 305 engine and a SM465 manual transmission. I have front disc and rear drum brakes. I am looking to upgrade the stock manual brake system to a dual bowl master cylinder with a booster. I want to keep the master cylinder mounted under the truck. I have found several different companies selling the complete conversion kits (master cylinder, booster, bracket, and proportioning valve) and some state that it is for automatic transmissions only and others don't specify. I have measured the space under the truck and cant see where i would have any issue other than the parking brake cable being in the way. I have searched about this conversion and found a lot of good information. Nothing that I have found has been for a manual transmission truck though. My question is can these conversion kits be used with a manual transmission or is there one out there that is specifically for a manual?

Any information is greatly appreciated. If this has already been answered and you can direct me to the right thread that would be great also.

[OrrieG]

Use the search box above checked to this site and search for "underframe booster", lots of threads come up. I solved some of the clearance issues by fabbing my own and moving the mc and booster back. It also helps get the fill access door behind the cab support.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s....php?p=5726004

[DD38]

Thanks. I will keep searching. I know there is a lot of information about this on this site. I was hoping to find a bolt on kit for a manual transmission truck on an easy way to adapt the automatic kits because I don't think I have the skills to make the brackets. I prefer to do as much by myself as possible but not being able to weld really limits me on certain things. I have looked at yours and a few other people that made their own. Just a little hesitant to try that myself right now.
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[Russell Ashley]

I have the under floor power brake setup on my truck. I have a straight shift on the column so my transmission is probably smaller than yours but I doubt that space would be a problem. I bought my kit from Tuckers but it is a CPP kit. Installation was not difficult as you only have to drill a couple of holes in the frame, and of course plumb the brake lines. I am very satisfied with it.

[Russell Ashley]

I forgot to mention this in my previous post, but if you do install the booster be sure to install a charcoal filter in the vacuum line. It doesn't come with the kit and I don't think the instructions mention it.

[DD38]

I will take another look at Tuckers.

I have never heard of a charcoal filter for the vacuum line. Thanks for the info

[dwcsr]

its a must for under floor boosters

[OrrieG]

Googled and found the reason, fuel fumes eat the rubber inside the booster. any particular kind, googling doesn't seem to pull up anything.

[dwcsr]

The ones I use are Delco 17056236 or DORMAN 80195 and yes the gases condense and eat the booster diaphragm and seals especially on the cheaper import aftermarket boosters. American rebuilds like A1-Cardone seem to last longer but still should have that filter inline

[OrrieG]

Thanks for posting the number, suspect it will help a lot of us.

[Russell Ashley]

Originally Posted by DD38

I will take another look at Tuckers.

I have never heard of a charcoal filter for the vacuum line. Thanks for the info

I'm sure you've seen them as every vehicle that has a vacuum booster has one. You will recognize it when you see it. These filters are directional and position sensitive. They should be mounted vertically with the specified end toward the carburetor.

[OrrieG]

$10 at Oreillys for the Dorman PN

[57chevyman]

i upgraded to front discs and dual MC ( under floor )...but no power booster, and it works just fine. the pedal feels good. brakes work great. just my 2 cents

[OrrieG]

I lied Oreillys does not stock want $6 shipping fee. Try two, Autozone says they have the Delco one for $7 and change. I ran my disc/drum from 85-2000 without a booster, only got a little scary off road when maintaining max pressure along with other tasks got complicated.

[57chevyman]

I should point out tho, I live on south shore of Long Island. Very flat roads
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[DD38]

I have considered just upgrading to a dual bowl master cylinder with manual brakes. The stock setup works very well but I upgraded to disk brakes on the front so i want to get the proper master cylinder and proportioning valve for the disc/drum setup. I have a manual brake car which works fine but I plan on using this truck to haul stuff and possibly tow trailers if needed. My thoughts were just go to power brakes and get it all done at once. I think power brakes will fit my plans for the truck better than manual brakes. And I live in the mountains.

Thanks for the additional info on the filters. Its always nice to know what exactly the parts do and why they are needed. I will make sure to pick one up when I get the other parts.

[57chevyman]

My dual mc does also have the proportion valve . Just no booster .
I did my upgrade in two phases... When I first got my truck a couple of years ago, it had drum/drum and original single mc.... And the mc started to fail.. That's scary !
So I upgraded the mc, and kept the drum brakes for a while . Just recently put discs in the front .
I'm not educated in booster vs no booster.... If you're going to be towing , you might as well go for the booster
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[OrrieG]

Originally Posted by OrrieG

Autozone says they have the Delco one for $7 and change.

Auto zone Dorman PN 80195 on the HELP! rack. $7.19 w/o sales tax.

Russell, I saw vertical mount. High up towards the manifold, or is low by the bottom of the fire wall ok?

[Russell Ashley]

Id keep it as high as possible, as close to the carburetor as possible. I've never seen this written anywhere but it seems logical to me to mount it this way since the purpose of the filter is to keep gas fumes away from the booster, and gas fumes sink to lower levels when possible. This also looks like the way the factory mounts them also.

[OrrieG]

That was my thinking too. Thanks for the confirmation. Patrick

[chevyguyase]

I have power disc brakes on my "54 3100 and I have a manual Borg Warner 5 speed, but I don't have 4WD or a V8. It works great. So the manual trans shouldn't bother you. It may be another case with a transfer case, a V8, and 4WD extras. look into getting an add on adjustable rear proportioning valve. Most proportioning valves in the kits are for cars, not empty bed, lite in the rear old trucks. Mine is made by Wilwood, & I can dial the rear brakes down. I found out the hard way, the truck traded ends coming into a busy 4 way light after a drizzle. Thank God, Jesus was with me that day. When your done try your brakes on a wet street and check for rear wheel lock up. Thanks to all of you for the info on the booster filter, I'll pick one up.

[Old Crow]

We put a CPP kit on the '54 we're doing. The kit states it won't work with a manual trans.
We're running the stock 6 cyl/4 speed and the clearance issue seems to be the clutch linkage to the brake pedal pivot. We had to trim the end of the L shaped link after we got the clutch adjusted.

[chevyguyase]

Old crow jogged my memory, It seems I did have to monkey with the linkage between the booster and the pedal assembly. It's been 3 or 4 years. I don't remember it taking up to much of my time.

[DD38]

I had tried to measure everything under the truck and I couldn't see where there would be any issues with the booster fitting in. I have a divorce mounted transfer case (np202) so there won't be any fitment issues with it. It is far enough back on the truck. The clutch linkage seemed to be in front of where the brake components would mount but it would make sense if the pivot points were the problem area. My clutch and brake pedal pivot on different pegs but are very close. I was thinking if I got a kit that uses the stock brake pedal I might be alright.

Thanks again for all of the information, advice, and suggestions. I don't have any experience with these trucks other than what I am getting as I work on this one. This site has been a huge help with several questions.

[chevyguyase]

Here are some pictures of the booster linkage on my '54 3100 with a Borg Warner 5 speed. I don't know how close it is to your set up. Hope this helps.