1962 front brake cylinder advice

[mercuryv8]

If anyone can offer some advice here I would appreciate it. The front wheel cylinders of my truck are probably beyond being rebuilt, they look pitted. The problem is I can't find replacements locally for the single cylinder ones that are on the truck. Could I swap in the dual cylinder ones from a later model truck?

I've also purchased a 67 galaxie 4drum non-power master cylinder that I was hoping to use. What do you guys think? Am I setting myself up for problems?




Nic

[Truckrat]

I like the idea of changing it to a dual reservoir M/C if nothing else
for safety. The wheel cylinder on yours could be swapped but you will probably need
to get different backing plates made for the dual wheel cylinder. What year are those you are working on? My 57, 59, and 64 all use the dual wheel cylinder. Pretty sure
they are all the same thing other than bore size. Should be able to find those around
about any salvage yard that carries older trucks. If not I bet plenty of guys on here
have them laying around in their way. Might put an ad in the ''Parts Wanted'' section
on the forum here. TR

[Mr. Jones]

Nic,
Don't know if you have O'Reilly auto parts up there,here are the two part #'s that are on my receipt for the single wheel cylinders
Wc36075
Wc36074
Bought these back in 08 for my 350 they looked just like yours.
Hope this helps...
Dan

[Toyz]

Just order the dual action cylinders for an early slick, no problem. Since the backing plate seems to be the same in both pics; looks as if you have already found your answer. I certainly agree with the m/c upgrade!

Paul

[mercuryv8]

The pictures may be deceiving, it is the same backing plate, I just stuck a wheel cylinder from the back to illustrate my plan to use dual cylinders. (Not that I will be using back ones, I will order a sed of dual front cylinders. From what i can tell in the book the backing plates are the same but the anchor pin on single piston cylinder is adjustable.

I will have a close look at my backing plates tomorrow.

Nic

[Toyz]

I don't have anything except '61 and '62 manual here; I see no adjustable anchor pin, nor have I encountered one to my limited memory. Should be no problem; you can even go with self-adjusters if you wanted. The Galaxie m/c is also a good choice, pedal effort may be slightly higher, but manageable. It does not appear to have the residual valves built in as an American '67 should; so if pedal proves to have excessive travel, you may need to add external resid valves. It's possible I am just missing spotting the inserts, however.
Paul

[mercuryv8]

I don't have anything except '61 and '62 manual here; I see no adjustable anchor pin, nor have I encountered one to my limited memory.
Paul

It was the 1961 manual I was looking at. The adjustable anchor looks like a hex bolt on the backside of the backing plate. The anchor can be moved up and down in a slot. I looked at my backing plates today and they don't have the adjustable anchor anyway, I can't see any difference so I am going to give the double cylinder a shot. If it doesn't work for some reason I will let you guys know.

Nic,
Don't know if you have O'Reilly auto parts up there,here are the two part #'s that are on my receipt for the single wheel cylinders
Wc36075
Wc36074
Bought these back in 08 for my 350 they looked just like yours.
Hope this helps...
Dan

I looked at those the bore size is listed as 1 1/8 the manual says my truck should have 1 1/16 front and 7/8" in the back.

I wonder if different years are different? or maybe it doesn't make much difference? I don't know.

Nic

[jamesdfo]

Nic: Did you try Gary Automotive for the wheel cyllinders? He has pulled a rabbit out of the hat for many local hotrodders:)

[The Big M]

It was ages ago now, but I picked up a set of '64 backing plates and cylinder cores from a member here to solve this very problem. I was under the impression that the backing plates were different but I could be wrong.

[Toyz]

You are correct; I looked at Fig 3; it states it applies to both single and dual action cylinders! In 50+ years of working on these trucks, I never realized they were adjustable! Certified brake mechanic, my arse! Oh, well, if you ain't learning, you're fermenting!
Paul