vacuum conversion question

[qwks6]

I've been searching and I can't seem to find the resource I'm looking for. I'm looking to do a vacuum conversion and I need all the parts... I don't want to search old cars, I'd rather do a "kit." If somebody could point me in the right direction for finding the parts that'd be perfect!!!!

Thanks!

Mike

 

[G. Price]

GBodyParts.com Online

Has both new and used kits.

 

[POWERBRAKEBOB]

Have You Seen The Hydroboost Conversion? It Runs Off Of The Power Steering Pump, And Needs No Vacuum. They Bolt Right On, And Use The Same Pedal. Check 'em Out At "powerbrakesonlinedotcom" They Can Deliver Up To 2000psi To The Calipers At Idle Pump Speed

 

[qwks6]

thanks you guys!

I just got it running beautifully now so breaks are next!!!!

 

[cruzn57]

contact "Red Regal"

on this board, he has complete kits, reasonable
I'm, using one and love it!

 

[POWERBRAKEBOB]

Hydroboost Conversion

Don't Forget To Change The Brake Pedal To The Vacuum Pedal!

 

[Dreamcar86]

Have You Seen The Hydroboost Conversion? It Runs Off Of The Power Steering Pump, And Needs No Vacuum. They Bolt Right On, And Use The Same Pedal. Check 'em Out At "powerbrakesonlinedotcom" They Can Deliver Up To 2000psi To The Calipers At Idle Pump Speed

Kind of like this, Bob?

 

[Robbie-87plz]

DreamCar, how do you like the hydroboost setup? I think it was the system that I had on my 85 GN and it worked quite well.

 

[POWERBRAKEBOB]

Hydroboost Conversion

Nice Photo. Does It Do What You Thought It Would Do? Is It Even Better? Was It Relatively Easy To Install? I Have Rebuilt All Three Types Of The Brake Units, And Know What The Capabilites Are. On This Forum, It Seems That The Number One Problem With The G.n. Is The Powermaster. After 20 Years, 90% Of The P/m's Have Failed. It Really Has Now Become A Safety Issue, Not Just About How The Car Holds For A Drag Race Start. Brake Failures Are Very Dangerous, And Nobody Takes It Seriously, Until It Happens To Them. That Red Light On The Dash Could Come On At Any Time, And You Can't Push That Pedal Unless You Use Both Feet, With Your Hair Standing Straight Up. The H/b Is An Easy And Reliable Replacement.

 

[superjaay]

How much does the hydroboost system cost? Aslo is it a custom fit for turbo buicks or a universal application that requires alot of modding?

 

[POWERBRAKEBOB]

Hydroboost Conversion

We Set Up New Hydroboosts With The Correct Bracket To Bolt Right On The Firewall, And Connect To The Powermaster Pedal. The Master Lines Hook Right Up. A Big Advantage Is, The Master Is Easily Replaceable, Anywhere, In A Manner Of Minutes, But, Should Not Need It For At Least 10 Years. The Hydroboost Runs Off Of The Power Steering Pump, And Only Needs Occasional Clean Fluid In The Pump To Last 200,ooo Miles On A Passenger Car. No More "blinking Red Light" The New Hydroboost, Master, And Bracket Costs G.n. Guys $545.00. We Use Stainless Braided Hoses To Connect. The Lower Cost Set Uses Stainless Pressure Lines, And Rubber Return Hoses At A Cost Of $275.00. The Set Using All Stainless Including The Return Hoses Is $325.00. If You Really Want The Rebuilt Hydroboost, With New Master, And Bracket We Can Provide Those Too. They Would Be $395.00. We Have Recently Acquired "new" Powermaster Motor Pumps. The P/m Rebuilt, With New Motor Would Cost $495.00 Plus The Pressure Switch, And Accumulator, When Available, At Extra Cost.

 

[Dreamcar86]

Hydroboost Testimonial

I have had a lot of people private message me about the Hydro Boost setup so I will go ahead and fill in some of the details here.

First I would like everyone to understand that when I purchased my car it came with vacuum brakes. I am by no means an expert on brakes so this is just my experience. The brake system was not very good from the start and I tried to replace everything that I knew to do and had several people look at it. I could not get them to hold 1 single pound of boost at the track. In fact my very last race with vacuum brakes I red lighted and went home madder than hell and swore to do something different.

At this point the research started on what to do. Went to the autoparts store and asked about the Power Master and got all kinds of screwball answers. Then I got on the board here and searched the parts for sale section in hopes of finding one. Then I kept reading and understood that just because you purchase a remanufactured unit that did not guarantee that it was going to last. Now I had to do more research and figure out what would work. This is when I found out that the 84 and 85 models used the Hydro Boost systems and they worked flawlessly. I jumped on the forums and that is when I met PowerbrakesBob who promised to have the answer.

