donor cars for vacuum conversion?

[Blazer406]

What are the best (and preferrably most plentiful in junkyards) donor cars for the vacuum conversion? What parts do you need besides master cylinder and vacuum assist unit? Do you need the proportioning valve?

How many have done this conversion with JY parts and been happy with the results?

 

[SFITurbo]

Olds Cutlass' are like dead cockroaches in the yards. Look for the cleanliness of fluid and obvious leaks, rust, general disrepair. I took the pedal assembly, mc, booster, and vac line for $25.00. Pedal is a PITA to pull in the heat of a boneyard, so make sure you have ALL the right tools. I operated the pedal to check for pressure. Slight bending of the lines by hand for alignment was the only modification. I'll never go back to PM after experiencing a failure with one. Vacuum is the only way to go if you want reliability and ease of system. Keep the PM if looking for a "concours car" later on. No problems holding boost either.

 

[turbofish38]

Any 81 and newer G-body is good. Plenty of Montes and Cutlass's to pick from. No the prop valve doesn't need to be changed. My general rule of thumb is to pick the lowest mileage, cleanest looking booster that you see. It's a crap shoot whether you'll get a good enough one. Sometimes you luck out and find a car were its been replaced before. Yeah its kind of tough putting 20 year old used car parts on so if you aren't confident than you can always buy new or reman'd parts from the parts stores.