Brake Booster

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broncops

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I've been planning on doing a disc conversion, but after doing a price check on all the parts(plus nobody has the spindles or hubs) I'm looking at just adding a brake booster. My mechanic will do either one, but he has assured me that the booster will work fine for what I do. I've got a 74 with a 351W with 38 Mickey Thompson, I'm just a sunday driver that very rarely gets off the blacktop. I may do a small trail ride but nothing extreme, spent TOO MUCH money on making it look good to get all scratched up!! So the question I'm asking is, will a booster give me plenty of stopping power for what I do. Where can I find a brake booster. I checked at my local parts house and they had them for a 78-79 for pretty cheap, will this work with my 74? Any help would be great, my mechanic already has my bronco and he charges a $20.00 sitting fee for everyday I don't have the parts for him.

Thanks in advance

Patrick

 

Bully Bob

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Hi Patrick., welcome...!

1st. your stock brakes would stop on a dime if they are set-up correctly.

Mine (all drums, no power) stops as good as my new F-150.

Having said that., all the EB stores have everything you need. spindles, hubs, drums, boosters, disc's, you name it.

The sponsor of this website

Jeffs Bronco Graveyard

And

Wild Horses 4x4

Toms bronco Parts

And., many more depending on where you are.

That's one mean mech. charging you like that..... $-) :unsure:

P.S. On this homepage., upper right, type in brakes, or power brakes,etc. then search.

 
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broncops

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I was a little misleading with my intro, I found the spindles and hubs but they were new. It made my conversion attempt higher than I wanted to pay. I was looking for used, but everywhere around here crushes anything that old. My mechanic told me the same thing about the mechanical breaks. I'm just wanting something with a little more power with less pressure. I'm an above knee ampute and I need all the help I can get. Thanks for the help! Do you happen to know if I can use a 77-79 brake booster for my 74

 

Bully Bob

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Do fill-in your info. pages...that info. appears on ea. post you place & allows accurate help W/O guessing. (What you have., know about your rig., where you are., etc.)

The main issues with the orig. booster "donut" is its size. I believe they all req. the "angle" bracket & related hardware to fit the EB.

Don't know what you have or what's done to your rig so it's hard to be specific.

However., properly set-up drum brakes & a power booster should serve you well.

A '77 should bolt up but again clearance (fender wheelwell) is a concern.

IMHO., If convenient, I'd move the veh. home 'til I searched out the needed (correct) parts ..... rather than pay him $$$$$ for storage. :-B

 
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broncops

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Thanks for the help. I've decided to go with booster and getting my mechanical brakes set correctly. The booster will be delivered today. I figured it would be the best fit for my budget, seeing how I now have to replace my fuel cell. The previous owner had a plastic fuel cell that was being held up with a home made angle iron brace with no padding to cushion, which over the years wore a hole in the corner from sliding back and forth. Going to replace with a 16 gallon metal one from summit, with the correct mounting hardware.

P.S. Where do I go to post what all I've done to my bronco? Is it signature?

 

Bully Bob

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P.S. Where do I go to post what all I've done to my bronco? Is it signature?

YES... & that info can be updated at any time.

Didn't know summit had the correct fuel tanks & hardware for EB's...

The EB stores do & some hardware that's used to save $$

Good luck.,

B

P.S. I looked at Summit...saw nothing that was early Bronco specific with respect to fuel tanks..!!

IMHO... Not that that 16 gal wouldn't work., but could be a "bowl-of-snakes" hooking up lines , fill hoses, etc. For safety & ease of installation, check;

JBG

Toms Bronco Parts

WildHorses

If it's not too late.

 
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broncops

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Ran into a problem with the booster, it wouldn't fit! I've looked on all the EB stores and found that they have a bracket on the ones they have. the ones they have are also triple the amount as the one I bought at autozone. Anybody know of a place that has them cheaper. I'm also going for a remanufactored rear tank 13.5 gallon, comes with all the hoses and brackets. Took bully bobs advise didn't want to have all the head aches!!

 

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There is no cheap way to put a booster in a bronco. You can't get those parts from salvage, as they are pretty much Bronco specific, and you don't want to use a salvaged booster anyway, because they generally don't work very well. What you can do is install front disk brakes. If you have a dual Master cylinder already, you can probably still use it with front disks, even if it was set up for drums. Your Bronco will stop much faster and more predictably with front disks, even without a Booster. I drove my rig around for over a year with front disks and no booster. It's especially noticeable in panic stops, when good brakes really matter. You can do the conversion for about the same cost as the power booster kit, and you can by most of the parts new. There are numerous sources for the info you need, just follow their instructions and you'll be fine. It's actually easier to do the conversion then it is to do a brake job on a set of drum brakes. You can always put the PB in later, and maybe with those big tires, you'll want to opt for a hydroboost setup, which I've heard can be found quite readily at u-pick-a-part.

 
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broncops

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Disc were my original plan, but I was having no luck in finding the Spindles and Hubs. I found new but they were outragious in priced, all the junk/salvage yards crush cars that old. IF you know of a place that has these parts I'd be glad to go back to disc. I've had my front brakes re-worked(bearings, seals, ahoe etc.) Waiting on my brother to get back form his job to finish the rear. I'm not a big trail rider, pretty much stay on pavement. I know I got the big tires, got a really good deal/steal. I'm hoping just the stock drums will serve me for now, ran into more pressing issues with my gas tank. My bronco fund got hit hard this month. Got to save up for a few months to get it back up.

 

Scodge

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I bought my spindles, hubs and backing plates off of ebay for around $200. Use the chevy conversion, the parts are much easier to find, and therefore cheaper. You can source what you need in bits over time, and do the conversion once you get everything. Your drums will just have to do until then. In the mean time, I'd learn to do the brakes yourself, if your physically able. You'll save a ton of cash on labor, and the parts are pretty cheap. Haynes prints a pretty good brake manual that should get you started, if your handy with tools.

 
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broncops

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My plan has been to buy the different parts a little at a time. I've gotten a couple different conversion part list all pretty much the same. If you've already done it yourself, and still have an exact list of parts you used I'd love to have it. You can email it to me [email protected] I think with the brakes set up correctly it will stop fine for no more than I do. My brother is actually our "Family Mechanic" he is friends with the guy doing the work now and has been helping him, so in the future he can do it. Family price is real cheap!!

 

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