Good info. I assume the Ranger had rear disks? Does the MC have a residual valve?

 

The ranger had rear drums. No clue if this MC has a residual valve built in.

 

I just bought a ranger master a couple weeks ago as well - haven’t tried it yet (and car will be out for a while. great to hear it worked well for you. I bought the one for a Ranger with manual brakes.

 

Good post. I’m tired of my leaky master cylinder gasket, and would be happy to move to a modern one. I have power brakes, so I may need to look around for one for my application.

 

I've been looking for something to get rid of my leaking master as well. I've tried different caps, different wires, bending the wires, different gaskets and making sure the cover is flat. I've laid a machinist's rule on the edges of the master thinking thats the issue but it's flat. Thanks for posting this Armon.

 

I just did a quick look up on Rockauto, there’s a 1988 Ranger power disc/drum MC with 15/16 bore, which seems to be the same as the power disc/drum MC for the 68. Looks like an adapter needed for the primary port from 7/16 to 1/2. More research required, but definitely a possibility.

More Information for CARDONE 132374

 

I just did a quick look up on Rockauto, there’s a 1988 Ranger power disc/drum MC with 15/16 bore, which seems to be the same as the power disc/drum MC for the 68. Looks like an adapter needed for the primary port from 7/16 to 1/2. More research required, but definitely a possibility.

More Information for CARDONE 132374

I would imagine you could reuse your existing lines with an adapter (The Ranger MC I used has a 9/16th port for the rear brakes and a 7/16th for the front). I made new lines because I had most of the fittings on hand. The one exception is the line for the front brakes- the port is very deep and a standard length flare fitting wouldn't reach the seat (the hex would bottom out before the fitting would).

With that said, I never tried installing the standard length fitting with the line itself attached, it might have been fine.

Do you mind sharing which proportioning valve you are using?

It's an adjustable Wilwood valve.

Your miracle improvement in braking was due to what? You replaced a 15/16" master with another 15/16" master.............

ex-Global West GM
1991-1995

My "miracle in braking" is likely due to my previous master cylinder being bad from day one .

The point of this thread is to provide an objective description of another MC option- not say one is better than the other.

With that said, a master cylinder that takes up less space, weighs less, and doesn't leak is considered an upgrade, but I guess that's subjective on my end .

Nice Bullit! I have a 68 highland green fastback as well, but decided to restore it to stock. Ivy gold interior and C4, stock it is. Love all the bikes too.

Thanks!! Can't go wrong with highland green, especially on a '68 FB. The vintage bikes are a blast, but the problem is that they don't take up any space- until they do.

 

Do you mind sharing which proportioning valve you are using?

 

The brakes on my '68 fastback never seemed like they were stopping the car as well as they should; even after bleeding the system a dozen times. I was using a new '74 Maverick master cylinder (15/16" bore), Wilwood 4 piston discs, and OEM rear drums.

I've heard of using a master cylinder from a 90's Cobra, but the reservoir was tilted and the ports were on the right side (and metric).

After doing some research, I found out that a master cylinder for a late 80's Ford Ranger has a bore size around 15/16", which is perfect for a manual disc/drum application. Better yet- the ports are located on the left side, are SAE, and the master cylinder conveniently fits without any modification. I made some new hard lines with the appropriate fitting size and used an adjustable MC pushrod to get the pedal height where I wanted.

I can now easily lock up the brakes, I've actually had to mess with the proportioning valve to get the brake bias dialed in.





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Your miracle improvement in braking was due to what? You replaced a 15/16" master with another 15/16" master.............

ex-Global West GM
1991-1995

 

Nice Bullit! I have a 68 highland green fastback as well, but decided to restore it to stock. Ivy gold interior and C4, stock it is. Love all the bikes too.

 

Just don't like the plastic reservoir. sticks out like a sore thumb.

 

Maybe it's just me, but the N.W.A. poster seems a little out of place in a garage full of vintage cars and bikes.

 

....Or right at home. I remember when MC Ren drove a B210.

