Re-Rebuilding the 440-493 in a 1970 Charger

[Cheapsunglasses]

Less weight frees up horsepower

 

[Kern Dog]

I am back to the waiting game....waiting on other people.
The machinist.
The shop balancing the rotating assembly.
The brake kit which is supposed to be on it's way here.
Funny thing....The Wife was talking to her Mother on Sunday, telling her that I have the engine out of the car but once I get it back, I should have the car running in a week.

I had to remind her that I have to clearance the cam bearings, file the piston rings (16 of them), Plastigage the rods and mains, assemble the long block, change the brakes, install the engine-trans-K member-suspension, install the steering column, attach all hoses, belts, wiring and ground cables, install the shifter, console plate, fill the radiator, install the drive shaft and THEN start it. It will need alignment and of course, some tuning.
So....the week after that ??

 

[68 Sport Satellite]

I am back to the waiting game....waiting on other people.
The machinist.
The shop balancing the rotating assembly.
The brake kit which is supposed to be on it's way here.
Funny thing....The Wife was talking to her Mother on Sunday, telling her that I have the engine out of the car but once I get it back, I should have the car running in a week.

View attachment 1330088

I had to remind her that I have to clearance the cam bearings, file the piston rings (16 of them), Plastigage the rods and mains, assemble the long block, change the brakes, install the engine-trans-K member-suspension, install the steering column, attach all hoses, belts, wiring and ground cables, install the shifter, console plate, fill the radiator, install the drive shaft and THEN start it. It will need alignment and of course, some tuning.
So....the week after that ??

As unrealistic as her comment was, I would take that as a compliment from her - she thinks you're an expert mechanic who gets things done (which by all evidence, you are, it's just her perception of time is distorted by her love for you Her faith in you is high and you are a blessed man - as long as she doesn't give you grief about it or make you feel hurried.

OR....on the flip side - maybe she was being sarcastic because she knew you were listening. In that case, you're rubbing off on her. Ha!

 

[Kern Dog]

I got a delivery today from Doctor Diff.

New brakes!

Since I have decided to go with a bigger cam.....the one I ran years ago when the car was the fastest it ever was, I needed to upgrade the brakes. The Lunati cam I used then and will use again resulted in a low vacuum reading when idling in gear (Back when I had the 727). I was showing something in the 5-7" range. Back then, I ran a vacuum pump to supplement the power booster. It worked but added weight and complexity.
In the interest of reliability, less clutter and weight, I removed and shelved the power booster setup. I was set to just default to a manual 4 wheel disc system until Doctor Diff offered to let me try a hydroboost system that he is working on.

This is an all new unit that uses the traditional 4 bolt mounting flange and bolts in place like a manual master cylinder would. MY car was a 4 wheel manual drum model so the firewall stiffening plate is a perfect match.

The brake pedal rod is threaded , allowing adjustment using the turnbuckle and jam nut.

I have no experience with hydroboost systems. There are three fittings to plumb, 2 pressure and one return. Dr Diff supplies adapter fittings.

I don't know what that threaded bolt is to the left.
Dr Diff/Cass suggests a manual master cylinder from a manual brake 1985 D-150 truck. It uses an 1 1/8" bore:

RAYBESTOS MC39178 Specifications
Number of Ports	2
Primary Port Thread A	1/2"-20
Secondary Port Thread A	9/16"-20

 

[Cheapsunglasses]

Wahoo parts!

 

[Kern Dog]

The fittings screwed right in place. I'm guessing that the unit is metric and the fittings are SAE?

I'll have to research the way these things are plumbed. The return line is simple but I didn't know that they used 2 pressure lines. I don't know what that silver cylinder is either. This is new to me. I'll get back to this after I do some fact finding.....

Here is something I am familiar with....

Dang....that looks nice! I've been used to doing junkyard brake swaps for years....old hardware, "seasoned" brackets but most of the time rebuilt calipers and resurfaced rotors.

This is the 13" Cobra front disc kit that Dr Diff offers. It fits all sorts of applications and many options are available. I chose black painted calipers though red is available. I wanted the calipers to the rear of axle centerline. When ordering, many choices have to be made to ensure a proper fit and function. I have the 73-76 A body disc brake knuckles so this made matters easy.

This kit uses a separate rotor and hub. I chose drilled and slotted.

The hub is billet aluminum.

The wheel bearing races are already pressed in.

This is a quality piece.

The caliper brackets are steel, the 2 piston caliper itself is aluminum. Again, great quality stuff.

 

[Kern Dog]

Wheel bearings, grease seals, dust caps and brake hoses are included.

Oh yeah, brake hose bolts and copper washers plus the retaining clips too:

When I weighed the 12" Cordoba rotors, calipers and hardware, it came to 42 lbs. I was hoping that this upgrade didn't add weight over that.

Wow....that is a 7 lb weight reduction per side. SCORE!

