Get better brake pedal when adding power brakes

[luvbowties]

We had a '64 c10 recently that someone had used rebuilt parts to install a power drum/drum brake system. Looked to be a fairly nice job & seemed all bases were covered--even had what we believed to be a Captainfab booster adapter, plus an adjustable proportioning valve on rear line, adjusted correctly by the way. Papers in the dash showed new wheel cylinders, we checked & they were correct for the truck; but NO papers on the power brake parts. The pedal just had too much travel to stop & didn't have the right 'feel'.

After several days head-banging and a couple hours bleeding all 4 wheels and adjusting the rears we had another theory:maybe it wasn't getting enough juice-per-pump. We looked at several online chains & finally found one site that gave specs for their mc's. We then found that a 1967 C20 WITH STANDARD DRUM BRAKES had one optional mc with a 1.125-inch bore; our '60-'66 all seem to have mc's with a 1.000-inch bore; and it bolted right on. This bigger bore mc did what the system needed; it provided a noticeably shorter travel and the right "feel". My partner & I both thought the inadequate brakes were at least partly why the po sold it to our customer so cheaply. And the rebuilt Fenco mc was less than $20. Sharing no $-interests in this company, it was A*TO-Z*NE that showed the bore-diameters. I'm sure others prolly sell the same thing, but I don't know what to ask for. Guess you could use a vernier cal. to measure the rear diam. of the mc-piston or bore?

We hope this helps save time and $ for other diy'ers--esp. us who love these old trucks.