My '67 Project

[67smith]

that's what my rear cylinders look like too!! course the guy I bought it from let it sit for 7+ years...

my thoughts on the rubber material- if you can squeeze it and you can't see any cracks forming, the rubber is fine--rock hard and not cracking is NOT the same thing

not quite ready to go after market and retro fit brake stuff yet, Master will most likely get upgraded to a dual res. though

got the starter today too, so off to test that, got some nos brushes for it too, still undecided if I should wait to fire the engine before flipping ring gear or wait.. probably should make sure it runs before putting too much work/money in it

[Blitz]

I dont want to bore everyone with repeating myself, so let me put it in another way...

At the time, I had no other option, than to do the conversion to 'off the shelf' parts.

I had the rebuild kits for the stock WC's, but when I got in there... it was a forgone conclusion.
Strike one.

Also, I did not have 'at the time', a source for relining the shoes, and didnt want to pay 25 or 35 per shoe ... to order them NOS.
Strike two.

Strike three... Its all apart now, and I cant have a non running truck...


I figured the conversion would be the way to go, and its served me well.

Now though....
I have ended up with 24 old brake shoes, some of which look brand new ( from a parts truck purchase, and several axle "gifts" ) several backing plates, drums front and rear, and all the hardware for two or three trucks.
( I believe in spare parts )

If I had to do it over again NOW, I would sure use the stock WC's and shoes and hardware... simply because I have them sitting here, and it would be a hell of a lot faster.

As for rebuilding the WC's, it seems from reading here that ... its best to use DOT 5 BF, if you have everything apart.. ( Brake Lines, MC, WC's and do it all at once ).

Something about the Dot 3 BF absorbs moisture, which is what cause everyone the same problem.

I understand you cannot mix the two B fluids.

As a stop gap measure ( for several more years)...
If you have the weekend, I sure would rebuild them, bleed the brake system completely, and use all fresh dot 3 again.

If everything was apart.... like a complete rebuild/ restore
I sure would go the DOT 5 route.

I read a bunch here on the zone about brakes...
and it seems the WC's will pop on occasion, and brakes do fail on a pretty regular basis, when looking back from 2008 to present...
and thats just folks that "said so" and wrote about it here.

PMCS them...

Its really cheap insurance, and the peace of mind you will have is invaluable.
Not only that.. its probably time to re- adjust them anyway... so while its up on the jackstands, spin those tires and adjust them to "perfect" again.

[Don Cavey]

I am in agreement with the post above ^^

My truck is stock from the brake pedal pad to the tires. I use an NOS master cylinder and new wheel cylinders. The front brakes are new and the back ones are used, from my truck and the lining is as thick as new.

A lot is said about changing the M/C to dual etc. I understand and support that. I just remember driving the M715 for two years whilst I was in the army. I had no problems with it stopping and since I have all new lines from the M/C to the cylinders, I am not too worried about a failure. Of course, my truck only stays local and I don't have a trailer.

"Your mileage may vary" and of course, I will support anything that we do for an improvement.

[67smith]

A lot is said about changing the M/C to dual etc. I understand and support that. I just remember driving the M715 for two years whilst I was in the army. I had no problems with it stopping and since I have all new lines from the M/C to the cylinders, I am not too worried about a failure. Of course, my truck only stays local and I don't have a trailer.

"Your mileage may vary" and of course, I will support anything that we do for an improvement.

I just remember an incident last year, where my brothers 72 daily had a single res, and he lost a rear wheel cylinder. took a week of research to find out he had a "custom" factory ordered coil over rear with a 8 lug axle, that used 1 ton rear cylinders(1/2 ton truck) and he had to drive it using the gears to stop(parking was useless above 10)

So I'm like 75% for a dual, but that may change depending on how far I go with keeping it stock

[Don Cavey]

I think that safety is very, very important. I also know that back in 1967/68/69 when these trucks were made, a dual master cylinder something that was just coming into the design of vehicles.

When I hear some of our members remarking about the lack of power, difficulty to steer and stop, one thing comes to mind. That is that we all, myself included, have become very accustomed to vehicles that are docile and take very little effort to make go and stop, as well it should. I removed that tatty power steering box and pump from my truck and went back to an NOS manual gear. I have absolutely no problem steering the vehicle. Yeah, don't turn the wheel until you start to move.

But for what they are, I love them stock. Not to say that one should not tailor it to personal desires, or wants. I guess that I am falling back on memory. I put a lot of windshield time on an M715 and am totally trilled to be able to do it again. I can't tell you how I got chills when I watched a youtube video of an M715 starting, going through the gears and the whine of the transfer case. Yep, that's me!

So guys, "Keep 'em on the road" (or dirt, whichever floats your boat).

Don't forget the pictures!

[67smith]

Got her started!!, very happy, had a little difficulty, big sparks at the batteries on the first attempt, so went through real slow second time, using my hand as the choke(was using a remote start and solenoid) got her to fire and run for a second, my dad was feeding the animals(horses and chickens) so he came running over, got him to take a video for me

link=> M715 Startup

only filled the bowl, so that was part of the reason for the short run, the other is of course no water pump hooked up, and very little coolant

personally, I feel the engine running is worth the $745 investment I have in it now

[Don Cavey]

Well, that proves that it runs! Great to hear it start up. I will all come together one step at a time. Without looking at the big picture as they say, my truck has been done one step at a time. And before you know it, it is done!

Great, thanks for taking the time to post the video.

[67smith]

done a little more work, took off front fenders, getting ready to remove brake shoes to send them out to be rebuilt, will even do my parking band as well



shoes have a lot of pad, but I've had them disintegrate and jam up in drums before


drivers side, has a hub leak as well


passenger side-has no wheel cylinder at all

what I was planning on doing was removing everything and doing the chassis, but what might end up happening is fixing up the cab before removing it so I don't have to worry about welding and alignment of the cab while it sits on a nice painted frame

[67smith]

so had done some searching, but has anyone come up with a viable alternative for springs for brakes, or am I gonna have to do the $10 a spring thing?

[67smith]

been a while, but getting closer to doing some major work, keeping cab on frame until I can do some good bracing(or just fix the cab.

But got bed removed


and on a makeshift carrier


front of bed over hangs, and was heavier then expected, so the tires keep it balanced

realized I never did any pictures when I went to get her so here are two I got