 

[Kern Dog]

With the front brake upgrade, I took the Dr's advice and got the larger 11.7" rear rotors. I didn't know that they were drilled and slotted to match.

I have the 10.7" rear disc kit that Dr Diff offers but the rotors are just the standard ones.

They look like they could benefit from resurfacing. That is a moot point now though.
The larger rotors required different brackets since the caliper will now sit a half inch further out from axle centerline:

 

[Kern Dog]

I was anxious to play with this new stuff....It was 104 degrees out there but with a box fan blowing on high, it wasn't too bad.

After packing the wheel bearings with grease and tapping in the inner grease seal, I slid the hub in place and ran the spindle nut down. At this point, I just planned on doing a mock up so there is no retainer or cotter pin in place.

The black caliper adapter bracket to the left of the hub has an Allen head capscrew. I went ahead and used RED Locktite anyway...

First mistake....The caliper bolt has to be in place before the black bracket is tightened down....

The thick casting of the knuckle required me to remove the top capscrew, loosen the bottom and rotate it back to get the clearance to get the screw in.
No biggie....

Caliper bracket goes on next.

The caliper slips right into place.by slipping the flange up and into the caliper bracket groove.
Bleeder valve pointing UP.

Not easily seen is the steel pin that fits in a groove in the bottom. This locks the caliper and pads into place. Service will be super easy.

 

[Cheapsunglasses]

Definitely a good thing to use thread locker, didn’t use it on my caliper bracket bolts. A few months later I took it around the block, testing new trans, as I was pulling into the driveway, there was a loud bang. 1 side lost both bolts, other side only had 1 bolt only halfway in

 

[64fury74charger]

Real nice upgrade on the brake system. I think you will like the hydraulic booster because they have a different “feel “ than standard vacuum booster. Looking forward to your opinion after you get back on the road.

 

[Kern Dog]

I was wondering why the HB unit had 2 pressure lines. This makes sense now.

 

[Boris7K]

I was wondering why the HB unit had 2 pressure lines. This makes sense now.View attachment 1330510

This is almost exactly the same as my project minus the hydroboost, I'm just a little behind your progress but already have parts. Hoping to get cracking on mine soon, I'll try to post a thread also.

 

[Joske2]

If you never drove a car with hydraboost, watch out the first time you brake, initial brake is really hard, you need to get used to them.
if you brake with as much leg force as you are used to with a conventional system, you better order a new windshield.

 

[Kern Dog]

I have never driven anything with a hydroboost. This will be a new experience for me.
I pulled the brand new 15/16" manual master cylinder.....the one that I had already made new lines for:

Then had the wife help me install the HB unit....

I thought the mounting bolts might be too short but they worked just fine. I've found that the under-dash access is much better with the steering column out. Some also remove the seat. I left mine in place. The 4 bolts that are intended for the manual master cylinder are in this case...used to mount the HB unit. They are not real easy to reach but a universal joint and a deep well socket works IF the socket is cut down a bit in length....something between a standard socket and a regular deep-well.

I have learned that the silver cannister is the accumulator that allows for some pressure retention once the engine and P/S pump shuts off.

Installed now is the 1 1/8" bore Raybestos MC. Looks good so far, but.....

There is maybe 1/4" clearance to the top of the shock absorber stud.

What is the fix? Whizzer wheel to the shock stud?

Nah.....

As a test, I slipped in two thin flat washers behind the bottom 2 bolts to angle the whole thing up slightly. Also, the threaded rod for the brake pedal was a bit too long. The turnbuckle bottomed out and that left the brake pedal higher than I liked.
I cut approximately 1/4 from the end of the rod, allowing the turnbuckle to thread on further.

The brake light switch was able to accommodate it but I simply didn't like the higher position of the pedal.

Back in place, clearance is fine now. I doubt the slight angle will have any effect on the function.

Now I can form the brake lines. The hydraulic lines will have to wait until the engine is in place.
Fitment will be tight for the brake lines though.

 

[Kern Dog]

Dr Diff emailed me.....He was curious if the silver cannister on the HB unit would clear the header.

For reference:

At this angle, the cannister/accumulator looks to be slightly off center of the steering column.

Here is an old picture:

It looks like I have room to spare. Here in orange is approximately where the cannister will be, although higher.

The #7 exhaust tube is a few inches away. What shows in the picture is the collector down below. There should be no problem of clearance.

 

[Mopar Hunter]

I don't know what that threaded bolt is to the left.

That looks like a different size push rod bolt for your master cylinder.

 

[Kern Dog]

It might be. The vacuum booster I used before had a similar bolt to adjust the beginning and end of the stroke the master cylinder receives.

 

[Mopar Hunter]

@Kern Dog Greg if you do decide to keep the hydroboost, what is Cass charging you for the kit?

 

[Kern Dog]

I don't know what the retail price will be. This is a prototype unit.