P-59: Discharged

One of the more surprising things that occurred when I first looked at the car on that cold, snowy day, was that the interior light came on when I opened the door and the radio came on after flipping the key to Run. Mind you, the car hadn’t been on the road since at least ’78. Yes, the Motorcraft battery was in good shape and held a charge, and while maybe only a decade or two old, it had no trouble turning the engine over during our attempts at getting the points functional. Unfortunately, while the chemistry was in good shape, one of the internal links to the battery posts wasn’t and it went open during cranking recently. So much for that battery.

The modern replacement is a Group 24, which is what I bought. Clearly, the lower height Motorcraft wasn’t legit. With the 24 installed, I now worried about terminal height and shorting to the hood, my ground cable (recently replaced) was now too tight for comfort, and fastening the battery down to keep from bouncing into the hood, or off the battery shelf and into the belts, was now a real concern.  A universal battery hold down kit for $6 uses the factory T-holes to capture new hold down rods. Another ground cable (4 ga) but slightly longer did the trick. Despite the hood having a special stamped area to accommodate the positive terminal, I don’t plan on taking any chances. Rubber terminal covers are en-route and are cheap insurance. Likely available locally, but equally cheap and with free shipping off that e-place.

A stroke of Pontiac genius, the battery distribution point is up on the driver’s side fender with the horn relay, rather than off the main terminal of the starter. This keeps the wiring short, clean, and out of harm’s way. It also makes troubleshooting a breeze. With terminals clean and tight, the engine should spin with ease.

P59: I Brake for Vacations

It’s been a month and a half since I last posted, but don’t worry, progress has been steady.

After getting the cooling system buttoned back up without leaks, I resumed work on the brakes. You might recall I had to replace the rear drums due to heavy gouging but the fronts were okay. Well, after installing the brake shoe retaining springs, I was ready to slip the front drums on. Big problem…they simply would not fit, even with the adjusters turned all the way in. I chalked it up to surface rust/buildup on the drum outer edges, which meant they’d need the slightest of cleanup and truing. The local shop was reluctant to turn them despite the fact that my measurements showed they had never been turned, but the results look good and while extremely tight, they do fit into place. However, this meant that I’d need new bearings, inner/outer and both sides. Not cheap, and not a lot of fun (wrong bearings were shipped, new order was cancelled, etc. etc.). The Outers are B67 and the Inners are B70. Check ebay and shop around…they can be tough to find and fairly pricey unless you do your homework.

With the help of a friend and his father’s press, the new bearings went into place, lots of grease was packed in, and the drums are now on the car.

While this was going on, I was working on the master cylinder situation. The original unit was a single chamber, manual setup. The only thing worse than a car wreck is having been the cause, so any kind of safety upgrade was welcome. I had read about a dual chamber, power assist arrangement from a ’68 Chevelle (with 4-wheel drums) being a ‘drop in’ fit. When I couldn’t order the Cardone number locally, I decided to roll the dice on a ’68 Cadillac (4-wheel drum) setup that I’ve read is practically a direct fit on the 59/60 Cads. Knowing the whereabouts of both a 59 and 60 CdV, I figured if it didn’t fit the Poncho, it at least wouldn’t be a total loss.

Original on left (obviously). Chevelle booster with threaded rod on right. Note bracket.

As it turns out, the pushrod end is completely different than the Catalina; back to the drawing board.

Well then, guess I’ll pay the extra for the Chevelle unit. What was most critical about the arrangement was having a threaded pushrod for the pedal, and getting a 4-hole mounting pattern that would semi-line-up with the original firewall studs. While not “drop-in” by any stretch of the imagination, it’s a very workable solution. The booster is Cardone 50-1105 and runs just over $100. For installation, the top holes of the booster drop over the lower firewall studs, and the pushrod lines up exactly with the firewall opening. Unfortunately, you need more than 2 bolts to hold this thing down, which means (carefully) drilling a pair of holes in the firewall to accommodate the lower MC bracket holes. Use good quality hardware/washers/locknuts to keep the new hardware from coming loose. As can be seen in the pic, the bracket puts the unit at an aggressive angle which puts the pushrod far out of line (angle) with the pedal. To remedy this, I threaded two of the original mounting nuts all the way down on the top studs (one per stud) to act as spacers before mounting the MC.

The last problem was a head scratcher, especially from those that have claimed this to be a drop-in, and that is that the push rod on this MC was far too short. The solution here was to use a pushrod extension. They’re available from Jeg’s, Summit, and that ebay place. The rod is 3/8 fine thread.
 

Rod must be long enough to engage eyelet when pedal is
up against the brake light switch. Dust boot not installed.

There’s a couple other parts you’re likely to need. At minimum, a power booster plastic dust boot (used 64-74 at least). It’s made of semi-hard plastic and is reusable, which is why the MC’s don’t ship with them. New ones can be had for a few bucks and you’ll need it to keep the booster side from getting contaminated since these don’t use a rubber boot. You may also find the female fittings on the booster won’t match your brake lines. Brass adapters are cheap and readily available at any local parts store.

Mounted but not plumbed. Vac line is 3/8 fuel line (to avoid collapse)
connected with tee-fitting at rear of carb.

Now to bleed the system...