 

I’m looking at your Triumph😳

 

Good eye! I’ve owned 2 Bonnies in my time, 71 and 68. I just revisited the Barber Motorcycle Museum, close to Birmingham. First time there was in 2009 for the 45th MCA show. Great museum and a beautiful track. It’s a must see if you like vintage motorcycles and race cars.

 

That looks very similar to the Ranger master cylinder that I used. Mine is a Dorman M39568, which I also feel that it works better than my previous Maverick one did even a decade ago when it was new. This one is also 15/16 but doesn't have the flat spot on the back or the level indicator provision. At first I sorta thought it looked a bit out of place, since I like the look of the old school one, but don't miss the corroded mess of the cast iron units that looks like a scale model of a septic tank.

Dorman Products - M39568

 

^ Copious amounts of water in the brake fluid.

ex-Global West GM
1991-1995

 

That is what I thought as well, but don't really see how since the car is always garaged. The seal did seep brake fluid though, tried several seals and never found one that prevented that. I have seen more than a few of these old style master cylinders that looked like this after 5-10 years.

 

Does anyone make a more traditional dual chamber master cylinder out of aluminum?

 

I had one. It's been a ways back and my memory sucks but near as I can remember it was a 1987 or so Lincoln something. Mark or Conti or Town Car, I don't know. I do know that it was for four wheel disk brakes, so no residual valve for rear drums. I also know that about any parts store replacement will be cast iron so they are pretty hard to find. I regret not keeping the one I had for rebuilding.

 

Which adjustable pushrod did you use?

 

Nope. But my fingers have a mind of their own obviously.......

ex-Global West GM
1991-1995

 

Great info and install. Surprising how much space is freed up. There may be some good plastic paints out there that will stand up to brake fluid. Better yet, stainless steel, aluminum, beer cans or similar material cover if it really bothers you or others. Ultimately, brakes are all about effective and safe stopping.

I had a bad experience with a series of original style mc's. I returned three to the auto supply, before it hit me that someone set bore hone wrong for that production run. Went to a different brand, problem solved.

 

I agree the plastic reservoir does look a little out of place, but I went with it anyway for the smaller lighter master and the ability to easily check fluid level. To tell you the truth though, any dual master cylinder is out of place, but I still wouldn’t run a single reservoir master.

 

I have used DOT 5 for at least ten years with no issues, it is not hygroscopic and does not harm paint.
The reservoirs of my cast iron master cylinder is as clean as the day it was installed.

 

I'm guessing your Ranger master cylinder does NOT have a machined groove for a pushrod with a retaining clip?

To the other poster.... No, you don't need a residual valve with a disc/disc system, unless your disc brake calipers have seals that retract the pistons, in which case a 2# residual may be needed. Residual valves keep a small amount of pressure in the lines to prevent the caliper pistons or brake shoes from moving back, away from the rotor/drum, to prevent excessive pedal travel.

kechke.... The "problem" with DOT 5 is that is doesn't absorb water, so any moisture that enters the system will head for the lowest point. You won't see it in your master cylinder reservoir but you might find it at the bottom of a caliper or wheel cylinder....

 

The manual brake Ranger master I bought does have a machined retainer groove for the pushrod.

 

I will check the part number later today.

 

Growing up in Colorado, there was a place in Denver called Harry's Motors and that's all they did was acquire, sell and work on vintage exotic
motorcycles. (Triumphs, Moto Guzzi, BSAs, etc.) His kids all had rare stuff, which they rode around on like doing so was an everyday deal.

ex-Global West GM
1991-1995

 

Good info. Thanks for posting. My MC looks like it has seen better days.
Also, nothing wrong with MCs and Mustangs...

 

To get back to master cylinders, how about a NAPA 10-1930, cast sas E2TA, from 1984 Bronco 2 or Ranger. They're cast aluminum and look exactly like what my 1969 has in factory iron. Haven't installed yet. Its cold, and what I have was still working, but leaked. I'll get to it. LSG

 

Cardone reman unit. 15/16" bore, 9/16-18 and 7/16-24 for outlet ports. Don't know about residual valves as I don't have one in front of me.

ex-Global West GM
1991-1995