Needless to say everything he said came true. If I had it to do all over again would I purchase the Hydro Boost system? YOU BET!! The install is very straight forward and easy in my opinion. Now remember when I mentioned I could not hold a single pound of boost on the line? Well now days I have gone up to 12 pounds and the car does not creep a single millimeter! The system fits like a glove and looks good under the hood.

I am not saying that this system is for everyone but if you are frustrated with Power Masters that are becoming unreliable or vacuum brakes that will not hold then this is the system that you are looking for. As for replacing parts. I cannot imagine what would need to be replaced. Mine has the stainless braided lines and I run a filter from the gearbox to the reservoir just to ensure that no debris could ever make its way to the booster.

Now back to go fast parts to get down the track a little quicker.

Good luck to all.

Shane

 

[POWERBRAKEBOB]

Hydroboost Conversion

Thank You, Mr. Dreamcar. Now You Can Go Faster, Not Only At The Drags, But Road Race, Slalom, Or Just Going To The Store, Really Fast, With Confidence.

 

[sawmillman]

diesel truck use this system gm calles it a j8 brake system I just replaced one on a 94 6.5 turbo diesel.I thougt it looked familiar.

 

[Robbie-87plz]

I thought it looked familiar. My wife's Cobra has it. I will be looking into this. Awaiting Mr. PowerBob's reply...

Thanks for the writeup Shane!

 

[cabech984]

diesel truck use this system gm calles it a j8 brake system I just replaced one on a 94 6.5 turbo diesel.I thougt it looked familiar.

Looks dead on to an A1 HMMWV setup!!

 

[POWERBRAKEBOB]

Hydroboost Conversion

The Hydroboost Was Design And Built By Bendix For Use In 1974. So, It Is Not New. It Was Designed For Trucks. 10,000lb To 15,000lb Trucks. Is That Enough Reserve Power For Your Car? What We Specialize In, Is Brake Upgrades, And Conversions. We Have Done The H/b Conversions On Chevelles, Camaros, Mustangs, Jeeps, Vipers, Cobra Kit Cars, Street Rods, Hemi Cars, And So On. We Were A Major Bendix Distributor In The Eighties And Nineties. In 1995, Bendix (allied Signal) Sold Out Their Power Brake Production To Bosch. Bendix Had Sold Their Power Brakes To Any Warehouse Distributor In The Country That Could Muster Up An Initial Order. Bosch Signed Contracts After 1995 To Only Produce New Power Brake Units (including Vacuum) For The Automakers. Bosch Does Not Sell To The Autozones, Pep Boys, Napa's, Etc. They Can't. That Is Why The Auto Parts Stores Can Only Sell Reman, Such As A1-cardone. P.b. Bob Was Able To Convince Bosch To Let Me Try A Pilot Program For Power Brakes. I Took It Out To The Conventional Warehouses, And They Looked At Me In Disbelief. How Could I Have It, And Not Them? I Offered A Catalog, Which Bosch Does Not Have, And A Substantial Discount. They Didn't Know What To Do, And Turned It Down. So, We Went On A Different Direction. Custom Conversions. Since We Had The Experience, And A Full Shop To Do It, We Worked Out Conversions For The Hydroboost, And Dropped The Old 12v Vac Pump Thing. The Hydroboost Easily Outpowers The Vac Booster, Even With A Vac. Pump. We Never Have To Worry About Electric Pumps Burning Up. Most Vacuum Pumps Only Have A .150" Port To Pull Air Thru. It Takes A Mile Or So, To Re-pull The Vacuum Back Up. Not Too Good. In Our Shop Now, Are 2 Camaros, That The Vac Pump Wiring Burned Up, Burning One Car To The Ground, And The Second One, The Front End. This Is Why I Feel The Hydroboost Is The Safest, And The Most Reliable Brake System To Install On The Grand National. Using "new" Hydroboosts Just Is A Sure Thing.

 

[Robbie-87plz]

Is your company the same as this....?

Savitske Classic & Custom

 

[POWERBRAKEBOB]

Hydroboost Conversion

My Company Is "power Brake Service" My Father Started It In 1950. There Are Some Cool Photos In The Gallery Of "powerbrakesonline.com" We Installed Hydroboosts On 5 Of The "overhaulin'" Shows, Including The John Force Bus Show. We Are Comong Up This Month On Espn2 About The " Mother"s Polish" Car. On This 1200 H.p Car, We Designed Our New "air Brake" System. It Is Really Cool. It Operates Baer Brakes On A 1970 Chevelle.

 

[Dreamcar86]

Thank You, Mr. Dreamcar. Now You Can Go Faster, Not Only At The Drags, But Road Race, Slalom, Or Just Going To The Store, Really Fast, With Confidence.

That is no joke. From what I understand the Power Masters have a weird brake pedal which can go from hard to mushy. With the Hydro Boost you always have a firm pedal that leaves no uncertainty. If they have the power to stop a one ton truck then you know they will work on a sedan.
In fact I have several F body buddies wanting to switch to this system. One of them has a twin turbo setup.